From barbarism to universality : language and identity in early modern France / Christopher Coski.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Coski, Christopher.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

French language--History.

French language.

History.

French language--Middle French, 1300-1600--Rhetoric.

Rhetoric.

French language--Rhetoric--Middle French.

French literature--16th century--History and criticism.

French literature.

French literature--17th century--History and criticism.

Rhetoric--History.

Physical Description:

200 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Columbia, S.C. : University of South Carolina Press, [2011]

Summary:

"This text...is not a study of history, linguistics, sociology, or psychology, though it brushes elbows with all of these disciplines. Instead it is a literary analysis of nonfiction works narrating a language and identity fiction inscribed in a specific historical period." So states Coski (French, Ohio U.) as he introduces his study of the emergence of the French language from Latin and its rise to dominance. He looks at works by Du Bellay, Montaigne, Descartes, Vaugelas, Condillac, and Rivarol. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Contents:

Du Bellay's deffence et illustration: the vernacular inferiority complex

Montaigne's essais: the baroque mind, language, and being

Descartes' discours: the mind/identity complex and human language

Vaugelas' remarques: language, quality, and communal identity

Condillac's essai: language, analytical method, and identity

Rivarol's De l'universalit: French superiority.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781611170368

1611170362

OCLC:

722843253