JOURNAL ARTICLE

Taming the Tongue: John Palsgrave and the Renaissance of English.

  • Published In: Beiträge zur Geschichte der Sprachwissenschaft, 2025, v. 35, n. 1/2. P. 42 1 of 3

  • Database: Communication Source 2 of 3

  • Authored By: Cotugno, Francesca 3 of 3

Abstract

John Palsgrave's Lesclaircissement de la langue francoyse (1530) is more than the first French grammar in English: it is a comparative enterprise that frames French and English as autonomous systems, with Latin reduced to a background grid. By foregrounding structural asymmetries -- obligatory subject pronouns, determiners and the partitive, unstable gender -- Palsgrave converts friction into pedagogy. His categories (mean verbs, common and doubtful gender) exemplify both descriptive acuity and instructional design, while the extensive Vocabulyst anticipates bilingual lexicography. Set against Sylvius, Ramus and Meigret, the Lesclaircissement emerges as a landmark in Renaissance grammaticography and a decisive move towards learner-oriented contrastive description. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Additional Information

  • Source:Beiträge zur Geschichte der Sprachwissenschaft. 2025/01, Vol. 35, Issue 1/2, p42
  • Document Type:Article
  • Subject Area:Language and Linguistics
  • Publication Date:2025
  • ISSN:0939-2815
  • Accession Number:190742652
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