Department of French

Modern & Medieval Languages

Department of French

French Language Reference Works

The study of languages involves training oneself in the intelligent use of a wide range of reference works. It is very desirable to own as comprehensive a bilingual dictionary as you can afford and a reliable grammar. You may also like to purchase a monolingual French dictionary and a good English dictionary. The works which are starred below will be of particular use for all language work.

  1. Bilingual Dictionaries (single-volume works)

    2. *The Oxford-Hachette French Dictionary , Oxford, Paris: OUP, Hachette, 2nd edition, 1998; Major New Edition, 2001
    * Collins-Robert French-English/English-French Dictionary , 4th edition, Glasgow: HarperCollins, 1995 (03.F9.30)
    Grand Dictionnaire français-anglais/anglais-français , Paris: Larousse, 1993
    The New Larousse French Dictionary , Paris: Larousse, 1993

  2. Grammars

    3. Probably the best recent grammar of French written in English is:

    * G. Price, L. S. R. Byrne & E. L. Churchill's A Comprehensive French Grammar , 4th edition, completely revised by Glanville Price, Oxford: Blackwell, 1999 (F3.E.60)

    The following may also be of use:

    H. Ferrar, A French Reference Grammar , 2nd edition, Oxford University Press, 1967 (F3.E.37 & F3.E.38, older ed. at F3.E.50)
    R. Hawkins & R. Towell, French Grammar and Usage , London: Arnold, 1996 (F3.E.54)
    J.E. Mansion, A Grammar of Present-Day French , London: Harrap (old, but still very serviceable). (F3.E.41)
    C. Abbadie, B. Chovelon, M-H. Morsel, L'expression française écrite et orale , Presse Universitaire de Grenoble, PFLUG.

    If you are uncertain about basic grammatical points, the following may be useful:

    T. Marriott and M. Ribière, Help Yourself to French Grammar , London: Longman, 1990 (F3.E.48)

    Although the Department does not adopt a single course book, you may find the grammar sections in the following helpful:

    Le Français en faculté: Cours de base, 2nd edition, London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1986 (F3.E.44)

    You will gradually need to get used to consulting French grammars written in French:

    G. Mauger, Grammaire pratique du français d'aujourd'hui, langue parlée, langue écrite, Paris: Hachette, 1968 (published under the auspices of the Alliance Française) (F3.E.43)
    H. Bonnard, Code du français courant, Paris: Magnard, 1984. (F3.E.52)
    J. Ollivier, Grammaire française, 2nd edition, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1993 (F3.E.45)

    The French themselves consult Grevisse; you may initially find this difficult to approach, but should find it increasingly helpful during your course:

    Maurice Grevisse, Le Bon Usage , 12th edition, revised by André Goosse, Paris & Gembloux: Duculot, 1986 (F3.E.21;22; 30)

  3. Dictionaries Published Entirely in French

    4. * Le Petit Robert 1: Dictionnaire de la langue française , Paris: Le Robert, 1993 (03.F1.108; 109)
    J. Dubois, Dictionnaire de la langue française: Lexis, Paris: Larousse, 1979 or later edition (03.F1.107)
    Dictionnaire du français contemporain illustré, Paris: Larousse, 1980 (03.F1.110)
    Le Micro-Robert, dictionnaire d'apprentissage de la langue française , Paris: Le Robert, 1989 (O3.F1.113)

    The best and most comprehensive monolingual French dictionary, which you should consult in libraries, is:

    Trésor de la langue française: Dictionnaire de la langue du XIXe et du XXe siècle, Paris: CNRS (03.F1.53)

  4. English Dictionaries

    5. Collins Concise English Dictionary, 3rd edition, Glasgow: Harper Collins, 1992
    The Concise Oxford Dictionary, 8th edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1990 (03.Z1.7)

    The following more specialised works are also recommended for consultation:

  5. Structure of French and Essay Writing

    6. M. Le Cunff-Renouard and D. Ditner, Enjeux, Débats, Expression, ELMS, 1989 (F3.N.6)
    Cécile Grabner & Michèle Hague, Ecrire pour quoi faire?, Paris: Didier, 1981 (with cassette) (F3.J.25)

  6. Vocabulary and Idioms

    Nouveau dictionnaire analogique, Paris: Larousse, 1980 (03.F6.22)
    Nouveau dictionnaire des synonymes , Paris: Larousse, 1995
    R.E. Batchelor & M.H. Offord, Using French Synonyms , CUP, 1993 (F3.H.52)

  7. Grammatical and Other Difficulties

    8. J. Girodet, Pièges et difficultés de la langue française, Paris: Bordas, 1986 (03.F6.23)
    Larousse de la grammaire, Paris: Larousse, 1983
    Eric Astington, Equivalences: Translation difficulties and devices, French-English, English-French, Cambridge University Press, 1983 (out of print, but may be consulted in the Faculty library) (F3.J.22)

  8. Register

    9. R. E. Batchelor & M. H. Offord, Using French: A Guide to contemporary French usage, CUP, 1982
    M. & E. Levieux, Cassell's Colloquial French, London: Cassell, 1980

 

 

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