Résumés
Le Journal des Sçavans et les Philosophical Transactions ont été fondés tous les deux en 1665, et sont devenus des revues majeures qui continuent d'exister de nos jours. Les deux ont également connu des difficultés dans les premières années de leur existence. Cette étude prend comme base un mini-corpus couvrant la période 1665-1695. Elle suggère que pendant cette période le Journal des Sçavans a peu évolué ; les comptes rendus de livres constituaient la majorité des entrées, le nombre de pages était relativement stable, mais en même temps, le Journal traitait une large gamme de sujets. Par comparaison, les Philosophical Transactions traitaient une gamme plus restreinte, principalement les sujets que l'on qualifie de nos jours de scientifiques ; néanmoins cette revue utilisait plus de genres, avec relativement peu de comptes rendus ; par ailleurs, le nombre de pages a augmenté pendant la période étudiée.
The Journal des Sçavans and the Philosophical Transactions were both founded in 1665, and went on to become major journals both of which still exist. They both also had difficulties in the years immediately following their creation. This study is based on a mini-corpus for the years 1665-1695. It indicates that over this period the Journal de Sçavans changed little; book reviews constituted the majority of the items printed, the number of pages remained more or less the same, but at the same time it covered a wide range of subjects. In comparison, the Philosophical Transactions covered a narrower range of subjects, mainly those we would now think of as being scientific; however, it used a wider range of genres, with relatively few book reviews; and the number of pages increased over the period studied.
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Ce document sera publié en ligne en texte intégral en mars 2012.
Plan
1. Introduction
2. The beginnings
2.1. The beginnings of the Journal des Sçavans
2.2. The beginnings of the Philosophical Transactions
3. Corpus
3.1.1. Journal des Sçavans, 5 Jan. 1665
3.1.2. Journal des Sçavans, 2 Jan. 1675
3.1.3. Journal des Sçavans, 8 Jan. 1685
3.1.4. Journal des Sçavans, 3 Jan. 1695
3.2.1. Philosophical Transactions, 6 Mar. 1665
3.2.2. Philosophical Transactions, 25 Mar. 1675
3.2.3. Philosophical Transactions, 28 Jan. 1685
3.2.4. Philosophical Transactions, Jan. 1695
4. Some elements of comparison
I have come to believe that while synchronic study of a language is obviously possible, consideration of how it has come to be the way it is enhances and informs our understanding of its functions and structures in our contemporary situation. In language learning, the so-called irregularities and problems take on a much less daunting appearance when they can be explained in terms of their historical development. For example, the learner who understands that the “irregular” verbs of English are in fact derived from the “regular” strong verbs of Old English is less likely to perceive them as simply an arbitrary list of isolated facts to be learnt by heart. What is true of the language in general is also true, I believe, of specialized language, so that the problems specific to specialized language learning may become less problematical when the way specialized language has developed is understood.
This article is a contribution to that understanding; it deals with the be...
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Référence électronique
David Banks, « Starting science in the vernacular. Notes on some early issues of the Philosophical Transactions and the Journal des Sçavans, 1665-1700 », ASp [En ligne], 55 | 2009, mis en ligne le 01 mars 2012, consulté le 15 novembre 2011. URL : http://asp.revues.org/213
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