Diasystem variation in the evolution of the French language (on the material of the verb)
Authors:   Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia, Lukina Anna E. 
Published: December 2024

This article offers a thorough analysis of the variability of verb forms in the history of the language. The types of diasystemic variability that are characteristic of the evolution of the French language are determined. The originality is determined by the fact that for the first time a diasystemic approach is used in the analysis of cases of variability of verb forms in the history of the French language with the definition and description of their functional significance in accordance with one or another type of diasystemic variability. The evolution of the verbal system of the French language is studied in the context of the concept of “diasystem”, the fundamental types of variability in the history of the French language are determined, which act as factors of changes in the system. The subject of the study is the types of diasystemic variability of verb forms and the definition of their role in the evolution of the French verbal system. A classification of the revealed cases of variability of verb forms is made in accordance with the following types of diasystemic variability: diatopic type, diachronic type, diaphasic type. The material for the study was French scripts of the 10th–14th centuries, presented by handwritten versions of various literary works. For their study, L.A. Stanova’s method of analysis is used “horizontally”, comparing different handwritten versions of one literary monument, and “vertically”, comparing different literary works. works within one regional written tradition, scripts. To analyze the research material, the comparative-comparative method, the structural-functional method, and the method of contextual analysis were also used. In the course of studying the types of diasystemic variability, the following was proved: (1) the diatopic type of variability of verb forms makes it possible to determine which phonetic processes affect the graphic design of verb forms in a particular script and determine the appearance of their variants in a particular time period (palatalization of consonants is characteristic of Picard scripts, monophthongization was already recorded in Central French scripts in the 13th century); (2) the diachronic type of variability indicates the changes that took place in the verbal system of the Old and Middle French periods at the level of morphology (displacement of archaic Latin forms of the verb estre by newly formed Romanic forms – the indicative imperfect ert → estoit; at the level of the use of verbal forms of tense and mood in the text – competition of the perfect/imperfect indicative in the descriptive function in the Old French period with the subsequent consolidation of the use of the imperfect in this meaning in the texts); (3) for the diaphasic type of variability, in the course of comparing different handwritten versions of one literary monument, it was found that, when rewriting the text, the scribe could completely alter the temporal/modal context of the work in order to change the general context of the work (on the material of the fablio in the Picard script, the predominant use of verb forms of syubjonctive is noted instead of indicative). The use of the diasystemic approach in the study of the variability of verb forms in the history of the French language makes it possible to systematize and order the identified cases of variability at different levels of the language (phonetic, morphological, at the level of graphics), as well as at the level of use in the text.