The Teaching and Cultivation of the French Language in England Part 17

The next two dialogues deal with subjects characteristic of these books for teaching French--asking the way, the arrival and entertainment at an inn, and finally, buying, selling, and bargaining--all topics useful for merchants and merchants' apprentices, from whose ranks Du Ploich probably recruited a number of his pupils. "L'aprentif" is the word he uses in speaking of his pupils, though there is no proof to show that he employed it in any special sense. Then comes a fifth chapter containing the following headings: "Pour demander le chemin," "Aultre communication en chevauchant," "Pour aller coucher," "Pour soy descoucher," and beginning thus:

Sir, we be oute of Monsieur, nous somes hors de our way. nostre chemin.

We be not. Non sommes.

But we be. Si sommes.

We go well. Nous allons bien.

We doo not. Non faisons.

But we doo, abyde. Si faisons, attendez.

Beholde there cometh a woman. Voyla une femme qui vient.

We will aske her Nous voulons lui demander whiche is the way. ou est le droict chemin.

Good wife, shew me M'amie, monstre moy the ryghte way le droict chemin d'icy here hence to the nexte towne. au prochain village.

Streyghte before you. Tousiours devant vous.

Upon whiche hande? A quelle main?

On the lefte hande. A la main gauche, etc.

In the sixth chapter the merchants leave the inn in the early morning to transact their business:

Wil we go see if we Voulons nous aller veoir sy nous can bye some thyng? pourrons acheter quelque chose?

That shold be wel done, Ce seroit bien faict, but it is yet too tymely. mais il est encore trop tempre.

By your licence it is tyme. Pardonnez moy il est temps.

Have you any Eglyshe cloth? Avez vous dez draps d'Engleterre?

Ye, what colour. Ouy, quelle couleur ... etc.

At the end come the names of the figures, necessary for such transactions, and finally information and advice in verse form, without any English rendering, "pour gens de finance":

Toy qui est receveur du Roy Je te prie entens et me croy.

Recoy avant que tu escripves, Escriptz avant que tu delivres, De recevoir faitz diligence Et fais tardifve delivrance.

En tes clers pas tant ne te fie Que veoir te fais souvent oublie.

Regarde souvent en ton papier Quant, quoy, combien il fault payer.

Prens lettres quy soyent vaillables, Aye parrolles amiables, Et soys diligent de compter.

Ainsy pourras plus hault monter.

Du Ploich seems to have brought with him to England a Genevan "A B C,"

or book of elementary instruction and prayers for children, such as was common in France as well as in England. The next section of his treatise treats of the French A B C in words identical with those of an _A B C francois_ printed at Geneva in 1551. This is followed by a few very slight rules in English, which tell us not to p.r.o.nounce the last letter of a French word, except _s_, _t_, and _p_, when the next word begins with a consonant; to neglect a vowel at the end of a word when the following word begins with another vowel; also that the accusative precedes the verb; that after _au_, _ou_, _i_, and _eu_, _l_ is not sounded; that the consonants _sp_, _st_, and _ct_ should not be separated in p.r.o.nunciation; and that the negative is formed by placing _ne_ before the verb and _pas_ or _point_ after it. To this scanty grammatical information, which bears considerable resemblance to that contained in some previous works,[348] the eighth and last chapter adds the conjugation of the two auxiliaries in Latin, English, and French.

The treatise closes with a Latin poem addressed to "preceptor noster Du Ploich" by John Alexander, one of his pupils, and with a table of contents.

No doubt French was the basis of the whole of the instruction given by Du Ploich in his school. His pupils learnt to write from this French text-book, and memorized the Latin verbs with the French verbs. The fact that Du Ploich places his few grammar rules at the end of the work, and after the practical reading-exercises, shows what slight importance he attached to them. He would, we may a.s.sume, refer his pupils to them as occasion arose, but practical exercises and conversation formed the chief part of his lessons. He made free use of English in explaining the meaning of the French, and throughout his book he sacrifices the English phrase in order to render more closely the meaning of the French, for which he duly apologizes: "that none blame or reprove this sayd translacion thus made in Englishe because that it is a litle corrupt.

[Header: DU PLOICH'S METHOD OF TEACHING] For the author hath done it for the better declaryng of the diversitie of one tounge to the other, and it is turned almost worde for worde and lyne for lyne, that it may be to his young scholars more easy and lyght."

Du Ploich was thoughtful for his young pupils. "A little at a time, and that done well" was his motto. On this method, he says, the child will learn more in a week than he would do in two months by attempting a great deal at the beginning. The master should repeat the lesson two or three times before allowing the child to say it, and be ready to explain difficulties, and not wait for the child to guess. If not, the pupil will lose patience and the little courage he possesses. Du Ploich would have the verbs learnt on the plan already advocated on a larger scale by Duwes, that is, he advises the student to practise them negatively and interrogatively as well as in the usual affirmative form.

Some time later, probably after Du Ploich's death, or when he had left England, there appeared another edition of his grammar. This was printed by John Kingston, and finished on the fourteenth day of April 1578.[349]

An important change in the arrangement of the chapters distinguishes it from the edition of 1553; in the later edition the chapter on the alphabet and grammar is placed at the beginning, although in both issues the chapter on the two auxiliaries closes the work. Kingston--for he was probably responsible for the change--thus yielded to the tendency, which became stronger and stronger as time advanced, of placing theoretical before practical instruction. In addition to slight variations, other differences between the two works are the omission of the verses for "gens de finance," and of the Latin poem addressed to Du Ploich by one of his pupils.

_The Little Treatise in English and French_ was not the only work produced by Du Ploich during his residence in England. On its completion he turned his attention to the composition of a work on the estate of princes, which he called a _Pet.i.t Recueil tresutile et tresnecessaire de l'Etat dez Princes, dez Seigneurs temporelz et du commun peuple, faict par Pierre Du Ploych_.[350] This _Recueil_ is written in French. Its subject matter is not of much interest, but the Latin verses with which it closes inform us that Du Ploich had a law degree (Licentiatus Legum).

He dedicated the ma.n.u.script, which is not dated, to the "Roy tres puissant Eduard sixieme de ce nom," who graciously received it and rewarded Du Ploich's industry by a generous gift.[351] This favourable reception encouraged the French teacher to present another work to his "Soverain lord and master" in the course of the following year. This second ma.n.u.script is shorter than the earlier _Recueil_;[352] it bears the t.i.tle of _Pet.i.t Recueil des homaiges, honneurs et recognoissances deubz par les hommes a Dieu le createur, avec certaines prieres en la recognoissance de soy mesme_. At the end occurs a pa.s.sage of some interest in which Du Ploich expresses his intention of providing the work, unworthy as it is, with an English translation, as soon as he finds time and opportunity for such an undertaking, for he has not English "de nature."[353] This rendering, he says, will be "mot pour mot et ligne pour ligne, affin d'augmenter les couraiges des professeurs."

We may infer from this that he thought of having the work printed in French and English for the use of students.

A French school very similar to that of Du Ploich, but of which we have more details, was kept by Claude de Sainliens, De Sancto Vinculo, or, as he anglicized it, Holyband. A native of Moulins and a Huguenot, Holyband probably sought refuge in England from the persecutions. In 1571 he is said to have been in England seven years;[354] hence he must have begun his long career in London as a teacher of French in the year 1564. In 1566 he took out letters of denization.[355] Holyband was not exactly a scholar, but rather a man of broad interests, sustained by extraordinary vitality, and before he had been in England three years he had published two books for teaching French, which became very popular, and continued to be reprinted for nearly a century. There is no extant copy of the earliest edition of the first of these, but it appeared most probably in 1565. [Header: CLAUDE HOLYBAND] The earliest copy known is dated 1573, and bears the t.i.tle, _The French Schoolemaister, wherin is most plainlie shewed the true and most perfect way of p.r.o.nouncinge of the French Tongue_. The contents of this little book are of the kind which became characteristic of works for teaching French. It opens with rules for p.r.o.nunciation and grammar in English, of little value or originality, and purposely made as concise as possible. These are followed by dialogues, collections of proverbs, golden sayings, prayers, and graces before meat, and a large vocabulary. The dialogues are by far the most interesting portion of the work. Like those of Du Ploich, they show a close connexion between the teaching of French and the daily concerns of life. They give us a picture of the busy London of the time, and especially of St. Paul's Churchyard, as well as lively family scenes, together with the usual wayside and tavern conversation. We see the boy setting off to school in the morning, threading his way through the busy streets, and again see him return to the hearty and hospitable family dinner, during which he finds occasion to speak of his French studies. These dialogues are given in French and English arranged on opposite pages. Their dramatic interest may be gathered from the opening pa.s.sage, where we listen to the servant hurrying the boy off to school:

Hau Francois, levez vous et allez Ho Francis, arise and go to a l'eschole: vous serez battu, schoole: you shall be beaten, car il est sept heures pa.s.sees: for it is past seven: abillez vous vistement. make you ready quickly.

Dites voz prieres, puis vous Say your prayers, then you aurez vostre desiuner: shall have your breakfast: sus, remuez vous. go to, stirre.

Marguerite, baillez moy mes chausses. Margaret, give me my hosen.

Despeschez vous ie vous prie: ou est Dispatch I pray you: where is mon pourpoint? apportez me iartieres my doublet? bring my garters et mes souliers: and my shoes: donnez moy ce chausse-pied. give me that shooing-horne.

Que faites vous la? What do you there?

que ne vous hastez vous? why make you no haste?

Prenez premierement une chemise blanche, Take first a cleane shirt, car la vostre est trop sale: for yours is too foule: n'est elle pas? is it not?

Hastez vous donc, Make haste then, car ie demeure trop. for I do tarry too long.

Elle est encore moite, attendez un peu It is moist yet, tarry a litle que ie la seiche au feu: that I may drie it by the fire: i'auray tost fait. I will have soone done.

Je ne sauroye tarder si longuement. I cannot tarry so long.

Allez vous en, ie n'en veux point. Go your way, I will none of it.

Vostre mere me tancera Your mother will chide me si vous allez a l'eschole if you go to school sans vostre chemise blanche. without your clean shirt.

And after quarrelling with Margaret, and using rather bad language, Francis receives his parents' blessing, and starts off to school.

Unfortunately we are not spectators of his doings there.

Whether Holyband had opened his French school or not when he composed the _French Schoolemaister_ is uncertain; but the school was evidently in full swing at the time his second work appeared, about a year later, in 1566. The contents of the new work, _The French Littleton, a most easie, perfect, and absolute way to learn the French tongue_, are much the same as those of the _French Schoolemaister_. There is, however, one important difference between the two works. In the _Schoolemaister_ the rules precede the practical exercises, but this order is reversed in the _Littleton_. In the first work Holyband does not appear to have fully evolved his method of teaching French. By the time he wrote the _French Littleton_ he was able to lay down principles, based, no doubt, on experience, and consequently he attached a higher value to the second of his works, and used it himself in teaching. The _French Schoolemaister_ was intended more for the use of private pupils. It was described as a "perfect way" of learning French without any "helpe of Maister or teacher,[356] set foorthe for the furtherance of all those whiche doo studie privately in their own study or houses." Holyband himself does not seem to have given it much attention after its first appearance.

Nevertheless it enjoyed as great a popularity and went through as many editions, or nearly so, as its author's more favoured work. Other French teachers made up for Holyband's neglect by editing it themselves in the early seventeenth century. So great indeed was its success that in 1600 a tax of 20 per cent was levied on each edition for the benefit of the poor.[357] We may perhaps conclude from this that those who studied French privately were numerous.

The value of the _French Littleton_ is more educational; it expounds all the favourite theories of its author. The name is taken from the popular work on English law, the text-book for all law-students, Littleton's _Tenures_. While the _French Schoolemaister_ was a small octavo, the _Littleton_ was printed to the size of a tiny pocket-book, in 16mo.

[Header: HOLYBAND'S FRENCH GRAMMARS] First come practical exercises in the form of dialogues in French and English,[358] but of less lively interest than those of the _Schoolemaister_. They deal, however, with the same subjects,[359] only, as we read them we do not forget, as we were inclined to do in the earlier book, that we are reading exercises intended for school use. Then follow proverbs, golden sayings, prayers, the creed, the fifth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, a treatise on the iniquity of dancing (_Traite des Danses_), and finally a vocabulary less comprehensive and of less value than that of the _French Schoolemaister_.

The _French Littleton_ derives additional interest from the fact that in it Holyband sets forth a new system for rendering the p.r.o.nunciation of French easier to the English. He realized the difficulties placed in their way by the many unsounded letters present in certain French words.

He had no desire, however, to join the extremists, who advocated the omission of all such consonants in orthography as well as in p.r.o.nunciation. Holyband considered such letters an essential part of the word, and often a useful indication of the p.r.o.nunciation of vowels and of the derivation. He therefore proposed a compromise which he thought would please both parties: he retains the unsounded letters, but distinguishes them from those which were p.r.o.nounced by placing a small cross below them,[360] a device adopted in later editions of the _French Schoolemaister_ also. A short quotation from the conversation for travellers and merchants will show how Holyband applied his method:

Monsieur ou pikez vous si bellement? Sir whither ride you so softly?

x

A Londres To London a la foire de la Berthelemy. to Barthelomews faire.

x Je vay au Landi a Paris, je vay I go to Landi to Paris, a Rouen. to Rouen.

Et moy aussi: allons ensemble: And I also: let us go together: x je suy bien aise I am very glad d'avoir trouve compagnie. to have found company.

Allons de par Dieu: Let us go in G.o.d's name: x picquons un peu, let us p.r.i.c.ke a littell, j'ay pour que nous ne venions pas la I fear we shall not come thither x x x de jour, car le soleil by daylight: the sunne x s'en va coucher. goeth downe.

Mais ou logerons nous? ou est But where shall we lodge? where is x x x le meilleur logis? la meilleure the best lodging? the best x hostelerie? inne?

Ne vous souciez pas de cela: Care you not for that: it is x x c'est au grand marche a l'enseigne at the great market, at the sign x x de la fleur de lis, vis a vis of the flower Deluce, right over de la croix. against the crosse.

Je suy joyeux d'estre arrive, car I am glad that I am arrived, for x x certes g'ay bon appet.i.t: truly I have a good stomacke: J'espere de faire a ce soir I hope to make to-night x souper de marchant. a marchauntes supper.

Nous disons en nostre pais We say in our country, x x que desiuner that hunters de cha.s.seurs, disner d'advocats, breakefast, lawyers dinner, x x x souper de supper of marchants et collacion de moynes marchauntes, and monkes drinking x x est is xx la meilleure chere qu'on sauroit the best cheere that one can x x faire, make, et pour vivre en epicurien. and to live like an epicure.

x

Et on dit en nostre paroisse And they say in our parish x x que jeunes that young x medecins font les cymetieres phisitions make the churchardes x bossus crooked et vieux procureurs, proces tortus: and old attornies sutes to go awry, x x mais au but on the contraire que jeunes procureurs et contrary that young lawyers, x vieux medecins, jeune chair, olde phisitions, young flesh, x et vieil poisson sont les meilleurs. and old fishe be the best.

x x x x x

Or bien, irons nous acheter Well shall we go and buy ce qu'il that whiche nous faut? Nous demourons trop. we doe lack? We tarie to long.

x x