+++HD Fr Pierre Guernier 41286944 Prepositions

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Achievingequivalenceatthelevelofgrammar:acontrastivestudyoftheuseofprepositionsinEnglishandFrench

By Pierre Guernier

Introduction

How many English students of the French language have been experiencing

difficulties in expressing the accurate prepositions to refer to the names of cities, regions andcountries? What prepositions are to be used to express when they are in or going tothese locations? Prepositions link nouns, pronouns and phrases to other words in asentence and usually indicate the temporal, spatial or logical relationship of its object to therest of the sentence.The study of simple prepositions is vast. The contrastive analysis of those related togeographical places in English and in French is mostly interesting. French prepositions implyhistorical and cultural components that are not present in English. Moreover, for non-Frenchproper nouns of places, the francization1of many proper nouns into the French languagehas been implemented in order to follow the existing rules of prepositions in French. This isrendered even harder for non-French native speakers when prompted to use themaccurately (Vaguer, 2006). This paper will firstly present a contrastive study on English and

French prepositions related to geographical places through the analysis of five differentcases. The second part of this essay will focus on finding rules of equivalence between thedifferent cases previously discussed.

1. A contrastive study1.1 Method used for the comparison of English and French prepositions

In this chapter, a contrastive study introducing two key quotes will be built by showing thediverse differences occurring between English and French simple prepositions related to

1ThewordFrancization meanstheactionofmakingsomethingFrench.Theequivalentverbistofrancize

(fromtheShorterOxfordEnglishDictionary,sixthedition)


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geographical place names. The method used in comparing the two languages will be set inthe context of the two following sentences:

Sentence 1:

English: Im going to [geographical place name].

French: Je vais {preposition}[geographical place name].

Sentence 2:

English: [Monument/City] is in [geographical place name].

French: [Monument/City] est {preposition}[geographical place name].

These two quotes will be used as examples throughout this essay, so as to demonstrate thesimilarities and differences between the two languages.

1.2 Similarities in the use of prepositions

The similarities between French and English appear in the function and the place of thepreposition in the sentence. As indicated by Worth-Stylianou (1994), the functions ofprepositions are very similar in French and English, as they stand before a noun or pronoun,and express position, direction, etc.

1.3 Differences in the use of preposi tions

Although the chosen sentences for this topic appear to be quite simple in English, theirtranslation into French reveals an interesting case of differentiation in the choice ofprepositions to be used. The research led by Japkowicz and Wiebe (1991, p. 122) on finding

a system for translating locative prepositions from English to French originated from theobservation that:

Even between two closely related languages such as English and French, locative prepositionsof even simple sentences do not seem to be translated from one language to the other in aclearly systematic and coherent way.

This present research revealed nine equivalent French prepositions in relation togeographical places versus the two English prepositions in and to. The variety ofprepositions in French employed in this context depends on a notion that is not present inEnglish: the gender and the number of the proper noun that follows. As mentioned byNachtmann (1981), the usage of prepositions with the names of countries, provinces and

cities in French is very confusing to English students who are having difficulty mastering thebasic rules for prepositions.

For Calvez (2005, p. 177), the use of prepositions with proper names of places depends onwhether those names are masculine or feminine. But this rule does not account alone for thedifferences with English. Calvez adds that other elements must be considered, such aswhether the name begins with a consonant or a vowel, whether it is well known or not,whether the place is a country, a city, an island, etc.

When the English language uses two prepositions (in and to) with geographical places, inFrench, depending on the kind of geographical place mentioned, there are nine of them(au, aux, en, , dans le, dans l , dans la, la, and dans les).

Arguably, is the most important preposition in French: it can denote location (in) anddestination (to) (French News, 2008).

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ThranestenIran. TehranisinIran.

9 JevaisauxPaysBas.

AmsterdamestauxPaysBas.

ImgoingtotheNetherlands.

AmsterdamisintheNetherlands.

10

Je

vais

Tawan.

TaipehestTaiwan.Im

going

to

Taiwan.

TaipeiisinTaiwan.

11 JevaislIleMaurice.

PortLouisestlIleMaurice

ImgoingtoMauritius.

PortLouisisinMauritius.

Case 4: prepositions in relation to regions and provinces

Regions, especially those in Europe and those in the world where French influence havebeen known usually follow the rule stated in case number 3 for countries. However, a majordifference occurs when dealing with regions or provinces whose gender is masculine. The

French preposition en used for masculine countries is replaced by dans le (Worth-Stylianou, 1994, p. 140). It is therefore interesting to observe the upgrading effect forgeographical places such as Kosovo which updated from dans le Kosovo to au Kosovo.An illustration of this new usage can be found in various newspaper articles and in theFrench Department of Foreign in European Affairs website (2008).

In English, prepositions follow the rule number 3 for countries.

line French English12 JevaisenLorraine.

NancyestenLorraine.

ImgoingtoLorraine.

NancyisinLorraine.

13 JevaisdanslePoitou.

PoitiersestdanslePoitou.

ImgoingtoPoitou.

PoitiersisinPoitou.

This rule can also be applied to other regions in Europe (Schneider, n.d.): the French sayen Bavire (in Bavaria) and dans le Bade-Wurtemberg (in Baden-Wrttemberg). AllBritish counties genders are masculine, with the exception of Cornwall: en Cornouailles.Australian states and territories are assimilated as regions or provinces of Australia anddeserve to follow this present rule: French say en Nouvelle-Galles du Sud (in New South

Wales) but dans le Queensland (in Queensland). This last state did not receive a Frenchname. The rules concerning American states, which are very important to know in case ofdealing with American assignment and tasks as an English to French translator, mainlyfollow the same rule on regions and provinces described previously. However, thedetermination of whose states gender is masculine or feminine requires a good knowledgeof the usage and also the historical and cultural aspect which have encompassed the stronglinks between France and the United States for the last 500 years. Nachtmann (1981) andChervel (1971) both came with an extensive study of the matter which would be a goodreference for those who want and need to extend their knowledge on the choice of Frenchprepositions for American states. They demonstrate how the choice of French prepositions

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related to proper names is sometimes linked to historical components known since colonialtimes2.

Case 5: prepositions in relation to French dpartements

This particular case might be of no major interest for scholars who are not dealing intensivelywith the nation of France. However, it represents a matter of great importance for anyonewho lives or works within a French context. In order to understand the context of adpartement, it appears useful to briefly explain their historical and cultural characteristics.The dpartements correspond to an administrative entity created during the events of theFrench revolution on the 4th March 1790 by the Constituent Assembly. They aimed toreplace the former provinces of the Old Regime with a more rational division of the newRepublics territory (Julaud, 2005, pp. 422-423). Some dpartements have been arbitrarilynamed after rivers (e.g. Dordogne), mountains (e.g. Jura), coastlines (e.g. Ctes-d'Armor)and even poetry (e.g. Cte-dOr) (Le Petit Champignacien Illustr, n.d.). Somedpartements, however, have kept their ancient names (e.g. Savoy), mainly due to a lateaccession to France3. Each dpartement is allocated a two-digit number. The Appendixpresents a list of the 100 French dpartements and their number to consider. Except for

some regions with a strong sense of regional bond (Alsace, Corsica or Brittany), thedpartement has sociologically become the territorial entity to which French people relatethe most (Dargent, 2005).

Prepositions in relation to dpartements account for 7 different cases in French and 2 inEnglish, with the use of prepositions , au, la, en, dans le, dans la and dans lesin French according to the Acadmie franaise (n.d.), and to and in followed by the inEnglish4.

line French English14 JevaisdansleCalvados.

CaenestdansleCalvados.

ImgoingtotheCalvados.

CaenisintheCalvados.

15 Jevaisen/danslaHauteSane.

Vesoulesten/danslaHauteSane.

ImgoingtotheHauteSane.

VesoulisintheHauteSane.

16 JevaisdanslaSomme.

Amiens

est

dans

la

Somme.

ImgoingtotheSomme.

Amiens

is

in

the

Somme.

17 JevaisenDordogne.

PrigueuxestenDordogne.

ImgoingtotheDordogne.

PrigueuxisintheDordogne.

2Asanexample,NachtmannandChervelbothmentiontheLouisianacase(LouisianeinFrench),whichcan

eitherrefertotheancientFrenchcoloniallandorthepresentstate.3ThehistoricalduchyofSavoywas integrated intoFrance in1860andwasdivided into twodpartements:

Savoie

and

Haute

Savoie.

4Aneighthprepositioncouldbeadded:dansl.TheLapostropheoccurswhenreplacingthearticleslaor

lebeforeadpartementwhosefirstletterisavowel.E.g.danslEssonne(inEnglish:to/intheEssonne).

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18 JevaisenMeurtheetMoselle.

NancyestenMeurtheetMoselle.

ImgoingtotheMeurtheetMoselle.

NancyisintheMeurtheetMoselle.

19 JevaisdansleLoiretCher.

BloisestdansleLoiretCher.

ImgoingtotheLoiretCher.

BloisisintheLoiretCher.

20 JevaisdanslesBouchesduRhne.

MarseilleestdanslesBouchesduRhne.

ImgoingtotheBouchesduRhne.

MarseilleisintheBouchesduRhne.

21 JevaisdanslesLandes.

MontdeMarsanestdanslesLandes.

ImgoingtotheLandes.

MontdeMarsanisintheLandes.

22 JevaisenVaucluse

AvignonestenVaucluse.

ImgoingtotheVaucluse.

AvignonisintheVaucluse.

23

Jevais

la

/en

Martinique.

FortdeFranceestla/enMartinique.

Imgoing

to

Martinique.

FortdeFranceisinMartinique.

2. Achieving equivalence

At first sight, the correspondence between French and English prepositions may seemarbitrary (Japkowicz and Wiebe, 1991). However, coherence might be found through thesetting of rules of equivalences.

Case 1: Equivalences for prepositions in relation to cities

The use of prepositions to and in is in all cases preceding names of cities in English.

In French, the preposition is used by default. Exceptions include cities for which anarticle le or la is part of their name. The prepositions to be used are respectively au and la. Cities beginning with a vowel (like Avignon) are conventionally preceded by en,although usage sometimes allows the use of . Chart 1 recapitulates the equivalent rules:

Chart1

Cities

Examples

InFrench

In

English

Beginningwithaconsonant Paris Paris to/inParis

BeginningwithavowelAvignon(Provence)

Amiens(restofFrance)

enAvignon

Amiens

to/inAvignon

Amiens

Articlelepartofthename LeHavre auHavre to/inLeHavre

Articlelapartofthename LaNouvelleOrlans laNouvelleOrlans to/inNewOrleans

In some sources such as French News (2008) or even the prestigious Acadmie franaise(n.d.), en Avignon is a common provincialism in Provence which should be avoided with

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other cities outside Provence. It appears more common to say Amiens (in / to Amiens)or Angers (in / to Angers).

Case 2: Equivalences for prepositions in relation to cont inents

All names of continents are preceded with the prepositions to and in in English,equivalent in all cases to en in French, as shown in chart 2:

Chart2

NamesofcontinentsinFrench InFrench InEnglish

Afrique enAfrique to/inAfrica

Amrique enAmrique to/inAmerica

Antarctique enAntarctique to/inAntarctica

Asie enAsie to/inAsia

Europe

enEurope

to

/in

Europe

Case 3: Equivalences for prepositions in relation to countries

The use of prepositions to and in is in all cases preceding names of countries in English.

In French, en is used with feminine names of countries and with masculine names ofcountries beginning with a vowel. The prepositions au (singular) and aux (plural) applybefore all masculine names of countries beginning with a consonant. The particular case ofislands, using the preposition is always equivalent to in and to in English. These rules

are summarized in chart 3:Chart3

Countries5

(Englishnames)startingwithavowel beginningwithaconsonant autonomousislands

masculineenIran

(in/toIran)

auCanada

(in/toCanada)notapplicable

feminineenAustralie

(in/toAustralia)enFrance(France)

Tawan

(in/toTaiwan)

pluralauxEtatsUnis

(in/totheUSA)

auxPaysBas

(in/totheNetherlands)

auxAores

(in/to[the]Azores)

notprecededby

anarticle

Oman

(in/toOman)

Monaco

(in/toMonaco)notapplicable

5AnexhaustivelistofcountriesinFrenchwiththeirgivengenderandappropriateprepositioncanbefoundin

the

bibliography

section

under

Schneider,

A.

It

represents

a

good

tool

for

any

scholar

of

French

who

wants

to

accuratelyusetheFrenchprepositionsen,au,auxand.The listalso includessomeoftheGerman,

Polish,Belgian,Canadian,AmericanandSwissterritorieswhichhavebeenfrancizised.

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Prepositionstobeused

En

Au

aux

A

Case 4: Equivalences for prepositions in relation to regions and provinces

This case follows the same rules of equivalence as countries, with the exception ofmasculine names of regions and provinces. English prepositions in and to also applyhere.

All masculine names of regions and provinces of a given country, beginning with aconsonant and a vowel, are respectively preceded by dans le and dans l . Chart 4

summarizes this rule:

Chart4

RegionsandProvinces InFrench InEnglish

Feminine enNouvelleGallesduSud to/inNewSouthWales

Masculine

Beginningwithaconsonant dansleQueensland to/inQueenslandBeginningwithavowel danslOregon to/inOregon

Case 5: Equivalences for prepositions in relation to dpartements

The names of the French dpartements rarely follow the same rule as for countries.Hesitations arise inevitably to defy any serious inventory (Orthonet, n.d.).

In front of dpartements names, the rule by default is to use the preposition dans (in orto + the in English) followed by the articles le, la or les, depending on the gender andnumber of the dpartement:

Je vais dans leCalvados, dans laManche et dans lesYvelines.

Im going to theCalvados, to theManche and to theYvelines

However, exceptions are found with:

Some single word names starting with a vowel. In this case, en is used:

Je vais enArdche.

Im going to theArdche.

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dansl+en

dansle

dansla+en

dansles

en

Exhaustive research on the matter of finding information on the usage of Englishprepositions for French dpartements has unfortunately led to few results. This interestingfact underlines a surprising observation. When dealing with French dpartements, theEnglish-speaking world, the French to English translator is faced with a considerable varietyof usage. Far from helping him, many grammar books, journals and dictionaries seem to

only focus on the English to French direction for explaining the correct use of prepositionbefore a dpartement.

This is particularly surprising of British people, for whom France has been the closestcontinental neighbouring country. Since the creation of the French dpartements in 1790,there have been no rules to our knowledge to which a French to English translator couldrefer concerning prepositions. This is found to be very confusing to English people whenthey are describing their vacations and other experiences, hence referring to the names ofFrench dpartements. Do English people say:

I have been to Dordogne or,I have been to theDordogne?

When conducting the research and by simply asking several British people8on this matter, ithas been possible to create a synthesis of the different usages which can be found in chart6. Moreover, French tourist organisations play an important role in enforcing a usage onprepositions relating to Frances dpartements by editing English brochures and websiteswhich allocate the article the in front of all of them. An illustration of that endeavour can beviewed for instance on France-Voyage.com (n.d.).

Chart6

Cases

Rules

Examplesin

English

Imgoing

Frenchtranslationjevais

Thedpartementis

famouslyknownin

Britain

useofprepositionstoorin+the ...totheDordogne. ...enDordogne.

8

For

the

purpose

of

this

essay,

it

was

thought

to

be

more

accurate

to

ask

British

people

that

question.

They

havemanymoreopportunitiestotraveltoFrancethanAustraliansandbecauseofthismatter,todevelopa

certainusageofEnglishprepositionsregardingtheFrenchdpartementstheyhavevisited.

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Thedpartementis

notparticularly

known.The

speaker/writerfinds

theneedtocomplete

thenametoclarifyit

toBritishaudience/readership.

useofprepositionstoorin+the

Thenameofthedpartementis

followedbythewordregion9or

sometimesarea.

...totheVarregion. ...dansleVar.

useofprepositionstoorin+the

Thenameofthedpartementis

followedbytheworddpartement.

...totheAin

dpartement.

Thespeaker/writer

emphasisesthe

administrative

territory.His/her

audience/readershipis

supposedto

understandthe

concept

of

a

French

dpartement.

useofprepositionstoorin+

the

Thename

of

the

dpartement

is

precededbytheword

dpartementandthepreposition

of.

...tothe

dpartementof

Ain.

danslAin.

Conclusion

The research on French and English prepositions has shown the need to insist on thedifference between a rule and a usage (Orthonet, n.d.). As a language is living and

changing with the time, so the rules on prepositions relating to names of geographical placescan be modified by usage. External political events can also influence the redefinition ofrules, as demonstrated with the Kosovo case. However, it is important to lean on a valid rule,especially for the learning of a language such as French which has a larger declension in theuse of prepositions. When conducting the research, the difficulty in finding some specificinformation about contrastive analysis of French and English prepositions relating togeographical places was somehow surprising. In most grammar books or dictionaries, rulesare either incomplete, or inexact or simply missing. Gathering information on the topic wassimilar to a task of putting the pieces of the puzzle together in order to have a completepicture of the issue. Surely, this paper, due to its limited size, has not been able to considera contrastive analysis of more prepositions, such as of, at, out of or into which can beemployed in relation to geographical names. The preposition of (de in French) isparticularly crucial as its French counterpart happens to be the most used preposition in theFrench language (Volk and Tidstrm, 2007).

9 The use of region couldbe quite confusing in particular contexts, as a rgion in France represents an

administrativeentityembracingseveraldpartements.

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+++HD Fr Pierre Guernier 41286944 Prepositions