An Outline of the Phonology and Morphology of Old Provençal — Themes and Context

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Authors: Grandgent, C. H. (Charles Hall), 1862-1939 Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2015 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: Provençal language -- Grammar Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

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This editorial note examines how Grandgent's preface, phonetic tables, and morphological sections guide a first reading of his 1905 grammar of Old Provençal, focusing on his stated limits, evidence from Latin sound changes, and the structure of declension.

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TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE: There are many diacritical marks in this book. Some devices and browsers may not render these correctly.

Heath’s Modern Language Series

AN OUTLINE OF THE PHONOLOGY AND MORPHOLOGY OF OLD PROVENÇAL

BY C. H. GRANDGENT PROFESSOR OF ROMANCE LANGUAGES IN HARVARD UNIVERSITY

BOSTON, U. S. A. D. C. HEATH & CO., PUBLISHERS 1909

COPYRIGHT, 1905, BY D. C. HEATH & CO.

This book, which is intended as a guide to students of Romance Philology, represents the result of desultory labors extending through a period of twenty years. My first introduction to the scientific pursuit of Provençal linguistics was a course given by Paul Meyer at the École des Chartes in the winter of 1884-85. Since then I have been collecting material both from my own examination of texts and from the works of those philologists who have dealt with the subject. Besides the large Grammars of the Romance Languages by Diez and by Meyer-Lübke, I have utilized H. Suchier’s _Die französische und provenzalische Sprache_ (in Gröber’s _Grundriss der romanischen Philologie_, I, 561), the _Introduzione grammaticale_ in V. Crescini’s _Manualetto provenzale_, the _Abriss der Formenlehre_ in C. Appel’s _Provenzalische Chrestomathie_, and many special treatises to which reference will be made in the appropriate places. Conscious of many imperfections in my work, I shall be grateful for corrections.

I have confined myself to the old literary language, believing that to be of the greatest importance to a student of Romance Philology or of Comparative Literature, and fearing lest an enumeration of modern forms, in addition to the ancient, might prove too bewildering. I should add that neither my own knowledge nor the material at my disposal is adequate to a satisfactory presentation of the living idioms of southern France. These dialects have, however, been investigated for the light they throw on the geographical distribution of phonetic variations; my chief source of information has been F. Mistral’s monumental _Dictionnaire provençal-français_. Catalan and Franco-Provençal have been considered only incidentally. I have not dealt with word-formation, because one of my students is preparing a treatise on that subject.

Readers desiring a brief description of Provençal literature are referred to H. Suchier and A. Birch-Hirschfeld, _Geschichte der französischen Literatur_, pp. 56-96; A. Stimming, in Gröber’s _Grundriss der romanischen Philologie_, II, ii, pp. 1-69; and A. Restori, _Letteratura provenzale_. For a more extended account of the poets they should consult _Die Poesie der Troubadours_ and the _Leben und Werke der Troubadours_ by F. Diez; and _The Troubadours at Home_ by J. H. Smith. The poetic ideals are discussed by G. Paris in _Romania_, XII, pp. 516-34; and with great fulness by L. F. Mott in _The System of Courtly Love_. The beginnings of the literature are treated by A. Jeanroy in his _Origines de la poésie lyrique en France au moyen âge_, reviewed by G. Paris in a series of important articles in the _Journal des Savants_ (November and December, 1891, and March and July, 1892) reprinted separately in 1892 under the same title as Jeanroy’s book. Contributions by A. Restori to several volumes of the _Rivista musicale italiana_ deal with Provençal music; some tunes in modern notation are to be found in J. H. Smith’s _Troubadours at Home_, and in the _Archiv für das Studium der neueren Sprachen_, CX (New Series X), 110 (E. Bohn).[1] Aside from the editions of individual poets, the best collections of verses are those of C. Appel, _Provenzalische Chrestomathie_; V. Crescini, _Manualetto provenzale_; and K. Bartsch, _Chrestomathie provençale_. Earlier and larger anthologies are M. Raynouard’s _Choix des poésies originales des troubadours_, and C. A. F. Mahn’s _Werke der Troubadours_ and _Gedichte der Troubadours_. The only dictionary of importance for the old language is the _Lexique roman_ (six volumes) of M. Raynouard, augmented by the _Supplement-Wörterbuch_ of E. Levy (now appearing in instalments). The poetic language of the present day can be studied to advantage in E. Koschwitz’s _Grammaire historique de la langue des Félibres_.

CAMBRIDGE, MASS., NOVEMBER, 1904.

ABBREVIATIONS AND TECHNICAL TERMS.

Cl.L.: Classic Latin.

Einf.: W. Meyer-Lübke, _Einführung in das Studium der romanischen Sprachwissenschaft_, 1901.

Free (of vowels): not in position.

Gram.: W. Meyer-Lübke, _Grammaire des langues romanes_, 3 vols., 1890-1900.

Grundriss: G. Gröber, _Grundriss der romanischen Philologie_, 2 vols., 1888-1902.

Intertonic (of vowels): following the secondary and preceding the primary accent.

Intervocalic (of consonants): standing between two vowels.

Körting: G. Körting, _Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch_, 2d ed., 1901.

Levy: E. Levy, _Provenzalisches Supplement-Wörterbuch_, 1894-.

Ltblt.: _Literaturblatt für germanische und romanische Philologie_, monthly, Leipzig.

Obj.: objective (case).

Phon.: P. Marchot, _Petite phonétique du français prélittéraire_, 1901.

Raynouard: M. Raynouard, _Lexique roman_, 6 vols., 1836-44.

Rom.: _Romania_, quarterly, Paris.

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Grandgent's preface immediately establishes the book's scope: it is a guide for students of Romance Philology, not a comprehensive dialect survey. He explicitly limits his work to the old literary language, noting that modern forms would be 'too bewildering.' This decision shapes every subsequent section, as the reader encounters a deliberate narrowing of evidence to the troubadour-era standard.

The Preface as a Methodological Statement

The preface, dated 1905, reveals Grandgent's twenty-year accumulation of material, beginning with a course by Paul Meyer in 1884–85. He cites major sources—Diez, Meyer-Lübke, Suchier, Crescini, Appel—and acknowledges his reliance on Mistral's dictionary for modern dialect data. Crucially, he states that his knowledge and material are 'not adequate to a satisfactory presentation of the living idioms.' This honest limitation tells the reader that the outline is a synthesis of earlier scholarship, not a field study. The preface also mentions that word-formation is omitted because a student was preparing a treatise on it, hinting at the collaborative nature of early 20th-century philology. For a first reading, this front matter is essential: it sets expectations for a work that is both authoritative and consciously incomplete.

Phonetic Tables: Evidence from Latin to Provençal

The phonetic sections, exemplified by the treatment of consonant clusters, present sound changes as a series of correspondences. For instance, Grandgent shows that Latin kw (as in quīnque) becomes cinc in Provençal, and that l + l yields r + l, — + l, or d + l (e.g., calamĕllum > caramęl). These are not mere lists; they are accompanied by parenthetical references to specific forms and occasional explanations, such as dissimilation in plus larc. The reader will notice that Grandgent uses a dense system of diacritics and abbreviations (e.g., ✱ for reconstructed forms). The excerpts show that he draws on multiple Romance languages for comparison—Catalan, Franco-Provençal, even Andalusian Spanish—but only incidentally. This comparative approach reinforces the book's intended audience: students already familiar with Latin and at least one Romance language.

Morphology: The Reduction of Declensions

In the morphology section, Grandgent explains how the five Latin declensions were reduced to three in Vulgar Latin. He provides specific examples: neuter nouns became masculine (dōnum > dọn), but some neuter plurals in -a became feminine singulars (fŏlia > fǫlha). He notes exceptions, such as mare becoming feminine in Gaul, and abstract nouns in -or shifting to feminine. The text also tracks gender changes for nouns like arbor (becoming masculine) and manus (usually retaining feminine). A first-time reader will observe that Grandgent relies heavily on Vulgar Latin as an intermediary stage, and that he frequently cites parallel developments in other Romance languages. The section is structured as a series of numbered paragraphs, each treating a specific morphological phenomenon, which makes it easy to consult as a reference but also reveals the book's origin as a classroom guide.

The Role of the Appendix and Back Matter

Although the excerpts do not include the full appendix, the presence of a transcriber's note about diacritical marks and the extensive Project Gutenberg license information at the end remind the reader that this is a digital edition of a century-old text. The original book likely contained indexes, a bibliography, and perhaps a glossary—elements that would be crucial for a first reading. Grandgent's preface directs readers to external works for Provençal literature (Suchier, Stimming, Restori) and for the poetic ideals (Paris, Mott). This suggests that the outline is meant to be used alongside primary texts and literary histories. For a student approaching Old Provençal for the first time, the back matter would provide the necessary tools to navigate the dense phonetic and morphological data, while the license information underscores the free availability of a work that remains a standard reference.

Grandgent's outline is best read as a companion to a chrestomathy or a troubadour anthology. The preface and the systematic presentation of sound changes and declensions equip the reader to analyze poetic texts, but the book does not supply those texts. A first-time user should start with the preface to understand the work's limits, then move to the phonetic tables to grasp the sound system, and finally consult the morphology section for grammatical paradigms. The digital edition's searchability makes it easy to cross-reference forms, but the lack of a modern index may require patience.

There’s a peculiar tenderness in Grandgent’s old grammar, the way he maps the rise and fall of a language’s sounds as if tracing a lived memory. That same quiet patience lingers in Tagalog Texts with Grammatical Analysis — Context and Discussion, a relic of another earnest effort to hold something fleeting in place. Two grammars, two vanished voices. It feels like standing very still, hoping the echoes last a little longer.