Do you know what 'verlan' or French 'backslang' is? Was President Mitterand 'cable'? The French language is more than just a tool for communication; it has a crucial role to play in how native speakers of French think about the world and about themselves and their culture. This book helps students develop a systematic 'linguistic' approach to French. It covers the core topics, ranging from the structure and sounds of the language to discourse and everyday conversation. No previous knowledge of linguistics is assumed and a glossary of technical terms and many exercises and activities help reinforce key points. Students will find that their understanding and enjoyment of the French language is greatly enhanced by this book.

Table of Contents

Introduction - The layman's approach to language contrasted with the linguist's The principal branches of linguistics Varieties of French - The standard language Language and society Language and register The Lexicon - Words and dictionaries Where do French words come from? Word formation Word meaning The Sound System - Introductions to IPA The vowel system The consonant system Connected speech Prosodic features From phonetics to phonology Morphology and Syntax Derivational morphology and inflectional morphology The morphology of spoken French Grammatical categories Syntactic structure Pragmatics Discourse Conversational analysis Index