Abstract
Given the diversity of uses of the French imparfait, there is no unanimity about the nature – or even the existence – of a semantic invariant that may characterize it. The present article aims on the one hand at recapitulating the attempted temporal, aspectual and discursive descriptions of the imparfait found in contemporary research. A personal description of that tense based on the concepts of time, aspect and Aktionsart is then proposed ; it is thought such description may account for that tense multiplicity of uses.
On the other hand, because of the necessity of a dialogue between theoretical and applied linguistics, this article will also consider the potential contribution of the suggested invariant to the teaching of French as a foreign language.
| Translated title of the contribution | The unit imperfect: theoretical views and perspectives for learners of French as a foreign language |
|---|---|
| Original language | French |
| Pages (from-to) | 157-184 |
| Number of pages | 28 |
| Journal | Travaux de Linguistique |
| Volume | 45 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Publication status | Published - 2002 |
Keywords
- pedagogy
- aktionsart
- semantic invariant
- semantic interpretation
- grammatical aspect
- tense
- imperfect
- language teaching
- pragmatics
- semantics
- pédagogie
- mode d'action
- français langue étrangère
- invariant sémantique
- interprétation sémantique
- ispect grammatical
- temps grammatical
- imparfait
- enseignement des langues
- pragmatique
- Sémantique