Overview

The book is a collection, indexed and in alphabetical order, of language subtleties and difficulties encountered by students at all stages of French study at the University of Oxford. Even after they have consulted several dictionaries and grammars of French -- whether French, English, or bilingual -- many students' questions remain unanswered, or hidden within a vast amount of information, or only partially dealt with by the reference books. The growing number of language forums on the internet is certainly an excellent thing, and is proof of the keen interest which the French language arouses in speakers and learners, but can we really trust the comments of web users who, from one website to another, and even sometimes within the same forum, may give contradictory explanations? Here, we seek to give an account of language based on actual usage, while also remaining sensitive to language variation and change. Entries are ordered alphabetically, and each is accompanied by examples, using quotations from authors or from everyday French. The book is aimed at lovers of the French language, and at secondary school pupils, university students of French, and teachers of French, who, for either work or pleasure, have an interest in linguistic difficulties. While being far from exhaustive, it aims to encourage the reader to reflect on such issues. Containing 125 lively illustrations by Igor Bratusek, an Index of Topics, and with all necessary translations provided in footnotes, it is suitable for all levels of French language ability.

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9781908420183

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Dr Michael Abecassis (DEA Grenoble, DLang St Andrews) is Senior Instructor in French and a college lecturer at the University of Oxford. He has published widely on French linguistics and cinema. His publications include: The Representation of Parisian Speech in the Cinema of the 1930s (Peter Lang, 2005); Le francais parle au XXIeme siecle, in two volumes (L'Harmattan, 2008), with Laure Ayosso and Elodie Vialleton; Les Voix des Francais in two volumes (Peter Lang, 2010); Ecarts et apports des medias francophones : Lexique et grammaire (Peter Lang, 2013); and FRENCH CINEMA IN CLOSE-UP - a dictionary of French cinema actors (Phaeton, 2015) with Marcelline Block.

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