Examples and Collocations in the French
'Dictionnaire de langue'
A. P. Cowie
School of English, University of Leeds (Leeds LS2 9JT, UK)

•

1. Introduction

It is still unusual in Britain to find a working lexicographer with the time and
inclination to keep an ear tuned to current developments in linguistics. W h e n the
d i c t i o n a r y - m a k e r can m o v e with a s s u r a n c e and distinction b e t w e e n the t w o
worlds, as Sue Atkins does, we have a rarity to b e cherished. In the course of a
career that has given us two major bilingual dictionaries and a succession of
incisive, illuminating papers, Sue has c o m b i n e d an i n s i d e r ' s critical view of
existing

dictionaries

-

especially

monolingual

and

bilingual

learners'

dictionaries - with an active e n g a g e m e n t with syntax and lexical s e m a n t i c s
(Atkins and Levin 1995, Atkins, Levin and S o n g 1996), including, notably, a
collaboration with C h a r l e s Fillmore in the field of frame semantics ( A t k i n s
1994, Fillmore and Atkins 1992). And not content with extending the reach of
r e l e v a n t t h e o r y and description

into d i c t i o n a r y - m a k i n g , S u e has led

the

m o v e m e n t in promoting empirical research into dictionary uses and users, both
as a w a y of i m p r o v i n g the products t h e m s e l v e s a n d as the best m e a n s of
enhancing their effective use (Atkins 1998).
In this chapter, and a s a tribute to Sue Atkins, I propose to tackle an aspect of
dictionary structure - examples - in the treatment of which linguistic expertise
and c o n c e r n for didactic effectiveness are b o t h essential e l e m e n t s . A n d to
p r o v i d e a critical perspective on English lexicography from another dictionary
culture, I shall focus on the French monolingual 'dictionnaire de l a n g u e ' . ' T h e r e
is a direct connection between the excellence of the works I shall discuss and the
enviable degree of linguistic expertise displayed by their editors. On the w h o l e ,
they order this matter better in France.
M a n y of the issues I shall touch on, linguistic and p r e s e n t a t i o n a l , h a v e
e x e r c i s e d French lexicographers since the 1960s, and there is a m e a s u r e of
agreement on the types of examples that are appropriate for larger and smaller
dictionaries. This is partly, as Q u e m a d a has s h o w n , the result of strong and
persistent influences from the past. As r e g a r d s e x a m p l e s , the prestige of the
Dictionnaire

de l'Académie,


first published in 1694, ensured that later F r e n c h

dictionaries would lay stress, in an unbroken tradition, on illustrative e x a m p l e s ,


74

A.P. Cowie

a n d especially ' m i n i m a l s y n t a g m a t i c u n i t s ' , or collocations ( Q u e m a d a 1968:
5 0 7 ) . Another l o n g - s t a n d i n g subject of interest, as H a u s m a n n has shown, is the
source

of e x a m p l e s : are they 'les exemples

citations

rédigés par les lexicographes' or 'les

e m p r u n t é e s aux a u t e u r s ' ( H a u s m a n n 1987: 107); and w h a t kinds of

supporting context d o they provide?
T h i s chapter focuses on the relationship between the forms that examples take
a n d the illustrative functions that they serve. W e begin (in Section 2) by setting
u p a framework of e x a m p l e types. H e r e w e e x a m i n e and attempt to refine the
n o t i o n s of made-up
quotations

examples


(cf. H a u s m a n n ' s ' e x e m p l e s r é d i g é s ' ) and

textual

('citations e m p r u n t é e s ' ) , pointing out that the difference between the

t w o types need n o t b e clear-cut, since q u o t a t i o n s are often, a n d to varying
degrees, adapted. Again,

we f o c u s on and define

Quemada's

'minimal

s y n t a g m a t i c u n i t s ' , also to be referred to as 'skeleton e x a m p l e s ' (cf. P a l m e r
1936), which carry

much

of the b u r d e n of i l l u s t r a t i o n

in

monolingual

dictionaries of various types and sizes.
E x a m p l e s in this part of the discussion will be drawn from two widely praised
a n d highly influential o n e - v o l u m e dictionaries, the Dictionnaire
contemporain


( D F C ) (first edition, 1966) and Le Petit

Robert

du

français

( P R ) (second

edition, 1993). O u r f r a m e w o r k of e x a m p l e types will reflect the forms they take
in t h o s e dictionaries - t h o u g h s o m e later modification will be needed when we
t u r n to c o n s i d e r m a j o r , m u l t i - v o l u m e w o r k s . T h e functions of the v a r i o u s
e x a m p l e types in D F C and P R will also be examined.
In Sections 4 and 5, I shall be concerned with the forms taken by e x a m p l e s ,
a n d their didactic a n d cultural functions, in t w o m u l t i - v o l u m e m o n o l i n g u a l
F r e n c h dictionaries of the present day, n a m e l y Le Grand Robert
1 9 8 5 ) , and Le Trésor

de la langue

française

(second edition,

( 1 9 7 1 - 9 4 ) . T h e a n a l y s i s of

e x a m p l e s and their u s e s in d i c t i o n a r i e s such as these needs to b e set in a
historical context, a n d t h o u g h a detailed account will not be attempted, I shall

refer (in Section 3) to the c i r c u m s t a n c e s which led to the inclusion of invented
a n d simplified e x a m p l e s in the F r e n c h A c a d e m y ' s dictionary of 1694, and the
e x c l u s i o n of literary citations. W e shall find, incidentally, that there is often a
c l o s e connection b e t w e e n the selection of extracts from literary texts and the
desire to provide e x a m p l e s that h a v e resonance

in the r e a d e r ' s m i n d . As Jean

a n d C l a u d e D u b o i s h a v e r e m a r k e d ( 1 9 7 1 : 9 2 ) , 'les e x e m p l e s littéraires font
partie d e la tradition e s t h é t i q u e et m o r a l e ' . Conversely, as we shall see, there is
often a close link b e t w e e n the simplification of examples, made-up or borrowed,
and a pedagogically

i n s p i r e d w i s h to p r o v i d e m i n i m a l c o n t e x t s for sense

recognition and sentence building.


Examples and Collocations in the French 'Dictionnaire de langue'

75

2. Citations, e x a m p l e s and collocations

As I have already suggested, a n u m b e r of French lexicographers have, over the
past thirty or more years, and with s o m e measure of agreement, succeeded in
identifying the types of examples thought to be of most value in the ' l e x i c a l '
dictionary ( Q u e m a d a 1968, R e y - D e b o v e 1968, D u b o i s and Dubois 1971, I m b s
1979, Rey 1985). Interestingly - though these scholars will, u n d e r s t a n d a b l y ,
have had no knowledge of what had been written on the subject, in Japan, over

thirty years previously - the expatriate teacher and linguist Harold Palmer, then
director of the T o k y o Institute for Research in English Teaching, developed a
scheme of dictionary examples intended to meet the needs of foreign learners of
2

English ( P a l m e r 1936; cf. C o w i e 1999a). T h o u g h P a l m e r ' s f r a m e w o r k was
comparatively simple, interesting parallels can be d r a w n between his categorization and the later French schemes, and I shall refer to these in what follows.
Quotations, whether from a literary or non-literary source, or from speech or
writing, played no part in the early E F L dictionaries, and in fact did not m a k e
their a p p e a r a n c e until the c o r p u s - b a s e d dictionaries of the late 1980s. T h e
dictionary in our set which c o m e s closest to an English learner's dictionary D F C - contains no quotations either. On the surface, P R is quite different, each
page containing from 10 to 50 citations in brackets followed by the n a m e of an
author or periodical ( R e y 1992: xv). But these are not the 'minimally a d a p t e d '
quotations, typically complete sentences, referred to at A in Fig. 1 (below), that
are regularly found in the larger dictionaries. T h o u g h a number of e x a m p l e s in
PR are c o m p l e t e sentences, m a n y are noun p h r a s e s or s u b o r d i n a t e c l a u s e s ,
clearly adapted from s o m e larger independent unit. Consider, for example:
(1)

<< Les sphères célestes

de la philosophie

<< Quand viennent les chaleurs

»

de l'été >>

(FRANCE)

3

(DAUD. )

Note, too, that any stylistic interest such examples may bring is subsidiary to
the chief e d i t o r ' s main purpose: they are chosen to illustrate normal usage: ' c ' e s t
pourquoi d e s phrases v o l o n t a i r e m e n t banales, très c o u r t e s , ont s o u v e n t été
retenues' (Rey 1992: xv). We shall return to such 'syntagmes m i n i m a u x ' below.
If we n o w return to quoted s e n t e n c e s , and take account of the p o s s i b l e
removal, during compilation, of anaphoric pronouns such as ceci, cela, and time
and place adverbials like alors,

là - thus m a k i n g the e x a m p l e s intelligible

independently of context - we are in fact edging t o w a r d s the second t y p e of
example - the decontextualized sentence example, o n e whose c o m p o n e n t s , apart
from the definiendum, are already familiar to the intended user. (See T y p e B ,
Fig. 1.)


76

A. P. Cowie
INVENTION

QUOTATION

ADAPTATION

A. Minimally

adapted attributed
quotation

C. Skeleton example
(or 'syntagme minimal')
with SIMPLIFICATION,

B. Decontextualized
sentence example with
familiar, fully intelli­
gible, components

+ / - ABSTRACTION,
+/-

LISTING

Fig. 1. Types of illustrative example
Several c o n s i d e r a t i o n s - especially in o n e - v o l u m e monolingual dictionaries argue

in f a v o u r

of

such

examples,

w h e t h e r t h e s e are t h e p r o d u c t s


of

ADAPTATION or INVENTION. The first is e c o n o m y . T o ensure that a dictionary is
of m a n a g e a b l e size, e x a m p l e s will for the most part not be allowed to exceed the
limits of a s e n t e n c e , or perhaps a phrase, and therefore not be d e p e n d e n t on a
w i d e r c o n t e x t for c o m p l e t e elucidation ( D u b o i s and D u b o i s 1971). Typical
e x a m p l e s at this level, that is to say, are isolated
full

understanding

on an explanatory

context

sentences,

not dependent

for

( C o w i e 1989: 5 9 ) . W h e n this

c o n d i t i o n is not m e t in a q u o t a t i o n , the structure and/or v o c a b u l a r y of the
e x c e r p t m a y , as w e h a v e s h o w n , be a d a p t e d . A n d m a d e - u p e x a m p l e s , while
contriving to b e natural, must satisfy the s a m e conditions.
Granted that u n d e r s t a n d i n g of the extract and of its included h e a d w o r d is not
d e p e n d e n t on context, it is also essential that the words and (where present) the
i d i o m s m a k i n g up t h e sentence should not be less familiar and understandable
than the d e f i n i e n d u m . T o b e a satisfactory e x a m p l e , in other w o r d s , the quoted

extract or ' e x e m p l e f o r g é ' must be fully

intelligible

(Cowie 1999a: 135). In the

f o l l o w i n g q u o t a t i o n from M a u p a s s a n t a p p e a r i n g in the Petit
embarcation,

Robert

entry for

w e find several words - all c o - h y p o n y m s of the headword - that

are likely to b e less well k n o w n than the h e a d w o r d itself. T h e result is that yole,
skif

and so on, w h o s e p u r p o s e is to throw light on embarcation,

are themselves

partly explained by it.
(2)

< < Des flottes

de yoles, de skif s (sic), de périssoires,

gigs, d'embarcations


de toute forme

de podoscaphes,

et de toute nature. »

de

(MAUPASS.)

Q u o t e d material, t h e n , even when adapted, as no doubt in that case, m a y be
s o m e w h a t o p a q u e - e v e n to native speakers. H o w e v e r , compilers w h o make up


Examples and Collocations in the French 'Dictionnaire de langue'

11

their o w n e x a m p l e s may fall into the o p p o s i t e trap of sacrificing linguistic
naturalness to explanatory fullness ( C o w i e 1989: 59). T h e perfect balance is
struck when the editor devises a sentence that illuminates the m e a n i n g of the
h e a d w o r d , does so without reference to a context, and is at the same t i m e
convincingly natural. The following examples from the entry for patte in D F C ,
while recalling to English readers that patte
(where of course it translates claw)

collocates with homard

as well as with chien


and

and chat,

poule

provide a

defining collocational range (or collocability) for the entry word.
(3)

Le chien tend la patte pour avoir un sucre. Les pattes d'un homard. La
poule fouillait la terre de sa patte. Le chat mit sa patte sur la soucoupe.

S o m e examples in this dictionary and others, incidentally, are a reminder that
the typical environment in which words are placed can b e c o m e what Clarence
Barnhart (quoted by Drysdale 1987: 216) has called a 'forcing illustration', that
is, one that can only be read with the correct interpretation of the headword. In
the following entry for bouton

(the source is again the D F C ) , the e x a m p l e s

c o n v e y the m e a n i n g of the word by describing the uses of the object, but
naturalness is not strained (cf. Rey-Debove 1971).
(4)

Des boutons de nacre ferment
rapprochent


le chemisier.

les deux bords des poignets

Les boutons de

de

manchettes

chemise.

T h e two s e t s of e x a m p l e s j u s t c o n s i d e r e d h a v e b e e n c o m p l e t e ,
explanatory sentences.

self-

They have also approximated to natural utterances, even

where a possible quotation has had to be edited to m a k e it easier to understand
w h e n r e m o v e d from its c o n t e x t . S u c h e x a m p l e s , c a l l e d

'sentence-sample'

examples by Palmer (1936), fulfil an important function in m a n y dictionaries,
including learners' dictionaries of English as well as French. W h i l e they have a
part to play in indicating the s y n t a c t i c and l e x i c a l e n v i r o n m e n t s of the
headword, another key function, especially when they are literary quotations, is
to refer the r e a d e r to a cultural context, as in the case of le chat ronronne
plaisir


quand on le caresse

de

(DFC), an e x a m p l e which e v o k e s an event familiar

within a French domestic context (Dubois and Dubois 1971: 89).
A l o n g s i d e ' s e n t e n c e - s a m p l e ' e x a m p l e s , several F r e n c h ' d i c t i o n n a i r e s d e
l a n g u e ' , i n c l u d i n g D F C and PR, contain e x a m p l e s that c o u l d not o c c u r in
natural speech or writing since they are the product of various types and degrees
of reduction.

T h e s e are c o m m o n l y

referred

to b y

French

scholars

as

' s y n t a g m e s ' , with a further division into 'syntagmes n o m i n a u x ' and ' s y n t a g m e s
verbaux', and b y Harold Palmer (1936) as 'skeleton-type' examples. (Type C.)
If we e x a m i n e a number of syntagmas, it quickly b e c o m e s apparent that m a n y
are not e x a m p l e s at all, if by e x a m p l e s w e mean instances of


performance,


78

A.P. Cowie

a c t u a l or i n v e n t e d

(Cowie

4

1 9 9 9 b ) . T h e y are the result, specifically,

of

SIMPLIFICATION and ABSTRACTION - what I have e l s e w h e r e called ' m i n i m a l
l e x i c a l i z e d p a t t e r n s ' ( C o w i e 1995, 1996) - and their value has long b e e n
r e c o g n i z e d in French a n d Italian lexical dictionaries, and in English learners'
dictionaries.
Simplification can b e seen in the following e x a m p l e s from Le Petit

Robert.

A s the j o i n t chief editor, Alain Rey, says - recognizing the nominal and verbal
t y p e s - ' c e s e x e m p l e s sont le plus souvent brefs, parfois simplifiés: groupes
adjectif-substantif sans articles, e x e m p l e s verbaux à l'infinitif (le soin de les
conjuguer étant laissé au lecteur)' (Rey 1993: xv).
(5)


Graver

une inscription,

des

Graver

un nom sur un arbre.

Graver

un

caractères.

disque.

A s for abstraction, one can see that, in the following e x a m p l e s from the D F C ,
c a t e g o r y l a b e l s such as ' q u e l q u ' u n ' , ' q u e l q u e c h o s e ' are u s e d to r e p r e s e n t
classes of substitutable items at o n e or more points.
(6)

Embarquer

quelqu 'un, quelque

chose


Embarquer

quelqu 'un dans une affaire

A further c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of the skeleton e x a m p l e , often found in English
l e a r n e r s ' dictionaries, and in French lexical dictionaries large and small, is the
LISTING of i t e m s k n o w n to be substitutable at various points in the e x a m p l e
( C o w i e 1999a). N o t e the alternative verbs and object n o u n s in the following
extract from the D F C :
(7)

Mettre, verser du baume sur une plaie, une
dans le coeur de quelqu 'un

blessuœ,

F i n a l l y , it is clear that these v a r i o u s p r o c e d u r e s can b e c o m b i n e d when
devising particular examples.

T h u s , e x a m p l e (6) s h o w s a listing of abstract

categories, while (7) illustrates abstraction and simplification - note the absence
of any modifying adjectives - as well, of course, as listing.
In d i s c u s s i n g the simplified
collocation

s y n t a g m a , especially, w e need to ask whether

- a term more familiar to British than to French lexicographers - can


be used in the s a m e sense. W e can put to one side the so-called

grammatical

collocations, that is, c o m b i n a t i o n s of t w o w o r d s one of which is an open-class
word, such as a verb or adjective, and the other a closed-class word, such as a
preposition - as witness, disagree

with and happy

about ( B e n s o n 1985, C o w i e

1999a) - and instead focus on lexical collocations. Lexical collocations consist
of t w o (or m o r e ) open-class words in a specific syntactic pattern - for instance,


Examples and Collocations in the French 'Dictionnaire de langue'

verb + object noun (tondre
endurci),

la pelouse),

noun + modifying adjective

modifying a d v e r b + adjective (grièvement

blessé)?

(célibataire


At this point it will

be clear that t h e simplified examples at (5) (e.g. Graver

un disque)

lexical collocations - w h i l e any listing, such as Graver

une inscription,

caractères

79

are also
des

represents t h e collapsing of two or more individual collocations of

the same grammatical type. Of course, as well as reflecting these possibilities of
combination, the collocations provided in both dictionaries represent a variety
structural types. In the following entry for the noun grève

of

("strike") in PR, for

i n s t a n c e , w e find e x a m p l e s realizing the s t r u c t u r e s verb + n o u n , n o u n +
adjective and noun + preposition + noun:

(8)

Faire grève,
Grève perlée.

se mettre en grève. ... Grève
Grève tournante,

générale.

... Grève du gaz, des

transports.

3. C o l l o c a t i o n s as d i c t i o n a r y e x a m p l e s : t h e historical c o n t e x t

The

tradition of c o m p i l i n g

monolingual

d i c t i o n a r i e s in w h i c h

skeleton

e x a m p l e s , or lexical collocations, play a leading exemplifying role is for the
most part located in continental Europe, specifically in F r a n c e , G e r m a n y and
Italy, and is particularly evident today in the French 'dictionnaires de l a n g u e '
and the Italian 'dizionari scolastici' ( C o w i e 1996). T h e United States and

Britain, it should be noted, are given a low rating b y H a u s m a n n (1987) in his
survey of the relative p r o m i n e n c e given to this feature in various national
traditions - though in the case of Britain, he makes an honourable exception of
the English learners' dictionary, and an exception should be made, too, of the
i n n o v a t i v e New

Oxford

Dictionary

of English

( 1 9 9 8 ) . B o t h of the F r e n c h

dictionaries w e have been examining are ' p e d a g o g i c a l ' dictionaries, the D F C
b e i n g addressed ' a u x élèves de l ' e n s e i g n e m e n t s e c o n d a i r e et aux é t u d i a n t s
é t r a n g e r s ' (Dubois et al. 1966: v) and the PR b e i n g intended for s t u d e n t s ,
professional users a n d i e grand public f r a n c o p h o n e ' (Rey 1992:. ix), and the
E F L dictionaries share with them the characteristic that their shorter examples the collocations - are designed to show the chief combinatorial possibilities of
words in their various senses.

6

A significant historical forerunner so far as t h e c h o i c e of e x a m p l e s is
concerned w a s the Dictionnaire

de l'Académie,

first published in Paris in 1694.


It was certainly not t h e case that, at its inception, the use of literary citations
received no.support. Indeed, C h a p e l a i n ' s plan of 1636 had envisaged systematic
recourse to great a u t h o r s of the past, on the model of the Italian
dell'Accademia

della

Crusca

Vocabolario

( Q u e m a d a 1972). B u t this purist and literary


80

A.P. Cowie

orientation w a s r e j e c t e d b y important elements at Court and in the cultivated
c l a s s e s , and t h e A c a d e m y a b a n d o n e d the notion of including citations from
literary texts - the o p p o s i t e course, it will b e noted, to that taken later by Samuel
J o h n s o n . T h e c o m p i l e r s in fact d r e w on their o w n intuition for suitable
e x a m p l e s : ' é t a n t A c a d é m i c i e n s , [ils] c o n s i d é r a i e n t q u ' i l s d é t e n a i e n t le beau
p a r l e r ' (Rey 1 9 8 5 : xviii). B u t as w e saw earlier, invented e x a m p l e s can vary
q u i t e c o n s i d e r a b l y . T h e y m a y b e full sentences, and s o m e h o w c o n v i n c e the
r e a d e r that they c o u l d o c c u r naturally in d i s c o u r s e . O n the o t h e r hand, the
examples could

c o m e closer, through abstraction


and simplification,

to

' s k e l e t o n ' e x a m p l e s , a n d m a n y of the e x a m p l e s devised by the compilers were
to b e of this type. W e c a n see in the following article for encourager

h o w the

b a l a n c e is struck in practice.
(9)

E N C O U R A G E R , v . a. Donner courage, exciter, inciter, encourager
faire, il m'encouragea
à cela, ce bon succès l'a fort encouragé,
eut encouragé ses soldats, ils s'encourageoient
l'un l'autre.

à bien
quand il

T h i s entry c o n t a i n s m a d e - u p sentence and clause examples, of which quand il
eut encouragé

ses soldats

is an instance, but it also has encourager

à bien


faire,

w h i c h is stripped d o w n t o a skeleton e x a m p l e . W e shall find, too, e x a m p l e s
i n v o l v i n g both simplification and listing. In the next entry, listed object nouns
are provided for b o t h t h e m e a n i n g s given. T h e s e are verb + noun collocations
w h i c h the user can flesh o u t and expand according to need.
(10) ENTAMER v . a. Faire une petite ouverture, une petite incision.
Entamer la peau, entamer la chair ... Oster une petite partie d'une
chose entière. Entamer
de drap.

du pain,

un melon,

un pasté.

entamer

une piece

...

T h e resemblance b e t w e e n this entry and those in later learners' dictionaries E n g l i s h as well as F r e n c h - is striking. Y e t t h e didactic e m p h a s i s of the
Dictionnaire

de l'Académie

should not surprise us. According to its Preface, the


dictionary was intended to serve as a model for cultivated native speakers and as
a learning tool for f o r e i g n e r s wishing to acquire the French l a n g u a g e ( C o w i e
1998). A s a result, t h e r e a r e very many noun and verb ' s y n t a g m e s ' designed to
meet those needs. A s H a u s m a n n h a s noted, a rhetorical tradition led the French
A c a d e m i c i a n s to ' b o u r r e r d e collocations leur p r e m i e r dictionnaire de 1 6 9 4 '
( H a u s m a n n 1987: 111).


Examples and Collocations in the French 'Dictionnaire de langue'

81

4 . E x a m p l e s in L e G r a n d R o b e r t

T h e second edition of the Grand
alphabétique

et analogique

Robert

de la langue française.

Dictionnaire

in nine volumes, 'entièrement revue et enrichie

par Alain R e y ' , was published in 1985 - with 'une edition augmentée' following
in 2 0 0 1 . F o r its rich s y n t a g m a t i c t r e a t m e n t of e n t r i e s , w h i c h follows


a

consistent, systematic pattern, this r e m a r k a b l e w o r k has no parallel a m o n g
English-language dictionaries of the same or similar size published in the second
half of the twentieth century. Indeed for a treatment of comparable richness o n e
has to turn to Le Trésor de la langue

française.

In introducing the kinds of examples to be used in the dictionary, Rey m a k e s
a major distinction which will be reflected recurrently in the structure of entries.
E x a m p l e s are b r o k e n d o w n into (a) ' e x e m p l e s i n t é g r é s au t e x t e ' , that is,
examples which, while italicized, form part of the s a m e 'defining block' as the
definition proper, and (b) 'citations r é f é r e n c é e s ' , or m o r e or less unaltered
attributed quotations. Consider the arrangement at 1 . in the entry for the v e r b
ARBORER, w h e r e the citation from Etienne P a s q u i e r c o m e s last in a smaller
type-size:
(11)

ARBORER ... • 1 . Planter, dresser, élever (qqch.) de manière à exposer
c o m m e un e m b l è m e . Arborer
les bannières,
des enseignes,
des
drapeaux. Arborer les trois couleurs ...Je n'avais jamais lu Arborer une
enseigne pour la planter, sinon aux {dans les) ordonnances que fit l'Amiral de
Chastillon ...
Etienne Pasquier, Recherches de la France

Within this structure, the 'integrated' examples (Arborer


les bannières,

in the a b o v e entry) are further d i v i d e d into ' é n o n c é s o b s e r v a b l e s '

etc.,
(i.e.

o b s e r v a b l e utterances) and ' é n o n c é s traités et s i m p l i f i é s ' (i.e. a d a p t e d and
simplified utterances), with the recognition by Rey that many of the latter c o m e
from the former. This division s o m e w h a t cuts a c r o s s the distinctions d r a w n
e a r l i e r in Fig.

1. T h e ' c i t a t i o n s r é f é r e n c é e s '

are clearly t y p e A in that

framework, while 'traités' relates to both B and C and 'simplifiés' to C. All the
e x a m p l e s 'intégrés au t e x t e ' , note, are ' c h a r g é s d e m o n t r e r au lecteur les
principales possibilités c o m b i n a t o i r e s de c h a q u e m o t ' (Rey 1985: xxxvi), or,
more precisely, of each word in its various senses.
Indeed, in long, complex entries such as ARME, the dictionary provides a great
n u m b e r of examples, fulfilling different illustrative functions. A major function,
which is often served by simplified e x a m p l e s , and quite c o m p l e x listings, is
indeed to demonstrate collocability but also to clarify m e a n i n g . The skeleton


82

A.P. Cowie


e x a m p l e s s h o w n at (11), above, perform these functions, as do the following two
lists of verb-noun collocations supporting one of the senses of plural ARMES:
( 12) Abandonner, déposer, poser, rendre les armes. Mettre, jeter bas les
armes.
H o w e v e r , the e m p l o y m e n t of e x a m p l e s for these purposes is by n o m e a n s
confined to this d i c t i o n a r y , as we h a v e seen, and shall see again. T h e true
originality of Le Grand

Robert,

as far as the use of examples is concerned, lies

in the support they give to the 'analogical' structure of the dictionary.
I n s p i r e d in part b y the Thesaurus
Dictionnaire

analogique

of Peter M a r k R o g e t ( 1 8 5 2 ) and the

de la langue française

of P. B o i s s i e r e (1862), Paul

Robert had, in his first edition of 1958-64, sought to achieve a marriage between
an alphabetical t r e a t m e n t supported by quotations - o w i n g s o m e t h i n g to E m i l e
Littré - and an analogical

dictionary w h i c h would bring together groupings of


different w o r d s e x p r e s s i n g the s a m e notion (Rey 1985: x v i i ) . In fact, his
dictionary w o u l d feature a cross-reference system designed to reflect a variety

of

s e m a n t i c relations, including a n t o n y m y , part-whole relations and cause-effect
relations. T h e r e would, too, be 'mots-centres, autour desquels s'organise tout un
vocabulaire'

(Rey

1 9 8 5 : x x x i x ) . S u c h an a m b i t i o u s s c h e m e w o u l d

have

important c o n s e q u e n c e s for the roles that examples were called on to play in the
dictionary.
A s an e x a m p l e of a word-centre, consider ARBRE in Le Grand Robert,

and the

d e n s e , multi-layered structure that is built up in that entry (see Fig. 2).
N o t e first the d e v e l o p m e n t of the definition with its e m p h a s i s on the chief
c o m p o n e n t s of the tree and its extension above the ground. T h e r e then follow a
n u m b e r of n o u n - p h r a s e e x a m p l e s of the form 'le I la NOUN de l'arbre',
t h e slot is filled b y a n o u n d e n o t i n g a c o m p o n e n t part (say tige).

in which
A s the


following selection s h o w s , their ordering takes the reader from the bottom to the
top of the tree:
(13) Les racines, la tige
les branches d'un arbre. Noeud vital de
l'arbre. ... Le feuillage de l'arbre. ...Le haut, le sommet, la tête
d'un arbre.
Later on, w e are invited to consider the annual cycle of the tree. Set out in
c h r o n o l o g i c a l order w e find verbal skeleton e x a m p l e s ( ' s y n t a g m e s v e r b a u x ' )
d e n o t i n g stages in that progression: L'arbre
se développe,

pousse,

végète

-

prend

bien, prend

racine,

...

croît,

and so on. T h i s is s i m p l y to c o n s i d e r the


s y n t a g m a t i c a s p e c t of the d e s c r i p t i o n . T h e r e is also a rich

paradigmatic

treatment, since at various points in the section dealing with the structure of the
tree (see again Fig. 2), the names of c o m p o n e n t s are followed by their synonyms


Examples and Collocations in the French 'Dictionnaire de langue'

83

in bold print, thus: la tête d'un arbre. <=> Apex, cime, faîte, h o u p p i e r , sommité.
Such an arrangement, which clearly derives from the Saussurean structuralist
tradition, as well as Roget, w o u l d p r o v i d e a s u p e r b b a s i s for v o c a b u l a r y
development in a native or foreign-language context.
ARBRE

[aRbn] n. m. — 1080; lat. arbor,

arboris.

+ I. Grand végéta! ligneux dont la tige, qui s'élève à plus de
6 mètres quand la plante est adulte (au-dessous, on parle d'arbrisseau), ne porte de branches qu'à partir d'une certaine hauteur audessus du sol (Voir les mots en arbor- et en dendro-). Les racines,
la tige (=» Tronc; bille, grume), les branches d'un arbre.
Nœud
vital de l'arbre. =» Collet, pied. Coupée transversalement.
la tige
d'un arbre présente trois parties : le canal médullaire
(=3 Moelle).

le bois (=> Bois, cambium, cerne, cœur, duramen, nœud, xylème) et
l'écorce (=> Aubier, écorce, liber). La sève* circule entre les racines el les feuilles de l'arbre. Le creux d'un arbre. La charpente
de
l'arbre. => Branchage, branche, brindille, dard, embranchement, fourche, fourchet, gourmand, lambourde, rame, rameau, ramée, ramure.
Le feuillage
d'un arbre. =» Feuille; aiguille, épine; (poét.) chevelure, couronne, couvert, frondaison. Le haut, le sommet, la tète d'un
arbre. =* Apex, cime, faîte, houppier, sommité.
Ensemble d'arbres.
Bois, forêt; bosquet (—» ci-dessous, après la
liste des noms d'arbres).
La vie d'un arbre. L'arbre prend bien, prend racine (=> Enraciner).
croit, se développe, pousse, végète: bourgeonne (=> Bourgeon, œil).
s'épanouit (=> Débourrement), fleurit (=» Bouton, fleur),
s'affruite.
se met à fruit, produit, porte des fruits (=* Fruit) ; se
défeuille,
s'effeuille,
verdit, verdoie,
reverdit.
Aspects, caractères, nature des arbres (=» Espèce, essence). — A r b r e
agreste, franc (franc de pied), sauvage (=* Sauvageon) ; cultivé
(=» Elève), de semis, greffé, en caisse, en pleine terre, en plein vent.
—Arbre indigène ou exotique (dans un lieu donné). Acclimater*
un
arbre. —Arbre géant ou nain. —Arbre d'un seul brin, d'une
seule
venue: élancé, vigoureux, en pleine sève. —Arbre
chevelu,
feuillu,
frondescent,

frondifère.
touffu. — Arbre à feuilles
persistantes
(=s Vert) ou caduques
(=» Feuillu). — Arbre épineux.
— Arbre
fleuri : chargé, couvert de fleurs ; fertile ou stérile. — Arbre
branchu. fourchu,
moussu (=> Mousse; bryon), noueux,
rameux.
—
Arbre caverneux,
creux. — Arbre antique,
chenu, rabougri.
—

Fig. 2. Part entry for ARBRE (Le Grand

Robert)

5. E x a m p l e s in L e T r é s o r d e la l a n g u e f r a n ç a i s e

Despite the marked differences of size between Le Grand Robert - six v o l u m e s
in its first edition, published from 1958 to 1964, nine in its second, of 1985, six
again in its new elaboration - and Le Trésor

de la langue française

- of which


the sixteenth and final volume appeared in 1994 - and the greater dependence of
Le Trésor on literary sources - though representing a narrower time-span (17891960) -

t h e r e are certain s i m i l a r i t i e s b e t w e e n

exemplification.

7

the a p p r o a c h e s t a k e n

A s the highly original entry for A R B R E has

to

demonstrated,


84

A. P.

Cowie

e x a m p l e s in Le Grand
vocabulary

Robert

development.


often take a didactic shape, admirably suited to
While

one

cannot

p e d a g o g i c a l a i m s to the editors of Le Trésor,

ascribe

such

specifically

it is n o n e t h e l e s s true that a

didactically m o t i v a t e d desire for clarity lies behind the choice and arrangement
of e x a m p l e s . In t h e w o r d s of the d i c t i o n a r y ' s first chief editor, Paul I m b s : 'leur
différenciation, q u a n t à leur structure ou à leur étendue, p o u r s u i v a i t un but
surtout didactique, allant du plus simple au plus c o m p l e x e ' (1979: ix). And the
practical o u t c o m e of a i m i n g at such a progression is that, leaving aside the
s o m e t i m e s e l a b o r a t e analogical e l e m e n t in Le Grand

Robert,

there are certain

similarities b e t w e e n those parts of the microstructures of the t w o works which

deal with definition and e x e m p l i f i c a t i o n . If w e c o n s i d e r sub-entry A. 1 . A t
ÉLÉGANT, ANTE, a d j . in Le Trésor (Fig. 3, below), and c o m p a r e it with the Grand
Robert

entry for A R B O R E R , V. tr. (11 a b o v e ) , w e find in both the s a m e broad

divisions, namely: definition;

' e x e m p l e s i n t é g r é s ' ; and a t t r i b u t e d

example(s), minimally abridged, and printed in a smaller type size.
É L É G A N T , A N T E , adj.
A. — [ D o m a i n e de l'esthétique en tant que science d u
beau dans la nature et dans l'art]
1. Qui se caractérise par une grâce faite d'harmonie,
de légèreté e t d'aisance dans la forme et les lignes, d a n s
la disposition et les proportions des parties, dans le
m o u v e m e n t . Un gilet de toile, dont la coupe
élégante
rachète la vulgarité de l'étoffe ( F L A U B E R T , Champs et grèves,
1 8 4 8 , p. 1 6 3 ) . L'écriture de Vidjime était d'ailleurs
lisible,
d'un dessin élégant et cursif qui rappelait
assez bien les
écritures du XVIII
siècle ( D U H A M E L , Suzanne, 1 9 4 1 ,
p. 7 9 ) :
e

1. Le c o u , plus étiré maintenant,

graisseux qu'il esquissait sur
fine, tendue, jaillit d'un trait
parfaite.
H u y g h e , Dialogue avec

a efiacé les bourrelets
la nuque, et celle-ci,
é l é g a n t en une courbe
le visible,

1955, p.

80.

S Y N T . Corps élégant et flexible; jambe au galbe élégant; geste
rapide et élégant; s'asseoir d'un mouvement souple et élégant; simplicité élégante de la forme; ligne nerveuse et très élégante;
décoration
élégante et sobre; voiture élégante; élégant déshabillé,
costume;
élégante symétrie,
beauté, architecture,
colonne, sculpture;
élégante
silhouette, coiffure; élégante calligraphie;
contours élégants;
chevaux
élégants; têtes élégantes
et fines; chaussures
élégantes;
élégantes

arabesques; élégantes fleurs; élégantes balustrades,
ferrures.

Fig. 3. Part entry for ÉLÉGANT (Trésor de la langue

française)

literary


Examples and Collocations in the French 'Dictionnaire de langue'

A n d .much the same justification is p r o v i d e d in Le Trésor
Robert

as in Le

85

Grand

for the inclusion, as a r e g u l a r feature, of the n o m i n a l and verbal

collocations. Here

too they

are i n t e n d e d

to d i s p l a y


the

combinatorial

possibilities of entries in their v a r i o u s s e n s e s , or ' d e m o n t r e r de q u e l l e s
a s s o c i a t i o n s m i n i m a l e s u s u e l l e s , ... était c a p a b l e tel m o t pris d a n s telle
acception' (Imbs 1979: ix).
B u t there are at the s a m e time, b e t w e e n the dictionaries, fine and b r o a d
differences of arrangement, of sources, and of descriptive intention. Whereas, in
Le Grand Robert,

most of the shorter e x a m p l e s are indeed ' m i n i m a l ' , and betray

few of the peculiarities of actual utterance, in Le Trésor
i m m e d i a t e l y after the definition,

an e d i t e d e x c e r p t

w e s o m e t i m e s find,
' d é p a s s a n t le s i m p l e

s y n t a g m e binaire, et de ce fait e x a c t e m e n t référencé' (Imbs 1979: ix). In the
élégant

entry, this type is r e p r e s e n t e d by the e x a m p l e s from Flaubert and

Duhamel, the first a complex noun phrase, the second a complex sentence.
Then again, in entries for the c o m m o n e r words, and 'en cas de surabondance
d ' u s a n c e s t y p é e s ' (Imbs 1979: ix), the treatment of phraseology is rounded off

by placing a broad range of short e x a m p l e s , usually verbal and/or nominal, and
often

with l i s t i n g , in a b l o c k h e a d e d by t h e a b b r e v i a t i o n

SYNT.

(i.e.

' s y n t a g m e s ' ) . It can be seen from Fig. 3 that the examples are ordered according
to complexity: patterns in which élégant

is coordinated with another adjective

c o m e first; then follow adjective + noun and noun + adjective collocations.
What can be m a d e of this extraordinary richness of exemplification? W e need
first to bear in mind that wherever they appear, and h o w e v e r they are adapted,
e x a m p l e s in Le Trésor

are d r a w n o v e r w h e l m i n g l y from

a corpus -

are

'réellement et f r é q u e m m e n t attestés d a n s notre d o c u m e n t a t i o n ' - and o n e in
which literary material d o m i n a t e s . O n e has only to look at jambe
élégant

and ligne nerveuse


et très élégante

au

galbe

to be m a d e aware that these phrases

are not contrived, but c o m e from specific, probably written, sources. And such
choices, of course, point to broader preferences and j u d g e m e n t s on the part of
the editor, as when Imbs contrasts citations in the full sense - 'phrases riches en
i n f o r m a t i o n s d e t y p e culturel c o n c r e t ' -

with the s h o r t e r ,

commonplace

e x a m p l e s - ' é n o n c é s de la langue b a n a l e qui les précédaient i m m é d i a t e m e n t '
(1979: x). Rey too laid stress on the value of the 'fragment de texte véhiculant
une beauté stylistique' (1985: xxxvii), and did not shy away from the notion of
the dictionary as, in part, a literary anthology. But a literary flavour pervades the
structure of entries in Le Trésor whereas in Le Grand Robert
more diverse whole.

it is only part of a


86


A.P. Cowie

O n e could argue that when e x a m p l e s are juxtaposed to the definition, as they
are in the élégant

entry, they c o n t r i b u t e to the explanation and thus to the

d e c o d i n g role of the dictionary. But what of their appearance independently, at
S Y N T . , in the s a m e e n t r y ? H e r e , there is arguably a conscious purpose and an
u n c o n s c i o u s though, potentially, highly beneficial one. T h e conscious aim arises
from a d e t e r m i n a t i o n to m a k e the dictionary record truly c o m p l e t e : it m u s t
p r o v i d e a full account, not only of the w o r d ' s meaning, but also of its typical
lexical and g r a m m a t i c a l e n v i r o n m e n t s . These must b e supplied, even if, as o n e
suspects, they are s e l d o m referred to by native speakers. But for the non-native
student or teacher they are an additional boon, providing as they do a record of
collocability that is seldom matched by specialist dictionaries of collocations.
6. C o n c l u s i o n

In her p a p e r ' T h e o r e t i c a l lexicography and its relation to d i c t i o n a r y - m a k i n g ' ,
S u e A t k i n s insists that t h e o r i s t s and p r a c t i t i o n e r s m u s t w o r k t o g e t h e r if
dictionaries are to be i m p r o v e d , and 'electronic dictionaries are to rise to the
c h a l l e n g e of the new m e d i u m ' ( 1 9 9 2 - 9 3 : 30). She also identifies those linguists
a n d those theoretical d e v e l o p m e n t s that a p p e a r to h a v e special r e l e v a n c e to
practical lexicography. She is right to identify the British and American scholars
- C r u s e a n d F i l l m o r e a m o n g t h e m - that she d o e s . But as she surely also
r e c o g n i z e s , l e x i c o g r a p h e r s h a v e a particular need, from time to time, to step
o u t s i d e their o w n l a n g u a g e s and national traditions. L i k e the Russians, w h o s e
contribution since the walls began to crumble is i m m e n s e , the French have much
to teach us. First, they are less n e r v o u s about rubbing shoulders with linguists.
F r e n c h d i c t i o n a r y - m a k e r s find it less difficult than we do to accept the intimate

- indeed necessary - association b e t w e e n lexicography and lexicology. (It is no
a c c i d e n t that the leading F r e n c h j o u r n a l devoted to lexicography is entitled
Cahiers

de lexicologie).

Second, the French recognize that all dictionaries are

fundamentally didactic instruments, and that dictionaries fashioned for didactic
e n d s m a y b e w o r k s of high scholarship. Third, and this is the central t h e m e of
m y chapter, e x a m p l e s - in the broadest sense - are regarded as an indispensable
feature of French 'dictionnaires de l a n g u e ' , large and small. T h e use of specially
d e v i s e d e x a m p l e s , i n c l u d i n g c o l l o c a t i o n s , h a s , in the c o u r s e of c e n t u r i e s ,
b e c o m e c o m m o n practice, while the pedagogical value of such examples is well
u n d e r s t o o d . A n d let us not o v e r l o o k the quality of the work. T h e r i c h n e s s ,
diversity and fitness for purpose of e x a m p l e s in Le Grand Robert

and Le

especially, are a m o n g the finest achievements of modern lexicography.

Trésor,


Examples and Collocations in the French 'Dictionnaire de langue'

87

Notes
1


2

3

4

5

6

7

The term 'dictionnaire de langue', for which there is no exact English equivalent, but for which
the translation 'lexical dictionary' has been suggested (Cowie 1981), is a work which focuses
on the grammatical forms and functions of words, their pronunciation and spellings, and their
meanings and typical contexts - by contrast with the 'dictionnaire encyclopédique', or
'dictionnaire de choses et de notions' (Quemada 1968: 77; cf. Rey 1987, Pruvost 2002).
Palmer's example types feature in his Grammar of English Words (1938) and, with
modifications, in A. S. Hornby's Idiomatic and Syntactic English Dictionary (1942).
i.e. Alphonse Daudet.
Though hère, too, there is a continuum, as shall find when examining examples in Le Trésor,
between those which, though simplified, bear all the marks of a literary origin, and those that
are entirely invented.
I have not drawn the further distinction between 'free' and 'restricted' collocations, since this is
one which few French lexicographers consider in discussions of exemplification. Moreover, as
far as I can judge, none of the dictionaries examined here give special and regular prominence
to the restricted type. Not all commentators, it should be noted, use the term 'collocation' in the
same way: Hausmann (1985, 1989) uses collocation (tout court) to refer to what I call a
restricted collocation. However, our definitions of the phenomenon are similar. In the case of

célibataire endurci, the noun (or 'base') is used in its familiar, literal sense, while the adjective
(the 'collocate') has a figurative sense found only in combination with the noun, or with very
few similar nouns (pécheur, lrond-de-cuir endurci). Note the stress laid here on the figurative
sense of the collocate and a limited, arbitrary choice of possible bases (hence the 'restricted' of
'restricted collocation') (Cowie 1999a).
As Làmy has noted with regard to dictionaries such as DFC, 'their titles bear no trace of their
vocations as dictionaries for foreign learners and they make only passing reference to foreign
learners in their prefaces' (Lamy 1985: 25). However, and as she goes on to say, 'it would be
foolish to suppose that foreign learners' interests cannot be met by presentations designed for
natives' (idem.)
'
'
Le Trésor de la langue française draws on a variety of resources, including general and
technical dictionaries and computerized and non-computerized archives. Initially manual, but
later computerized, was L'Inventaire Général de la Langue Française (IGLF), assembled
between 1936 and 1968 and consisting of about six million slips illustrating French words used
in literary and technical contexts. The archive covers a period extending from the Middle Ages
to the present day (Fléchon 1998). In 1960, IGLF was integrated into the computerized archive
set up for Le Trésor (Pruvost 2000).


88

A. P. Cowie

References

A.

Dictionaries


A.1.

English

dictionaries

Hornby, A. S., Gatenby, E. V., and Wakefield, H. 1942. Idiomatic
Dictionary.

(Subsequently,

1948, A Learner's

Dictionary

and Syntactic-

of Current

English.

London: Oxford University Press.) Tokyo: Kaitakusha.
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