Repetitions, Rest Insertion and Schwa in 16th Century French Polyphony: An Emergent Sub-Grammar in Fresneau's Songs?

Timothée Premat (1, 2) , Sophie Chouvion , Axelle Verner

1 SFL - Structures Formelles du Langage
2 UP8 - Université Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis

This chapter is about constituents matching grammar in textsetting. If most traditional stanzaic French songs show textsetting configurations that are predictable given a widely spread grammar, it does not seem to be the case for Henry Fresneau’s songs. Indeed these 16th century polyphonic songs show a specific use of derivations of the text, rests insertion and final schwa elision. Comparing Fresneau’s songs to others’, we try to establish if these matchings can be generated by the same grammar, or if Fresneau’s songs need a specific one. Using Optimality Theory, we show that most of Fresneau’s grammar can be implemented inside a wider diasystemic grammar, but that the final schwa elision in Fresneau’s songs requires the activation of new constraints. We propose to analyze it as a dialectalization of the textsetting grammar, and we outline a model for the emergence of this sub-grammar.

Mots clés: Textsetting; Constituents matching; French 16th century polyphony; dialectal grammar; Final schwa; Schwa; Polyphonic Music; Dialectal variation

Domaines: Linguistique; Littératures; Musique, musicologie et arts de la scène; Linguistique

Timothée Premat, Sophie Chouvion, Axelle Verner. Repetitions, Rest Insertion and Schwa in 16th Century French Polyphony: An Emergent Sub-Grammar in Fresneau's Songs?. Michela Russo. The Emergence of Grammars. A Closer Look at Dialects between Phonology and Morphosyntax., Nova Sciences, 2021, 978-1-53619-888-1. ⟨hal-03353521⟩