Claude Duneton, 'Chroniqueur' at 'Le Figaro' by Mary Munro-Hill (review)

Claude Duneton (1935–2014) was a prolific writer with a substantial output of books on widely varying subjects. But he is doubtless most remembered as the author of several hundred chroniques du langage that appeared in Le Figaro littéraire over a period spanning sixteen years. These offered brief comments, written in a lively and sometimes witty style, on particular aspects of contemporary French. The present nicely produced volume reviews Duneton's life and, in particular, his linguistic legacy. An introductory section reveals that he was brought up in Corrèze but spent long periods in Paris as a boy for medical reasons. This gave him a full command and love of standard French but did not prevent a deep respect remaining for non-standard French varieties such as his native Occitan. The constant tension between these resulted in various chroniques pleading now for non-standard French forms to be deemed acceptable in the standard variety, now for standard French usage to be preserved and respected. A surprising omission in the Introduction, however, is some background comment on how Duneton belonged to the long-established tradition of chroniqueurs and, earlier, remarqueurs, initiated by Claude Favre de Vaugelas's Remarques sur la langue françoise of 1647. In each of the eight following chapters, Mary Munro-Hill explores a particular recurrent theme found in Duneton's very heterogeneous chroniques. Two chapters address non-lexical topics, the use of the passé simple and imperfect subjunctive, and l'orthographe. Duneton's views here appear — with few exceptions — to be essentially conservative and prescriptive. Thus, lamenting the diminishing use of the passé simple, he urges his readers to restore its fortunes, albeit by simply using it more. Dismay is similarly expressed at the perceived decline in standards of spelling since, he claims, 'l'orthographe fut en quelque sorte le ciment du sentiment national' (p. 61). The decline is attributed mainly to the simplifications made to the classical dictée and the tolerance of linguists (as against traditional grammairiens). Predictably, Duneton opposed any reforms to the spelling system. Elsewhere, lexical aspects — words and phrases, their origins and use — take centre stage, these being Duneton's major passion. His etymological sketches draw on scholarly sources as well as personal reading and are well exemplified, as are cases of change he observes in modern usage, for instance, sauvageon 'wild plant' ! 'young tearaway' (pp. 81–82). Curiously, he appears much less prescriptive here than with non-lexical material. Munro-Hill brings out the lively and often informative quality of Duneton's lexical chroniques, although viewed collectively they can seem somewhat random and unsystematic. A final chapter offers a brief assessment of Duneton's heritage, where the author paints a generally sympathetic picture of the man but also identifies inconsistencies in his work, notably the linguistic tension mentioned earlier. Overall, the volume provides a useful overview of Duneton's chroniques, but it is likely to prove of greater interest to the casual reader than the trained linguist.