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French Language and Literature - in the Library and on the Web
Guides to Research
Dictionaries
Manuals of Grammar/Stylistics/Pronunciation
Guides to literary terms/theories/characters/plots
Histories of the language/linguistics
Guides to authors/histories of literature
Selected bibliographies
Databases and Internet Sources
Guides to Research
French Language and Literature: An Annotated Bibliography. 1989. This is a very comprehensive and well-organized source which lists and describes resources used to study French literature and the French language, from bibliographies to studies (please note the date of publication, however). It is especially valuable because it attempts to provide guidance to Francophone literature outside of France: Europe, North America, South America, Latin America, Near East and Africa.
(Mugar Reference X Z2175 A2 B39 1989)
Research and Reference Guide to French Studies. 1981. Although slightly dated, this guide remains useful for both language and literary studies. It is also particularly helpful for research that is not strictly literary criticism: the "French Studies" aspect of the book permits references to themes, translations, influences outside of France, and backgrounds for literary movements.
(Mugar Reference X Z2175 A2 O8 1981)
Introduction to Library Research in French Literature. 1978. Less useful than the others in this section because of its age, this guide does provide information about the research process itself and the structure of reference sources. (Mugar Reference X Z2171 B34)
Dictionaries
English/French
Collins Online Dictionaries- English translations of words in French, German, Italian, Spanish, Chinese and Russian in a bilingual format.
Collins-Robert French-English, English-French Dictionary. 1990. This dictionary contains over 110,000 entries and 110,000 phrases/idiomatic expressions. It tries to include British and American English, and Canadian French. Many uncommon words are omitted, while modern slang terms and scientific jargon have been added.
(Mugar Reference X PC2640 C69 1990)
Harrap's New Standard French and English Dictionary. 1979. The Harrap's has a slightly British flavor to its translations, but does include American English. It is especially good at providing context for words, as well as colloquialisms and idioms.
(Mugar Reference X PC2640 H317 1979M)
Dictionary of Modern Colloquial French. 1984. Although inevitably dated, these 8,000 entries are useful because of the way in which they place terms in phrases and attempt to provide an equivalent colloquial expression in English. Alternative spellings are included.
(Mugar Reference X PC2640 H47 1984)
French Only
Le Petit Robert 1: dictionnaire alphabetique et analogique de la langue francaise. 1988. A scaled-down version of the Grand Robert (see below), the Petit Robert contains 59,000 entries. It is likely to be the dictionary of choice for most uses. In addition to definitions, it offers etymologies, pronunciations, synonyms, citations (often from prominent authors) showing the word in the context of a phrase and, most importantly, idiomatic expressions and/or word groups (e.g., "petits-pois").
(Mugar Reference X PC2625 R5545 1988)
Le Petit Larousse Illustre: en couleur. 2001. A 1,786 page encyclopedia with 87,000 articles, 4,600 illustrations, cartes, and designs. It is a popular desk dictionary.
(Mugar Reference X AG25 .L25 2001)
Dictionnaire alphabetique et analogique de la langue francaise. 1959-1965. Known as the Grand Robert, this is the six-volume set upon which the Petit Robert is based. The definitions are extensive and more detailed than for the Petit Robert and it contains lengthy citations (often from prominent authors) showing the word in context, as well as idiomatic expressions/word groups.
(Mugar Reference X PC2625 F591)
Grand Larousse de la langue francaise. 1971. Larousse is better known for encyclopedias than for dictionaries and this set feels a little like an encyclopedia. The definitions are less detailed and the phrases are fewer than those in the Grand Robert.
(Mugar Reference X PC2625 G7)
Historical
Dictionnaire historique de la langue francaise: contenant les mots francais en usage et quelques autres delaisses, avec leur origine proche et lointaine.... 1993. Another publication of the Roberts, this two-volume work focuses on the etymology and history of current French. "Family trees" for important words are included, showing the influence of Latin and other languages on the French lexicon. In addition, they contain encyclopedic articles, describing in broad terms the development of the French language.
(Mugar Reference X PC2580 D52 1993)
Dictionnaire etymologique de la langue francaise. 1989. Smaller and less comprehensive than the preceding source, the Dictionnaire itymologique gives the histories of modern French words.
(Mugar Reference X PC2580 B55 1989)
Dictionnaire de l'ancienne langue francaise, et de tous ses dialectes du IXe au XVe sihcle. 1880-1902. Although Godefroy first published this ten-volume edition at the turn of the century, it has remained a standard. It is interesting in part because of his effort to include dialectical differences and derivations, many of which were still spoken at the time of the compilation of the volumes.
(Mugar Reference X PC2889 G6 1969)
Dictionnaire de la langue francaise du seizieme siecle. 1925. Huget is the author of this seven-volume set and composed the preface, giving a good overview of the French language as it was in the 1500s. He particularly notes the influence of Latin and Italian on the French of this period. Proverbial and idiomatic expressions, as well as numerous citations, assist in putting terms in context.
(Mugar Reference X PC2650 F25)
Tresor de la langue francaise; dictionnaire de la langue du XIXe et du XXe siecle (1789-1960). 1971. The editors of these sixteen volumes take a linguistic approach to the study of the language. For each entry, they include citations, remarks on usage, stylistic points, etymological derivations and statistics on frequency of use (per century).
(Mugar Reference X PC2625 I4)
Le Dictionnaire universel. 1690. Antoine Furetihre created this dictionary in the 1600s and as such it is useful for reading and critiquing XVIIe-century texts. This reprint includes a biography of the author and an analysis of the work. (Mugar Reference X PC 2620 F7 1978)
Dictionnaire de la langue francaise.... 1863-1872. In four volumes, this set reproduces the thirty parts of Littre's original. As an actual dictionary in use during the XIXe century, it is a valuable tool for literary studies.
(Mugar PC 2625 E73)
Spelling
Dictionnaire historique de l'orthographe francaise. 1995. Published by Larousse, this dictionary concentrates uniquely on the visual aspect of French. It consists of over 80,000 short entries detailing the changes which the spelling of contemporary words have undergone, and 2,000 longer articles on important words (e.g., "esprit").
(Mugar Reference X PC2141 D53 1995)
L'Orthographe pour tous: les pieges de l'orthographe, les homonymes, etymologie, lexique de 18,000 mots. 1987. The second volume of the well-known Bescherelle series, it uses the international phonetic alphabet to give general rules for spelling in French, as well as exceptions and tables of homonyms.
(Mugar Reference X
PC2146 .O78 1987)
Manuals ofGrammar/Stylistics/Pronunciation
Le Bon usage: grammaire francaise, avec des remarques sur la langue francaise d'aujourd'hui. 1980. Written with a French audience in mind, this is a detailed study of French grammar and usage. It also treats phonetics and spelling in addition to grammatical concepts. It provides numerous citations (from prominent authors) and examples.
(Mugar Reference X PC2112 G84)
A Reference Grammar of Modern French. 1985. In English, the Reference Grammar offers an impressively detailed analysis of French grammatical structure, including the distinctions between textual organization in written and spoken French.
(Mugar Reference X PC2105 J83 1985)
La Conjugaison: dictionnaire de douze mille verbes. 1990. The first volume of the Bescherelle series, this is perhaps the most useful tool (other than a dictionary) for writing in French. It lists all French verbs and provides references to tables of conjugations in all tenses.
(Mugar Reference X PC2272 C66 1990)
Encyclopedie du bon francais dans l'usage contemporain: difficultes, subtilites, complexites, singularites. 1972. With 10,000 entries arranged alphabetically, this work endeavors to synthesize and arbitrate between various grammars and dictionaries. The definitions of each "difficulty" include the treatments of at least five general dictionaries, the comments of leading linguists and grammarians, the analyses of numerous grammars and linguistic sourcebooks and finally, the editors' summations.
(Mugar Reference X PC2460 D88)
Elements de stylistique francaise. 1991. Molinie approaches stylistics from a linguistical background, distinguishing between "style" and "stylistique." However, he intends the book to be used to define and facilitate the use and analysis of a "maniere litteraire."
(Mugar Reference X PC2410 M55 1991)
An Introduction to French Pronunciation. 1991. The intent of this book is to provide support for people who already have a basic knowledge of French pronunciation, so that they can "listen in an informed way" to spoken French, which is the best means of learning pronunciation (2). The international phonetic alphabet is used and basic phonetic terminology is introduced.
(Mugar Reference X PC2272 C66 1990)
The Sound System of French. 1984. This source intends to provide basic information about the sounds of French and their arrangement. It includes information about sound and phonetics (using the international phonetic alphabet), in addition to a brief history of the French language and descriptions of sounds used in speaking French.
(Mugar PC2131 C34 1984)
Guides to literary terms/theories/characters/plots
Dictionnaire de poetique et de rhetorique. 1989. This extensive reference source provides detailed technical definitions and explanations of all aspects of poetic language (for example: metaphore, rime plate, voyelle, rondel, etc.). (Mugar Reference X PN1021 M6 1989)
Literary Theory: An Introduction. 1996. Terry Eagleton gives an excellent summary and explanation of the wealth of literary theories which have appeared in the last century. He provides some background and intellectual history, showing inter-relationships between theoretical camps. There is also a good bibliography.
(Mugar PN94 E2 1996)
The Harper Handbook to Literature. 1985. Edited by Northrop Frye, this is an alphabetically-arranged source containing concise definitions and examples of terms and concepts used in literary analysis.
(Mugar PN41 F75 1985)
Cyclopedia of Literary Characters. 1963. This source offers the names of over 16,000 characters in 1,300 literary works. International in scope, it does have lengthy and informative descriptions of noteworthy French literary characters. It is arranged alphabetically by literary work, with a character index in the back.
(Mugar Reference X PN41 F602)
Dictionnaire des personnages litteraires et dramatiques de tous les temps et de tous les pays. 1960. For finding names of and information about characters in literary works, this volume can be useful. International in scope, although with a focus on the "classics," it does have lengthy descriptions of important French literary characters.
(Mugar Reference X PN41 F602)
Themes & Motifs in Western Literature: A Handbook. 1987. This is a guide to important elements commonly appearing in literature. It includes character traits, myths, themes, motifs and images. Several textual examples and references to scholarly studies are given for each theme/motif.
(Mugar Reference X PN43 D34 1987)
Masterpieces of World Literature in Digest Form. 1952. Also known as Masterplots, it concentrates on the "Great Books." This is a useful tool for a quick explanation of the plot and characters in a given work.
(Mugar Reference X PN44 F52)
Histories of the language/linguistics
French
Histoire de la langue francaise des origines anos jours. 1966-1979. The first edition (1905) has the title of ...des origines ` 1900; volumes 12 and 13 were written expressly for the second edition. This is an extensive history, based on a continuum beginning with Latin and ending with modern French .
(Mugar PC2075 F66)
A History of the French language. 1989. In contrast with the preceding source, this slim volume offers an overview of the French language, deliberately avoiding great detail.
(Mugar Reference X PC2075 R5 1989)
Linguistic Change in French. 1997. This book deals with the linguistic history of French, including the creolization of the language and sociolinguistic change. It also treats the processes of linguistic change and the lexical, semantic, phonological, morphological and syntactic changes which have taken place.
(Mugar PC2075 P64 1997)
General
The Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics. 1994. These 10 volumes contain articles on central linguistic themes, their related concepts and relationships with other disciplines. They intend to be authoritative, comprehensive and international in scope, while appealing to an academic audience. There is an alphabetic list of the articles; the longer entries are signed and followed by bibliographies.
(Mugar Reference X P29 E48 1994)
International Encyclopedia of Linguistics. 1992. The goal of this source is to present articles on the full range of linguistic disciplines (applied, sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, etc.) and their inter-relationships, as well as their intersections with other disciplines. It provides a detailed index and a language list. The signed essays are followed by bibliographies.
(Mugar Reference X P29 I58 1992)
Guides to authors/histories of literature
General
The New Oxford Companion to Literature in French. 1995. This is a handbook to "literature in French," with attempts to include Francophone literature. The Companion is not intended to be used as a full-scale, comprehensive encyclopedia; however, longer articles are signed and have a small bibliography.
(Mugar Reference X PQ41 F59)
Dictionnaire des litteratures de langue francaise. 1994. This is an encyclopedic four-volume set which contains extensive signed articles on literary genres, themes, periods and people. Each article is followed by a very comprehensive bibliography. For articles on major authors or movements, a time-line compares their literary output with contemporary and biographical events. This is an excellent source for an overview of information and research on a topic or author, as well as for bibliographical information. It attempts to include all French and Francophone literature. (Mugar Reference X PQ41 B4 1994)
Manuel d'histoire litteraire de la France. 1966-1982. These six volumes are written as a history of French literature, from Old French to the present day. Each chapter is devoted to a specific subject or time period. Detailed tables of contents, the index of cited names, and a brief bibliography found at the end of each volume are helpful. (Mugar Reference X PQ101 1966)
A New History of French Literature. 1989. This volume presents French literature within an historical and cultural context, through a series of thematic essays centered around key dates in French literature (such as 1181) or history (such as 1789). The authors provide a bibliography for each essay.
(Mugar Reference X PQ119 N48 1989)
By time period
Middle Ages: Litterature francaise: Le Moyen Age. 1970. Part of a sixteen-volume collection on the history of French literature, the first volume treats des origines ` 1300 and the second 1300-1480. They give historical and intellectual contexts, introduce genres and their histories, and offer an anthology of writings.
(Mugar PQ151 P49m)
Middle Ages: Precis de litterature francaise du Moyen Age. 1983. This volume portrays the essential characteristics and outlines of French writing from the eleventh through fifteenth centuries. It discusses genres and forms, as well as intellectual and historical contexts. The time-line contrasting contemporary events and literature, the bibliography, and the index are all helpful.
(Mugar PQ151 P7 1983)
XVIe: Litterature francaise: La Renaissance. 1972-1974. Part of a sixteen-volume collection on the history of French literature, the third volume treats 1480-1548, the fourth 1548-1570, and the fifth 1570-1624. They give historical, literary and intellectual contexts and an analysis of selected major authors.
(Mugar PQ231 F72)
XVIe: Precis de litterature francaise du XVIe siecle: La Renaissance. 1991. This volume describes the essential characteristics and outlines of French writing from 1480 to 1615. It discusses genres and forms, as well as intellectual and historical contexts.
(Mugar Reference X PQ231 P74 1991)
XVIIe: Litterature francaise: L'Age classique. 1968-1971. Part of a sixteen-volume collection on the history of French literature, the sixth volume treats 1624-1660, the seventh 1660-1680, and the eighth 1680-1720. They give historical, literary and intellectual contexts and offer an anthology of writings and a brief analysis of selected major authors.
(Mugar PQ241 F68)
XVIIe: Precis de litterature francaise du XVIIe siecle. 1990. This volume presents the essential characteristics and outlines of French writing from 1594 to 1715. Breaking the time period into four segments, important literary historians discuss genres and forms, as well as intellectual and historical contexts.
(Mugar PQ241 P7 1990)
XVIIIe: Litterature francaise: Le XVIIIe siecle. 1974. Part of a sixteen-volume collection on the history of French literature, the ninth volume treats 1720-1750, the tenth 1750-1778, and the eleventh 1778-1820. They give historical and intellectual contexts, introduce genres and their histories, and offer an analysis of selected major authors/works. (Mugar PQ261 E35m)
XVIIIe-XIXe: Dictionary of Modern French Literature: From the Age of Reason through Realism. 1986. 300 entries on authors and literary works, arranged alphabetically, form the bulk of this source. It contains an index and two appendices: one a chronicle of this period of French history and the other grouping entries by subject matter.
(Mugar Reference X PQ41 D65 1986)
XIXe: Litterature francaise: Le Romantisme. 1974. Part of a sixteen-volume collection on the history of French literature, the twelfth volume treats 1820-1843, the thirteenth 1843-1869, and the fourteenth 1869-1896. They give historical and intellectual contexts, introduce common themes, and offer an analysis of selected major authors.
(Mugar PQ267 M5)
XXe: Litterature francaise: Le XXe siecle. 1975-1978. Part of a sixteen-volume collection on the history of French literature, the fifteenth volume treats 1896-1920 and the fourteenth 1920-1970. They give historical and intellectual contexts, introduce literary movements, and offer an analysis of selected major authors.
(Mugar PQ305 V5m)
Africa
Dictionnaire des oeuvres litteraires negro-africaines de langue francaise: des origines a 1978. 1983. The entries (one per literary work) are arranged alphabetically and are signed; there is no bibliography. An index makes it possible to find works by a given author.
(African Studies PQ3901 D56m)
Quebec
Dictionnaire des oeuvres litteraires du Quebec. 1978-. Each of the volumes of this set covers a time period, from des origines... to 1980. Every entry is signed and is followed by a bibliography.
(Mugar Reference X PQ3901 D56m)
Women
French Women Writers: A Bio-Bibliographical Source Book. 1991. This book provides biographical information on some of the most well-known women writers of French literature --from the trobairitz to the twentieth century. Each long essay concludes with an extensive bibliography.
(Mugar Reference X PQ149 F73 1991)
Selected bibliographies
Bibliographie der franzvsischen Literaturwissenschaft. 1956-present. Commonly known as Klapp, this source (in German) is an important index to French periodicals. Among other things, it indexes book reviews and, with its European focus, it picks up items which the MLA misses.
(Mugar Reference X Z2171 F60)
Internationale Bibliographie der Zeitschriftenliteratur aus allen Gebieten des Wissens.-International Bibliography of Periodical Literature covering all Fields of Knowledge.-Bibliographie internationale de la littirature periodique dans tous les domaines de la connaissance. 1963-present. This source is organized by subject, with subject words given in German, French and English; there is also an author index. Book reviews are also indexed here.
(Mugar Reference X AI9 F65)
Internationale Bibliographie der Rezensionen wissenschaftlicher Literatur.-International Bibliography of Book Reviews of Scholarly Literature.-Bibliographie internationale des recensions de la litterature savante. 1971-present. This useful index to book reviews is organized by author of the work being reviewed. There is also an index to the titles of the works reviewed, the reviewers, subjects, and periodicals.
(Mugar Reference X Z5051 I64)
Repertoriex: French Periodical Index. 1973-present. Intended for American students, the Repirtoriex includes sixty-three of the more "popular" French periodicals. Book reviews appearing in these journals are also indexed.
(Mugar Reference X AI7 F7)
Repere. 1984-present. This Canadian source abstracts and indexes French-language "popular" journals (including book reviews), with an emphasis on Canadian titles. Mugar holds the idition abrigie, indexing 117 journals.
(Mugar Reference X AI7 P65)
Canadian Periodical Index-Index des periodiques canadiens. 1956-present. Mugar's holdings start with volume nine of this source. The indexing includes literary journals, covering those from Quibec.
(Mugar Reference X AI3 F48)
XVIIe: Bibliography of French Seventeenth-Century Studies. 1952-1977. This is a yearly compilation, which draws citations and provides short abstracts for articles from a variety of journals. Originally published by the MLA's French Group III, it is occasionally known by that title.
(Mugar Reference X Z2172 M6)
XXe: French XX Bibliography. 1940-present. This yearly compilation was originally known as Bibliography of Critical and Biographical References for the Study of Contemporary French Literature and also may be called after the MLA French Group VII, which published it for a time. It offers citations from numerous literary journals; indexes to the yearly issues are issued separately.
(Mugar Reference X Z2171 F49)
General: Bibliographie de la litterature francaise du Moyen Age a nos jours. 1969, 1971, 1973-1980. Often referred to by the name of the editor, Rancoeur, the bibliography was a yearly compilation of articles from a large number of periodicals. Each volume, organized by time period, includes a subject index and an index of writers covered. This bibliography was continued by incorporating it into issues of the periodical Revue d'histoire litteraire de la France (Mugar PQ2 E94). (Mugar Reference X Z2171 B55m)
General: A Critical Bibliography of French Literature. 1947-1985. This is a particularly useful bibliography because the editor provides annotations/analyses of the items he includes. It also includes references to reviews of the books contained in the bibliography. Each volume contains an index to both the subjects and authors of the articles.
(Mugar Reference X Z2171 F47)
General: Guide to French Poetry Explication. 1993. By poet, and then by poem, this book indicates where explications of particular works can be found. Poets from all centuries and countries are included, and there is an index to the critics who explicate the poems.
(Mugar Reference X PQ401 C65 1993)
Middle Ages: Manuel bibliographique de la litterature francaise du Moyen Age. 1951. This source, and its three supplements (spanning 1949-1953, 1954-1960 and 1960-1980, respectively), indexes medieval works and subsequent studies of them (whether books or articles).
(Mugar Reference X Z2172 F511)
XVIe: Bibliographie de la litterature francaise du seizieme siecle. 1959. Better known by the name of the compiler, the Cioranescu gives bibliographic details about works published in the sixteenth-century and subsequent studies of them (whether books or articles). This bibliography is a standard tool for sixteenth-century research.
(Mugar Reference X Z2172 C5)
XVIIe: Bibliographie de la litterature francaise du dix-septieme siecle. 1965-1966. Also known by the name of the compiler, Cioranescu, it consists of three volumes detailing works published in the seventeenth-century and subsequent studies of them (whether books or articles). The set for the seventeenth-century is less complete than his index for the sixteenth-century.
(Mugar Reference X Z2172 C52)
XVIIIe: Bibliographie de la litterature francaise du dix-huitieme siecle. 1969. Also known by the name of the compiler, this Cioranescu set consists of three volumes detailing works published in the eighteenth-century and subsequent studies of them (whether books or articles). This set is less complete than his index for the sixteenth-century.
(Mugar Reference X Z2172 C48)
XIXeBibliographie des auteurs modernes de langue francaise. 1928-1976. This twenty-two volume set gives brief biographical details, followed by bibliographical references, for each of the 700 authors included.
(Mugar Reference X Z2171 F28)
XIXe: French VI Bibliography. 1954-1967. This was a yearly compilation, which took citations from a variety of literary journals. Of all of the bibliographies published by the MLA's French Groups, VI is the least useful because it is the least comprehensive.
(Mugar Reference X Z2173 F55)
The Lyrics of the Trouveres: A Research Guide (1970-1990). 1994 This bibliography covers the lyric production of the trouvhres from its beginnings to 1350" (xi). It is selective and annotated; despite the subtitle it does include some important works published before 1970. The entries are arranged into sections by topics, genres, and by the authors of the lyrics (an index to the authors of the studies is found in the back).
(Mugar Reference X Z2174 P7 D67 1994)
French Women Playwrights before the Twentieth Century: A Checklist. 1994. This volume, and the accompanying French Women Playwrights of the Twentieth Century (Mugar Reference X Z2174 D7 B44 1996) provides a list of women playwrights, and their birth/death dates, profession, and works (published and unpublished). The listing is quite extensive and would be valuable for someone researching in this area. Occasionally other information, such as family relationships or prizes, is included. The time period ranges from the XVIe through the XIXe centuries.
(Mugar Reference X Z2174 D7 B43 1994)
Databases and Internet Sources
Databases
Internet Sources
BU Literature and Languages eResources
Catalogue general des livres imprimes de la Bibliotheque nationale (WWW)
Liste des Periodiques Historiques de la BNF (WWW)
Persee - French journals, incomplete back issues
WESS French Studies Website (WWW)
Atelier National de Reproduction des Theses - bibliographic info on French theses
FranceTerme - Termes publies par la Commission generale
WordReference - free online translation dictionaries: French, Italian, Spanish, English only