Dictionnaire du nouveau français par Alexandre des Isnards (review)

Reviews 181 brings multiple benefits, the most notable being exposure to the many heretofore underappreciated and possibly misunderstood means of expressing comparison that go beyond the canonical structure familiar to all. The inclusion of these structures, which is what makes this book so unique, will lead both teachers and learners of French to a better understanding of the intricacies of comparison and to an expanded repertoire for expressing them.To conclude with an example of a detached construction: Mieux que tout autre livre sur ce sujet, celui de Catherine Fuchs met en lumière toute la complexité et l’ampleur de l’expression de la comparaison en français. Wheaton College (IL) Alan D. Savage Isnards, Alexandre des. Dictionnaire du nouveau français. Paris: Allary, 2014. ISBN 978-2-37-073008-4. Pp. 528. 21,90 a. Whether emanating from the royal court or the republican assembly, initiatives by French authorities claiming ownership of the language have been longstanding. One modern embodiment has been the sequence of government commissions set in place as gatekeepers of the lexicon, especially to stem the onslaught of English. Paradoxically, such conservative forces fuel a small industry specializing in the collection and publication of gate-crashing vocabulary. The present Dictionnaire constitutes the newest in a cortège of similar volumes that began in 1987 with Modernissimots, by Dupas and Frèches (in between, Pierre Merle has been the most prolific contributor). The structure of each entry in this latest contribution compares favorably with the best of its predecessors. Headwords are immediately followed by short definitions, sometimes with a note on presumed origin or pronunciation, leading into a few paragraphs of expanded discussion and contextualization, with embedded examples. Next come notes on abbreviations, derived forms, and related expressions or synonyms. Entries end with a display of verbatim attestations from a variety of sources: the press, websites,Twitter,and text messages.The selection privileges the inclusion of attestations so rich in nouveau français that they require “translation” into neology-free French accessible to the uninitiated. The attestations have the advantage of providing the user with a fuller survey of the collocational innovations accompanying the featured vocabulary, helping to make up for the fact that the Dictionnaire du nouveau français, by virtue of that title,seems to promise more than it actually delivers.The approximately four hundred headwords are well selected but hardly constitute the comprehensiveness that one expects of a dictionary. They are but a representative fraction of the available material in an age of unprecedented lexical volatility.Indeed,perusal of the Dictionnaire makes it abundantly clear that the gate is not only open but has now been torn off its hinges due to the Internet, texting, and ubiquitous social media; an uncontainable inundation of digital media flowing into virtually every personal space is underway, with inevitable consequences of some magnitude for the future of the French lexicon. As des Isnards astutely observes,“les jeunes ont été les premiers à investir ces espaces” (9). He immediately adds, however, that “[i]ls sont évidemment les plus créatifs” (9). Creativity is indeed key when it comes to evaluating the eventual effects of pervasive English. For example, lol‘laughing out loud’is English in origin, but it persists as a rival to French mdr ‘mort de rire’ partially because its morphophonological profile lends itself better to derivational creativity (for example the verb loler), in a way that is highly characteristic of French. Still, in many cases, the English terms that have been included in the inventory (easily the majority), are unassimilated (cloud, pop-up, stalking). Des Isnards is not a linguist or lexicographer by profession and offers no analysis of borrowing and word-building strategies, but he is an astute observer of language and writes instructive commentary to accompany the inventory provided. In the process, he serves admirably the general readership targeted. University of Alabama Michael D. Picone Kremnitz, Georg, et Fanch Broudic, éd. Histoire sociale des langues de France. Rennes: PU de Rennes, 2013. ISBN 978-2-7535-2723-2. Pp. 906. 31 a. Cet imposant ouvrage auquel ont collaboré une cinquantaine d’éminents spécialistes offre un inventaire des nombreuses langues parlées en France m...