33 Discourse traditions and lexical innovation

Abstract

The well-known concept of discourse tradition, which since the 80s led to countless case studies and multiple theoretical and methodological proposals, includes an aspect that remains neglected in linguistics: the fact that the norms of the discursive genres directly affect the lexical creativity of the speakers. We will begin this chapter by reminding why this phenomenon has not yet been sufficiently examined, namely because of the domination of the “sign problematic” (vs. “text/discourse problematic”) in linguistics and because of the difficulties to conceive a coherent theory of genre. In a second step, we will illustrate the fact that the neological activity of the speakers always depends on the current discursive tradition, i. e. in our case genres belonging to different fields (literature, journalism, music, etc.) and from different periods. Indeed, and independently from the model used to describe lexical creation, discursive genres influence the process which shapes the neologism, and primarily the possibility of creating one. In addition, we will show that it is also necessary to take into account, in order to study the influence of discursive norms on lexical creativity, other types of discursive tradition, and not only discursive genres, such as for example the editorial tone of newspapers and other collective styles. Finally, the presentation will propose a theoretical model whose aim is to answer a theoretical unthought concerning the correlations between discourse genres, lexicon and creative activity of the speakers. The notional opposition néologène/néolophile (Gérard/Lacoste 2017) and the concept of “genetic mode” of texts (Rastier 2001) thus allow to conceive more clearly the part of the discursive norms which is responsible for the conditioning of the creative freedom of the speakers, in terms of lexical innovation (and of lexical diffusion).