Revue Romane. Langue et littérature - Volume 58, Issue 1, 2023

Abstraite

L’olivier est toujours un élément silencieux de la chanson de geste au Moyen Âge. La France septentrionale a précocement développé, aux XII-XIII siècles, une littérature épique qui se focalise sur les héros de la cour de Charlemagne. Les paladins du roi sont toujours engagés dans la lutte contre les infidèles, soit les Sarrasins soit les vassaux rebelles. Outre le courage et la force, ces guerres requièrent diplomatie et stratégie. Par conséquent, avant les conflits, le roi rassemble ses héros sous un olivier pour organiser la guerre. L’olivier devient un objet de bon augure pour la bataille, chargé de symbolisme religieux, en rappelant les prières de Jésus Christ dans le jardin de Gethsémani, la nuit de la Dernière Cène. Dans l’article, on essayera d’écrire une histoire du rôle de l’olivier dans la chanson de geste, en essayant de préciser les différents rôles de l’arbre.

Abstract

Guérilla (2019), a multi-voiced novel by the French-language Belgian writer, Véronique Bergen, raises the question of the current environmental crisis. I shall look at the main characters’ ecological personality: four eco guerrilleros, a woman, a child and Gaia. Within the theoretical framework developed by Stéphanie Posthumus, which she based on Félix Guattari’s Ecosophy and three Ecologies (mental, social and environmental), I shall examine the characters’ subjectivity. Furthermore, I shall resort to the concept of resistance to which Véronique Bergen has dedicated her essay Résistances philosophiques (2009). I shall highlight the resistant stances adopted by the characters in their experimentation of subjectivity: the guerilla and the use of violence, the misuse of language, the building of new alliances with all life forms and the cosmos.

Abstract

The question of cultural memory is particularly complex in the case of the Caribbean due to its fragmented history, which has led to great cultural diversity. Created within and outside the Caribbean during the last twenty years, structured online archives have taken up the issue of dispersed memories by taking an inventory of a multiplicity of objects which testify to the diverse past of Caribbean societies. Taking Glissant’s concept of Relation as a starting point, I analyze in this article to what extent these archives contribute to the constitution of a cultural memory in terms of contents, structure as well as possibilities of participation, considering the complexity of historical and social threads woven together within and between the Caribbean territories. To address this question, I will draw on two online archives specializing in the Caribbean: The Caribbean Memory Project and the digital library MANIOC.

Abstract

This article assesses the theory of ‘the subjunctive as a subordination marker’ proposed by Schmitt Jensen (1970a) in light of recent advances in the study of complementation. It argues that the theory is consistent with the functional framework of Givón (2001) where event integration is said to be mirrored in syntactic integration, but that it has to be revised on two points. Firstly, instead of marking syntactic subordination, we propose that the subjunctive is used to prompt a non-referring construal of the subordinate clause in certain constructions. Secondly, we suggest that the subjunctive prompts a conceptually secondary construal of the subordinate clause in other constructions. By proposing a twofold function of the subjunctive, we can keep the main findings of Schmitt Jensen while avoiding potential circularity and shortcomings that the syntactic theory of the subjunctive faces when applied to, e.g., mood alternation.

Abstract

According to normative descriptions of Italian future-framed adverbial clauses, the future tense is the only option (Quando verrai [F], ti presterò il libro ‘When you come, I’ll lend you the book’). However, the present tense may also be used (Quando vieni [P], ti presto il libro). I demonstrate that choice and acceptance of the present in future-framed adverbials are conditioned by the speaker’s presumption of settledness; that is, in every future world compatible with the speaker’s beliefs the eventuality necessarily occurs. The data come from an online questionnaire consisting of a forced-choice and an acceptability judgment task completed by 429 native speakers of Italian, and were analyzed using mixed-effects regression. Results show that the present is chosen most and rated highest when the future eventuality is presumed settled ([+certain, +immediate, +temporally specific]). These findings demonstrate that speakers use the present to express confidence in the realization of future eventualities.

Abstract

This article deals with clitic right dislocation (CLRD) structures. The interface examination of the interpretative, syntactic and prosodic properties of CLRDs shows that these constructions can be ordered on a scale based to a minor or greater degree of prosodic and syntactic integration between verb and post-verbal object. This scale of integration is based on the hypothesis that the different dislocations are part of a complex system of resources for the post-verbal expression of topic and focus categories. Crucially, the study shows that in interrogative CLRDs the clitic resumes an accessible referent which is also focal, manifesting the greater intersubjective attitude of the speaker. The work is based on the analysis of spoken data mostly taken from the CLIPS corpus.

Abstract

This article contributes to the study of the relationship between Latin and Tuscan vernacular in the 16th century. We examine a set of almost neglected grammatical works (the Concetti, Supplimento, and Il grammatico) published between 1557 and 1567, and related to the Italian humanist Aonio Paleario. We adopt both a linguistic and literary approach to shed light particularly on the humanistic perspectives on language education and proficiency. After presenting a brief outline of the content of the three works and their problematic authorship, we focus on the dialogue Il grammatico. We conclude that, within the discussion on method for teaching Latin, the dialogue defines the humanist as the guardian of the best language for both Latin and vernacular.

This article reviews La letteratura italiana in Svezia. Autori, editori, lettori (1870–2020)