The syntactic-semantic versatility of the verb 'to do' in the African week

Linguistique

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55595/hfdkmp30

Keywords:

Versatility, valence, syntax, semantics, doing

Abstract

This work involves studying the syntactic-semantic versatility of the verb faire in La Semaine Africaine. The problem is related to its allomorphic status, as it presents different stylistic variations, both syntactic and semantic, in this press. To carry out this reflection, we consider the use of psycho-systematics as an analytical tool. Gustave Guillaume initiated this approach, then extended and developed it in numerous linguistic works, notably those of Gérard Moignet. It examines the problems of systematics and syntax in modern French from a stylistic perspective in order to better understand the meaning of discursive productions. This study examined both the syntactic constructions of faire, their functional values, and their semantic and rhetorical uses. We therefore came to the conclusion that the proliferation of the use of faire depends on the choices of the journalists of La Semaine africaine, because they selected it with the aim of increasing the number of valences and understanding in the decryption of information.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

  • Brèche Pachel NGUIENE BILONGO

    Brèche Pachel NGUIENE BILONGO is a professor-researcher at the University of Marien Ngouabi, doctor of letters, specialist in French stylistics. He defended a unique doctoral thesis in the French language, with a specific focus on stylistic analysis. He works in the Department of French Language and Literature at the Faculty of Letters, Arts and Humanities. His research focuses mainly on fundamental aspects of linguistic functioning, including syntax, modalisers, enunciation and pragmatics, with a marked interest in referential and organizational markers. Through his work, he strives to analyze the internal mechanisms of the French language in their various dimensions. He is also the author of several scientific publications in his fields of specialization.

  • Pierre Destain NTSOUA NDOMBO

    Pierre Destain NTSOUA NDOMBO is a professor-researcher at the University of Marien Ngouabi, doctor of letters, specialist in French stylistics. He defended a unique doctoral thesis in the French language, with a specific focus on stylistic analysis. He works in the Department of French Language and Literature at the Faculty of Letters, Arts and Humanities. His research focuses mainly on fundamental aspects of linguistic functioning, including syntax, modalisers, enunciation and pragmatics, with a marked interest in referential and organizational markers. Through his work, he strives to analyze the internal mechanisms of the French language in their various dimensions. He is also the author of several scientific publications in his fields of specialization.

References

ABBADIE C., CHOVELON B. ; MORSELM-H. 2009. L’expression française écrite et orale, France, Presses universitaires de Grenoble, 243p.

BAJRIĆ S.. 2008. « Le Verbe faire en français contemporain : syntaxe et sémantique », Université de Paris–Sorbonne (Paris IV), pp.143-197.

BIDAUD S. 2012, « Sur un emploi particulier du verbe faire vicariant », Estudios Románicos, Volumen 21, 2012, pp. 31-42

FAGARD B.. 2011. « Conjonctions et Grammaticalisation : Le cas des langues romanes. ». François, J. & Prévost, S. Mémoires de la Société de Linguistique de Paris 19 : L’évolution grammaticale à travers des langues romanes, Peeters, pp.79-102.

GARCÍA-CASTANYER M. T.. 1992. « Le verbe « FAIRE », pro-verbe et verbe opérateur, dans quelques textes sur la langue française du XVIIe au XIXe siècles », ANALES DE FILOLOGÍA FRANCESA, n°4, pp.43-55.

KERBRAT-ORECCHIONI C.. 1998. Les interactions verbales, Paris, 1ème édition Armand Colin, tome 1.

KLEIBER G.. 1991. « Anaphore-deixis : où en sommes-nous ? », In L’Information Grammaticale, n°51, pp.3-18.

MOIGNET G., 1974. Etudes de psycho-systématique française, Paris, 7ème Edition Kincksieck, 268p.

PAVLISKOVÁ J.. 2002. « Les périphrases verbales avec les verbes formèmes faire et laisser (et assimilés) », Études romanes de Brno, vol. 32, iss. 1, pp.19-28.

RIEGEL M. ; PELLAT J-C, RIOUL R. 1994. Grammaire méthodique du français, Presses Universitaires de France, Linguistique nouvelle 6, avenue Reille, 75014 Paris. 1152p.

VAN DEN AVENNE C.. 2012. Maîtriser son expression écrite, 1ère édition Studyrama, Collection : Poche

MAURICE G.. 1969. Précis de Grammaire française, Paris-Gembloux : Duculot, p.57.

DAUZAT A.. 1954. Le Génie de la langue française, Paris : Payot, p.256.

TAKUYA N.. 2013. « Constructions transitives et causative attributive du verbe ‘’faire’’ ». K. Ogata. Autour des verbes : constructions et interprétations, 29, John Benjamins, pp.59-86.

Downloads

Published

2025-07-30

Data Availability Statement

Funding: The author states that he did not receive any funding to conduct this study. Conflict of interest: The author does not report any conflict of interest.

Issue

Vol. 4 No. 1 (2025): Sommaire et présentation

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2025 The copyright of this article is retained by the author(s), first publication rights are granted to the journal. The article which is under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International license, is the intellectual property of this author(s). Cahiers Africains de rhétorique © 2022 by UMNG-FLASH is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Attribution - No Commercial Use - No Modification 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

How to Cite

The syntactic-semantic versatility of the verb ’to do’ in the African week: Linguistique. (2025). African Notebooks of Rhetoric, 4(1), 56-71. https://doi.org/10.55595/hfdkmp30

Similar Articles

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.