O FUTUR TEM FUTURO NO FRANCÊS (CANADENSE)?

The hospitality of the future temporal reference sector to multiple exponents is well exemplified by French, where the inflected future (IF) currently competes with both periphrastic future (PF) and futurate present (P) forms. Most scholars contend that the variant expressions are selected according to distinctions in the way the speaker envisions the future eventuality and/or the semantic and/or pragmatic import s/he wishes to convey. Curiously, however, there is little agreement as to what that import is nor which of the variants is capable of expressing it. Making use of a variationist approach, in this paper we return to the question of the function and meaning of the major exponents of futurity in spoken French through systematic analysis of thousands of contexts of future temporal reference in natural speech. We show that although the variant forms continue to divide up the work of expressing posteriority, they are rarely selected by speakers in accordance with the values commonly attributed to them in either the descriptive or prescriptive literature. This is because basically all reference to future states or events is made by PF, which has ousted IF from virtually all contexts of productive usage but one, while P has made only incipient incursions into another. We suggest that failure to attain consensus on the set of meanings or functions distinguishing the variants is the product of an epistemological problem stemming from difficulty in reconciling the form-function polyvalence characteristic of inherent variability with the (distributional) linguistic enterprise of ascribing a unique function to every form

L’incontinence urinaire, parlons-en!

L’incontinence urinaire est la diffculté à contrôler sa vessie, un problème fréquent chez la personne âgée. Même si elle ne fait pas partie du vieillissement normal, plusieurs problèmes liés à l’âge augmentent le risque d’en souffrir. L’incontinence urinaire peut avoir un impact important sur la qualité de vie. Elle cause des émotions négatives chez les personnes touchées. Plusieurs hésitent à discuter de ce problème, car elles pensent qu’il n’existe aucune solution. Au contraire, l’incontinence urinaire peut être guérie, traitée ou contrôlée de diverses façons

O FUTUR TEM FUTURO NO FRANCÊS (CANADENSE)?

The hospitality of the future temporal reference sector to multiple exponents is well exemplified by French, where the inflected future (IF) currently competes with both periphrastic future (PF) and futurate present (P) forms. Most scholars contend that the variant expressions are selected according to distinctions in the way the speaker envisions the future eventuality and/or the semantic and/or pragmatic import s/he wishes to convey. Curiously, however, there is little agreement as to what that import is nor which of the variants is capable of expressing it. Making use of a variationist approach, in this paper we return to the question of the function and meaning of the major exponents of futurity in spoken French through systematic analysis of thousands of contexts of future temporal reference in natural speech. We show that although the variant forms continue to divide up the work of expressing posteriority, they are rarely selected by speakers in accordance with the values commonly attributed to them in either the descriptive or prescriptive literature. This is because basically all reference to future states or events is made by PF, which has ousted IF from virtually all contexts of productive usage but one, while P has made only incipient incursions into another. We suggest that failure to attain consensus on the set of meanings or functions distinguishing the variants is the product of an epistemologicalproblem stemming from difficulty in reconciling the form-function polyvalence characteristic of inherent variability with the (distributional) linguistic enterprise of ascribing a unique function to every form

Stratégies de la métaphore

"Lorsqu'on lit, il faudrait remarquer et savourer les détails. Il n'y a rien à redire au clair de lune des idées générales lorsqu'il intervient après que l'on a recueilli avec amour tous les petits éclats de soleil du livre." Ainsi s'exprime Nabokov dans la définition des "Bons Lecteurs et Bons Ecrivains" qui introduit le recueil de ses cours de Littérature. La naïve métaphore astrale indique sans ambages que toute lecture est reconstruction de l'univers et qu'une attention vigoureuse et solaire au présent de l'écriture, en apprendra plus sur le monde qu'une reconsidération lunaire et raisonneuse

Observing Networks final Assessment

This deliverable presents the Final Assessment of the observation and thematic networks as those represented in work package 3 of EuroSea, taking as a reference the information on Deliverable 3.2 Observing Network Initial Assessment. Following the same approach with D3.2 the original questionnaire was modified accordingly in order to depict the progress made on the same Network Attributes, Commitments and Benefits following the GOOS, OCG guidelines. The unforeseen COVID-19 pandemic had significant effects upon WP3 activities since the main mechanism foreseen to advance progress within the different networks was the organization of in person workshops. Moreover, adequate funds were allocated towards this in order to promote inclusivity and participation. Adapting to the new situation the first series of workshops had to be changed into online only events which despite the inherent difficulty, proved to have significant advantages as well. In particular they gave the opportunity for a significant number of people to join from all around the globe and participate in the events (for example the Sea Level WS). Another challenge proved to be the variability within some networks with sub-components or sub-groups having significantly different characteristics. In particular Eulerian platforms comprise a wide range of platforms - fixed moorings, surface buoys, cable bottom platforms - with some of them being part of mature and well-developed networks (OceanSITES, EMSO etc) while other are loose partners of on-going programs and projects (JERICO RI, coastal buoys). EuroSea activities had a significant positive impact on all the observing and thematic networks, actively promoting synergies and collaboration, with most of them successfully reaching Framework Processes Readiness Criteria Level 7 and above. Although progress at many different aspects must continue beyond EuroSea, it is important that the framework has been set. It is thus suggested that an annual evaluation/assessment process for each network/task team is adopted within EuroGOOS. By going through this exercise annually, each EuroGOOS Task Team (observing network) will be able to describe its current state, assess progress and most importantly to define next targets and priorities