History of the French Language and Literature
Code: 106631 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year |
|---|---|---|
| English and French Studies | OT | 0 |
| English and French Studies | OT | 3 |
| English and French Studies | OT | 4 |
Contact
- Name:
- Xavier Blanco Escoda
- Email:
- xavier.blanco@uab.cat
Teaching groups languages
You can view this information at the end of this document.
Prerequisites
Not applicable.
Objectives and Contextualisation
To provide students with a global view of the main historical events and social and cultural processes that have influenced the evolution and diffusion of the French language (external history of the language), especially during its initial stages.
To raise students' awareness of the changes that the French language has undergone over time in the areas of phonetics, morphology, syntax, semantics and lexicon (internal history of the language), with special attention to the stages furthest removed from current use.
To enable students to establish links between the knowledge acquired about the external and internal history of the French language and its other working languages, as well as with the whole of their cultural background.
To introduce students to medieval French literature, with special emphasis on linguistic aspects related to the history of the language.
To introduce students to some of the first great texts of the written tradition in the French language.
Competences
- English and French Studies
- Act with ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights and duties, diversity and democratic values.
- Analyse the main phonetic, phonological, morphological, syntactic, lexical, semantic and pragmatic properties of the English and French languages, their evolution throughout history and their current structures.
- Carry out linguistic analyses of the English and French languages using specific competences methodologies and terminology.
- Demonstrate the ability to work autonomously and in teams with the aim of attaining the planned objectives in multicultural and interdisciplinary contexts.
- Students can apply the knowledge to their own work or vocation in a professional manner and have the powers generally demonstrated by preparing and defending arguments and solving problems within their area of study.
- Students have the ability to gather and interpret relevant data (normally within their study area) to issue judgments that include reflection on important issues of social, scientific or ethical.
- Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
- Take sex- or gender-based inequalities into consideration when operating within one's own area of knowledge.
- Understand and produce oral and written academic texts with appropriateness and fluency in distinct communicative contexts.
- Use digital tools and specific documentary sources to gather and organise information.
- Use spoken English and French correctly for academic and professional purposes related to the study of linguistics, history, culture and literature.
Learning Outcomes
- Analyse a literary text from a linguistic point of view.
- Apply the knowledge and competences acquired to the analysis of problems and their resolution.
- Autonomously search, select and process information both from structured sources (databases, bibliographies, specialized magazines) and from across the network.
- Express oneself effectively orally and in writing, in an appropriate manner in each professional field.
- Express, orally and in writing, opinions or content in French with precision and clarity at a proficient-user level (C1).
- Identify and characterise distinct stages of French on the basis of representative literary texts from each period.
- Identify distinct sociocultural or cognitive attitudes and representations linked to professional contexts in French.
- Identify the impact of sex/gender inequalities within the field of study.
- Identify the linguistic elements specific to a period in the evolution of the language.
- In an effective manner, organise the autonomous component to learning.
- Interpret oral and written discourse in depth and provide arguments for their critical analysis.
- Locate specialised and academic information and select this according to its relevance.
- Maintain an attitude of respect for the opinions, values, behaviors and practices of others.
- Make oral and written presentations of an academic and/or professional nature on French language, linguistics, culture or literature with a high degree of linguistic accuracy and terminological precision in French.
- Plan work effectively, individually or in groups, in order to fulfil the planned objectives.
- Produce works in which the fundamental digital and bibliographic tools for the field of study are applied.
- Recognise and put into practice the following teamwork skills: commitment, collaborative skills, ability to contribute to problem solving.
- Relate data and knowledge on the initial phases of the internal and external history of French with previously acquired knowledge on current French language and culture, as well as about other nearby languages and cultures.
- Synthesise information obtained from distinct sources, problematise a topic, and structure the information in a relevant way in oral and written presentations adapted to the audience.
- Work with independence and initiative, integrating the contributions of others and respecting the established work plan.
Content
1. From Latin to Proto-French
1.1. External history of Proto-French
1.2. Elements of internal history of Proto-French
2. Old French
2.1. External history of Old French
2.2. Elements of internal history of Old French
2.3. Major literary texts of Old French
3. Middle French
3.1. External history of Middle French
3.2. Elements of internal history of Middle French
3.3. Major literary texts of Middle French
4. From Renaissance French to contemporary French
4.1. Renaissance French: overview and texts
4.2. Classic French: overview and texts
N.B.: the gender perspective will be introduced both in internal history (e.g.: evolution of masculine/feminine forms) and in external history (e.g. role of prominent female personalities, such as Eleanor of Aquitaine or Christine de Pizan in their historical, literary and linguistic context).
Activities and Methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Classes with ICT support, commenting on documents and exercises | 50 | 2 | 1, 2, 3, 16, 5, 4, 14, 7, 9, 6, 8, 11, 12, 13, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Tutorials and exercises in a virtual environment | 12 | 0.48 | 1, 2, 3, 16, 5, 4, 7, 9, 6, 8, 11, 12, 13, 10, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Study and suggested readings | 85 | 3.4 | 1, 3, 7, 9, 6, 8, 11, 12, 10, 15, 18, 20 |
The teaching methodology will be based mainly on:
- Lectures with ICT support and group discussion.
- Critical reading (language, dating, theme) of texts that have marked a milestone in the history of the French language.
- Viewing and commenting on audiovisual documents with gamification in some cases.
- Exercises on historical grammar, linguistic change and lexical evolution with flipped classroom methodology.
- Oral presentations by students.
Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.
Assessment
Continous Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active participation in class and solving exercises in class | 20% | 0 | 0 | 1, 2, 5, 4, 14, 7, 9, 8, 11, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19 |
| Examination 1 | 25% | 1 | 0.04 | 1, 2, 5, 4, 7, 9, 6, 8, 11, 18 |
| Examination 2 | 25% | 1 | 0.04 | 1, 2, 5, 4, 7, 9, 6, 8, 11, 18 |
| Oral presentation | 30% | 1 | 0.04 | 1, 2, 3, 16, 5, 4, 14, 7, 9, 6, 8, 11, 12, 13, 10, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20 |
The course evaluation will include two exams, the first of which is partial and the second of which is a summary, as well as active participation in class with the resolution of exercises and an oral presentation.
To participate in the retake, students must have previously been evaluated in a set of activities whose weight is equivalent to a minimum of 2/3 of the total grade (CONTINUED EVALUATION) or submit all the tests provided (SINGLE EVALUATION).
Only students who, having failed, have at least a final average grade of 3.5 out of 10 are entitled to retake. Oral presentations and tasks related to active participation in class are excluded from the retake.
The student will receive the grade of “Not assessable” provided that they have not submitted more than 30% of the assessment activities.
At the time of carrying out each assessment activity, students will be informed (Moodle) of the procedure and date of review of the grades.
Plagiarism: Total or partial plagiarism of any of the exercises will automatically be considered a FAIL (0) of the plagiarized exercise. PLAGIARISM is copying from unidentified sources, whether a single sentence or more, passing it off as your own production. It is a serious offense.
This subject entirely prohibits the use of AI technologies in all of its activities. Any submitted work that contains content generated using AI will be considered academic dishonesty; the corresponding grade will be awarded a zero, without the possibility of reassessment. In cases of greater infringement, more serious action may be taken.
In the event that the student carries out any irregularity that could lead to a significant variation in the grade of an assessment act, this assessment act will be graded with a 0, regardless of the disciplinary process that may be instructed. In the event that several irregularities occur in the assessment acts of the same subject, the final grade for this subject will be 0.
Erasmus students who request to advance an exam must present the teacher with a written document from their home university justifying their request.
Single assessment (will consist of 3 assessable activities on a single date):
- Descriptive title of each piece of evidence:
Exam (40%)
Oral presentation (40%)
Submission of a written work (20%)
The same recovery system as for continuous assessment will be applied.
Bibliography
Audisio, Gabriel et Rambaud, Isabelle (2003) : Lire le français d'hier, Paris : Armand Colin.
Blanco, Xavier (2022) : Crònica de la quarta croada. La conquesta de Constantinoble de Jofré de Villehardouin, Roma : Viella.
Blanco, Xavier et Bogacki Krzysztof (2014) : Introduction à l'histoire de la langue française, Bellaterra : Servei de Publicacions de la UAB.
Chaurand, Jacques (1977) : Introduction à l'histoire du vocabulaire français, Paris : Bordas.
Hélix, Laurence (2011) : Histoire de la langue française, Paris : Ellipses.
Huchon, Mireille (2002) : Histoire de la langue française, Paris : Librairie Générale Française.
Marchello-Nizia, Christiane (1999) : Le français en diachronie. Douze siècles d'évolution. Paris : Ophrys.
Perret, Michèle (2003) : Introduction à l'histoire de la langue française, Paris : Armand Colin.
Rey, Alain (1993) (dir.) : Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, 2 vols, Paris : Le Robert.
Wartburg, Walther von (1969) : Évolution et structure de la langue française, Berne : Francke.
Software
Not applicable.
Groups and Languages
Please note that this information is provisional until 30 November 2025. You can check it through this link. To consult the language you will need to enter the CODE of the subject.
| Name | Group | Language | Semester | Turn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 1 | French | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (TE) Theory | 1 | French | first semester | morning-mixed |