Experts discuss several characteristics of the evolution of modern French

As we all know, language continues to evolve with the development and changes of society. Since the Second World War, French society has undergone many changes, especially the many changes in the 1960s and 1970s, which have had a greater impact on French society. Many people, whether voluntarily or not, will try their best to use the "popular language" favored by the people in the middle and lower classes of society to show their "people's nature." Therefore, it can be said that the language used in media such as television, radio, and newspapers is a language that is accepted and widely used by the majority of the people. After more than 20 years of development, this language has formed the characteristics of its era to a certain extent. This article calls it "modern French" and uses the language used in the media in recent years as corpus [1] to study and analyze it. To summarize, I will try to elaborate on several characteristics of the evolution of modern French.

First, colloquialisms, colloquialisms, and even rude language are becoming more and more common not only in intellectual circles, but also in political circles; not only in daily life, but also in certain formal occasions. In recent years, colloquial French has been evident in daily interactions and in the standardization of the language. Colloquial written language replaced the unchanging standardized written language. In practice, French spoken by people and colloquial written language were formed. This change is entirely to adapt to the changing needs of real life and communication. To quickly and vividly televise the news you just covered, it must be recorded or filmed by the reporter. The language used in these messages is undoubtedly colloquial. Perhaps this colloquial language is not as elegant and elegant as "traditional formal language", but it is more vital, more lively, more lively, and more convenient for people to communicate directly. As French became more colloquial, the changes in pronunciation were also very obvious: the simplification of pronunciation (such as: [e]≈[ε], [a]≈[α]), the reduction of couplets, etc.

(1) Common sayings, or popular vocabulary, are widely used.

① Cette démission n’est ni bouderie, ni blague, c’est un défi.

Translation: This resignation is neither a pity nor a joke, it is a challenge.

Explanation: la bouderie and la blague are commonly used words in popular spoken language. In the past, they were generally not used in formal occasions, but now they have become common words in newspapers and periodicals.

② I1 est foutu, ce malade!

Translation: This patient is finished!

Explanation: foutu, the original meaning is very vulgar, but now people are accustomed to this word.

③ Je parle au peuple, aux tripes, non pas parce que j'ai du bagou, mais parce que je le connais.

Translation: I speak to the people, what I say is What I say from the bottom of my heart does not mean that I am eloquent, but that I understand the people.

Explanation: les tripes originally referred to domestic animals going to the water, but here it has a touching meaning. avoir du bagou means to be eloquent. This sentence is the exact words of a politician in a TV interview.

④ Tous les patrons sont cons.

Translation: All bosses are fucking idiots!

Explanation: "Con" is a very rude curse word, but it is not uncommon in slogans and is even written in university halls.

⑤ Pourquoi “métro, boulot, dodo” ? eh, bien c'est une question de vie, de fric.

Translation: Why do you have to “commute to get off work, work, Where's the rest?" Well, it's a matter of livelihood, a matter of money.

Explanation: "métro, boulot, dodo" was originally commonly used verbally to describe an unchanging, boring and tiring life, and has now become an idiom. Métro was originally the subway, which here refers to the means of transportation to and from get off work; dodo, which was originally the baby talk meaning sleep, here refers to rest.

Boulot is more popular and means le travail (work).

(2) The expressions commonly used by people are increasing day by day in newspapers and periodicals.

　① Au parlement, on ne fait pas les quatre cents coups, on mène des débats politiques, même d'une manière courtoise.

Translation: In parliament, people are not messing around Instead of making a fuss, engage in political debate, even in a polite manner.

Explanation: Here faire les quatre cents coups is se livrer à toutes sortes d’excès, the latter is more “formal” and the former is more “vulgar”.

② Des manifs! On en a ras -le-bol!

Translation: **Go! We have enough!

Explanation: des manifests is the abbreviation of *manifestation; avoir ras -le-bol is en avoir assez. The former is more vulgar, but it is more and more commonly used.

　③ Let me introduce you to our company.

Explanation: mettre dans le bain. The original meaning is to put someone in a dangerous or difficult matter. Now it means initiator qn. à qch.

④ A deux heures pile, A.G. à l’Amphi C.

Translation: Two o’clock sharp, Lecture Hall C, plenary meeting.

Explanation: à deux heures pile is relatively vulgar, but the adverb pile is increasingly used. The formal word should be precise or exact.

(3) Frequent use of abbreviations and simplified words.

In daily life, abbreviations abound. Whether they are conventional abbreviations or abbreviations commonly used in individual industries, with the development of society, they are constantly increasing to facilitate people's communication.

① Here are a few examples of commonly used abbreviations:

S.N.C.F. = Société nationale des chemins de fer (French Railway Company)

E.D.F. = Electricité de France ( EDF)

H.L.M. = Habitation à loyalers modérés (low-rent housing)

C.N.R.S. = Center national de recherches scientifiques (French scientific research center)

S.M.I.G. = Salaire minimum interprofessionnel garanti (Cross-industry minimum wage guarantee)

C.R.O.U.S.=Centre regional des oeuvres universitaires et secondaires (Regional University and Secondary Affairs Center)

　② Simplified words in many industries Commonly used, especially among students.

For example:

le labo = le laboratoire (laboratory)

le prof = le professeur (teacher)

le resto-u = le restaurant universitaire (university) canteen)

la philo = la philosophie (philosophy)

l'hebdo = 1'hebdomadaire (weekly)

In short, the above abbreviations and simplified words, It is common in life. The reason for this is simple - abbreviations and abbreviations are more convenient and easy to apply, making it easier for people to communicate.

Second, the simplification of sentences, or the omission of sentences, has also increased in recent years. It is particularly prominent on television, radio, and newspapers. People can notice that compared to standard French, the sentences in the news are often very short, and some even resemble telegram language, which is very eye-catching. This is mainly due to the strengthening of audio-visual means in the media and the increase in illustration methods in newspapers and periodicals. We try our best to simplify sentences, break traditional sentence patterns and formal writing, and highlight commonly used words and phrases in spoken language to attract viewers and readers without boring them. Some reporters' writing styles are flexible and clear, while others are easy to understand. As long as you open a widely sold newspaper, simple, omitted or short sentences will jump into people's eyes. For example:

　(1) Omitted sentences, or short sentences formed with the help of punctuation:

① Ces fieffés joueurs, ils tirent leur épingle du jeu. Fort brillant, ma foi.

p>

Translation: These gamblers, they quit. OMG, that's a pretty good wash of hands.

Note: The part in italics could have been combined into one sentence with the previous sentence, but in order to stand out, it was divided into two sentences.

② Il est possible de vendre de la sécurité (note: la serrure). En grande série. ... Quitte à ne pas être trop regardant sur la qualité.

Translation: It is possible to sell security (here, locks), in large quantities…. If you don't care about its quality.

Note: The sentence in italics could have been combined into one sentence with the previous sentence, but for the sake of emphasis, it was finally divided into three sentences.

③ Ce n'est pas un effondrement, mais un effritement, Grave, parce que continu. (note: ici, on parle des bouquinistes)

Translation: This is not a collapse, but a failure. It is falling down bit by bit, and the problem is serious because it is still going on (here refers to the vendors selling used books).

Note: The sentences in italics here are omitted sentences.

④ Une grande campagne de publicité. War drums rumble, an American-style fight.

Explanation: There are no verbs in the two sentences. They are completely written in a telegraph style, very concise and vivid.

　(2) Inserted sentences: Although this is not a new phenomenon, it is constantly increasing to make sentences short and flexible.

① Je voudrais, si nécessaire, venir vous voir.

Translation: If necessary, I would like to come and see you.

Explanation: Si nécessaire appears lively and tactful when inserted in a sentence.

② Ce type-là, il est sympa, si l’on peut dire, il a eu un succès fou!

Translation: This guy is amiable. If you can say that. What he achieved was incredible!

Explanation: Si l’on peut dire is often said in spoken language, and is used as an interjection here to make the tone tactful.

It should be said that the above phenomenon did not start today. However, in recent years, there have been rapid changes. This evolution began to appear in newspapers and periodicals or in the works of certain writers, and then gradually became popular and accepted by people. Since what most people speak, what we call "colloquial", is not actually "highbrow" but "citizen" language, journalists and writers adopt a popular attitude. In the use of language, there is also a problem of following fashion. In spoken French, some "fashionable" words and phrases often appear, so many reporters and writers who are "novelty-seeking" immediately use them, just like throwing out a new fashion, and many people also jump into this fashionable trend. Among the trends. After publicity, these fashionable words and phrases have become widely used by the public. This is the simple process of a word or phrase changing over time. French also evolved gradually in this way. For example, "Métro, boulot, dodo" were originally words used daily by workers, clerks and other workers. After being quoted and publicized in newspapers and periodicals, more people are now quoting them and even "going to the hall of elegance" to explain The process of a person running around and working hard every day. This is more vivid and easier to accept than "pure" French.

Third, among the foreign languages, English has a greater influence on French. Many English words have been officially regarded as French words, which is also an important phenomenon in the change of French language. Since the 18th century, due to the economic and technological development of Anglo-Saxon countries (mainly Britain and the United States), and more importantly, foreign aggression and expansion, this social influence has also spread to France, so many English words have gradually It has been included in the French dictionary, or many English words have been "Frenchized".

In terms of politics, for example: le budget (financial plan), fifty-fifty (half and half);

In terms of technology, for example: le tunnel (tunnel), le radar ( Radar), la jeep (Jeep);

In sports, for example: le foot-ball (football), le rugby (football), le sprint (the final sprint);

In daily life, for example: le tee-shirt, le pull-over, le sandwich, le week-end, la baby-sitter;

In terms of movies, for example: la star (star), le western (American western film);

In terms of crime, for example: le hold-up (robbery, mainly refers to robbery) bank), kidnapper (kidnapping).

In today’s French, people can encounter many English loanwords. These words spread everywhere with the political and economic development of Britain and the United States, and were also brought to France. They were initially rejected by many people, but Gradually people became accustomed to using these words. Or there is no appropriate word to express a certain thing in French, so we have to borrow it from English. For example, people have been borrowing le pipe-line (oil pipeline) since the 19th century, and only used the new French word l’oléoduc in the early 1950s. However, today, the former is more commonly used than the latter. In addition, le pull-over (sweater) has largely replaced the French le chandail, which has become outdated.

For some time, in order to defend the "purity" of French, many scholars have strongly opposed these popular words, usages and idioms in people's lives. But in fact, these words are still used everywhere, and many of them have been officially included in dictionaries.

Although the evolution of language will be affected by "language policy" (la politique de la langue), it ultimately has its own laws.

In addition to the above three phenomena, there are many other characteristics. For example: among French people, "le tutoiement" is used more and more frequently to address each other; "you" (le vouvoiement) is only used for politeness. Among the students, even if they are strangers to each other, they can just say "you" to each other after a few pleasantries. Today, in schools and institutions, people often use "you" to talk to each other, and some superiors or teachers also use "you" to talk to subordinates and students.

In addition, according to French standard grammar, interrogative sentences must be formed by inverting the subject and predicate or adding est-ce que. At present, with the evolution of language, many people ask questions without inverting the subject and predicate, which has become a speaking habit. For example: "Quand partez-vous?" This is "regular" French and means: When are you leaving? "Vous partez quand?" is now often used in spoken language and is relatively popular. Sometimes it is even shortened to: "quand ?a", of course the context must be clear.

As for the usage of verb tenses, there are also great changes. The simple past tense (le passé simple) was originally only used in written language. Now its use in written language has also decreased, and it is often replaced by the compound past tense (le passé composé). For example: Louis XV n’est pas venu, et a abandonné le Canada aux Anglais.

Translation: Louis XV did not come to visit, but abandoned Canada to the British.

Explanation: The verbs here are all in the compound past tense, and the simple past tense is not used in newspapers, so it appears vivid. According to French standard grammar, when expressing a historical fact, the simple past tense should be used. However, due to the evolution of language, reporters are accustomed to using the compound past tense and less often the simple past tense.

To sum up, times have changed, habits have changed, and language has also changed. What really determines the development and changes of language is the vast number of language users. Of course, as French develops and changes in the direction of popularization and simplicity, it needs some language workers who advocate the purity of French (la purté de la langue fran?aise) to propose corresponding language policies to promote the purity of the language. progress and development.