Port-Royal Tradition of General Grammar

Abstract

This chapter explains port-royal tradition of general grammar. Port-Royal was the name of a convent established near Paris in the early thirteenth century. In linguistics, it refers to a small group of Jansenist religious figures in the mid-seventeenth century whose community, affiliated with the convent, was a center of intellectual activity. The Modistae of the 13th and 14th centuries, adopting many ideas from Aristotle, interrupted centuries of prescriptivist studies by taking up what is referred to as “speculative grammar.” At the time of the GGR, however, grammatical studies in France were synonymous with a concern over what constituted correct Latin or French. Jansenism was an austere Roman Catholic sect whose followers believed that the Church had strayed too far from the teachings of the patriarchs. Their dissatisfaction was aimed in particular at the Jesuits, whose supposedly liberal views were the rule of the day throughout France and much of Europe. The idea for the GGR came from Lancelot, whose intention was to create a sort of guide to facilitate the study of any language.