FREN 4313 : Stylistics
The course will be based largely on materials developed by the instructor and on
the following text books -- with certain modifications and additions :
1) Vinay et Darbelnet, Stylistique Comparée du français et de l’anglais
2) 2) Vinay et Darbelnet, Cahier d’exercices, No. 1
3) Barron’s 1001 Pitfalls in French by James Grew and Daniel Olivier.
Other useful books for this course are a French grammar, and various kinds of
dictionaries, such as Oxford-Hachette French-English and English French dictionaries,
Dictionnaire des synonymes by Larousse, a French-French dictionary such as Le Petit
Larousse or Le Petit Robert , an English dictionary such as Webster’s Collegiate.
The main aim of the course is to develop and refine the mastery of correct written and
spoken French (though the emphasis is on writing and not on oral fluency during the
class), through the acquisition of vocabulary and idiomatic expressions particular to the
French language as against those of the English language, gaining precision and depth
in French through a study of nuances and differences between the two languages.
Some notions on the theory of stylistics will be presented in the course of the semester,
but the main direction of the course will be more practical than theoretical, with special
exercises and a few (usually three) translations of passages, both thème (from English to
French) and version (from French to English). These kinds of exercises are less
recommended for beginners, but, for this level of language learning, they are a useful
tool because they provide precise and definite linguistic and semantic problems that
need to be tackled by the whole class, rather than avoid such problems as it is possible in
free composition. One short paper to be written in French (3-4 pages), an explication de
texte , will also be assigned on a specific text to be analysed. Guidelines will be provided
on how to do this kind of written assignment.
Evaluation of the student’s level of learning and final grading will be based on four
tests and on the explication de texte , with regular attendance and participation also
being taken into serious consideration. Due to the variety and volume of the material,
there is no comprehensive final exam, though the fourth test is usually taken at the time
assigned for the final exam.
FREN 4313 – Stylistics
Fall 2006
Instructor : V. Brady
Mon. 21 Aug. : description of the course. Exercise on verbs (half).
Wedn. 23 Aug. : finish exercise on verbs; Exercise on La voix active
Mon. 28 Aug.. : Exercises on La voix active (contd)
Wedn. 30 Aug.. : Exercises on la voix passive and la voix pronominale
Mon. 4 Sept. : Labor Day holiday
Wedn. 6 Sept. : Exercise on article indéfini, article partitif, preposition “de”
Mon. 11 Sept. : Unités de pensée, exercises 1 and 2
Wedn. 13 Sept. : Unités de pensée, exercises 3 and 4 (half)
Mon. 18 Sept. : Unités de pensée, exercises 4 (half) and 5.
Wedn. 20 Sept. : Exercice de traduction et de stylistique : “Le Kenya et les
haricots”
Explication de texte : “Mme Bovary au bal” (Flaubert). First draft due in
2 weeks (4h Oct.)
Mon. 25 Sept. : Cont. Le Kenya et les haricots”. Begin Barron’s ch. 6 –
“Confusions”
Wedn. 27 Sept. : Test (exercises 1-5)
Mon. 2 Oct. : “Confusions”
Wedn. 4 Oct. : “Confusions” (first draft of explication due)
Mon. 9 Oct. : Exercise 6 – unites de traduction
Wedn. 11 Oct. : Exercise 7 – Le singulier et le pluriel dans les deux langues
Mon. 16 Oct. : Exercise 8 – Sens syntagmatique : le mot juste
Wedn. 18 Oct. : Exercise 9 – locutions verbales
Mon. 23 Oct. : Exercise 10 – unités de traduction (first draft returned)
Wedn. 25 Oct. : Exercise 10 – unités de traduction
Mon. 30 Oct. : Exercice de traduction - thème : “The Snobbery of Travel”
Wedn. 1 Nov. : Test (two parts : Confusions and exercises 6-10)
Mon. 6 Nov. : Exercise 11 – Exercices de substitution – le mot juste
Wedn. 8 Nov. : Exercise 11 –Exercices de substitution – le mot juste
Mon. 13 Nov. : Exercise 12 – prepositions (final draft of explication due)
Wedn. 15 Nov. : Exercise 12 – locutions prépositives
Mon. 20 Nov. : Exercice de traduction – extrait de Flaubert (“Une petite vieille
femme”)
Wedn. 22 Nov. : Exercice de traduction – “Une petite vieille femme”
Mon. 27 Nov. : Verbes impersonnels, constructions impersonnelles.
Wedn. 29 Nov.: Review