Language reforms in France of the XVII century and the formation of gallant aesthetics.

Abstract

The study of language as a carrier of a new aesthetic ideal in the first half of the XVII century in France and language reforms as a consequence of the emergence of a new ethos are at the intersection of sociolinguistics, history and cultural studies. For almost three centuries, French has been not only the language of international communication, like Latin. He carried a new aesthetic, introduced new literature, gave an opportunity to join a new manner of behavior and lifestyle in general. French became not so much the language of educated people, like Latin, as the language of secular educated people, it expressed the ideals of gallantry, good manners and upbringing, which foreigners came to Paris to study. To explain the phenomenon of the spread of the French language and the influence of French culture not only on Russia, but also on other European countries, it is necessary to return to the language reforms of the XVII century, when the language becomes a reflection of a new aesthetic. This study aims to show why the discussion around language flows into a discussion about style, and it, in turn, about the superiority of the new aesthetics. The reforms of the French language, on the one hand, were the result of the establishment of new aesthetic principles in the consciousness, on the other hand, they influenced the aesthetic principles of their time. Simplicity, naturalness and purity of style, clarity of expressions that convey exactly the thoughts come to French literature and later transferred to art as a whole. The successes of linguistic and literary reforms for contemporaries are associated with the political successes of France, because "the greatness of the empire and the elegance of the language always go hand in hand."