Language for literary discussion
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Flip to reveal answersl’auteur montre… / la scène présente…
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All 14 Flashcards — Language for literary discussion
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l’auteur montre… / la scène présente…
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the author shows… / the scene depicts… (describing)
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le narrateur rapporte que…
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the narrator tells us that… (describing)
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l’œuvre traite de…
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the work is about… (describing)
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cela suggère que…
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this suggests that… (interpreting)
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on peut comprendre que…
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it can be understood that… (interpreting)
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cela symbolise… / c’est une métaphore de…
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it symbolises… / it is a metaphor for… (interpreting)
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cela crée un sentiment de…
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this creates a sense of… (effect / interpreting)
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à mon avis… / je trouve que…
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in my opinion… / I find that… (personal response)
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ce qui me frappe le plus, c’est…
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what particularly strikes me is… (personal response)
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je peux m’identifier à … parce que…
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I can identify with … because… (justified personal response)
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How do you talk about what a text DOES — present or past?
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The literary present (le présent de narration): « l’auteur montre… », « la scène présente… », « Marthe regarde la neige » — even though you read it in the past.
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How does the conditionnel lift a literary opinion? Give two examples.
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It softens/hedges an opinion: « je dirais que le thème est… » (I would say…) and « on pourrait le comprendre comme… » (one could understand it as…) — mature, tentative.
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How does the passive (la voix passive) help in literary analysis? Give an example.
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It describes how the text is constructed without naming an agent: « La solitude est représentée par la fenêtre » (être + participe passé, accord avec le sujet).
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What is wrong with « le livre me plaît » in the oral?
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It's an unjustified opinion — it earns nothing. Justify it: « je trouve émouvant, PARCE QUE… » / « ce qui me frappe le plus, c’est… parce que… ».
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Full study notes for Language for literary discussion
Topic 8.2 hub
The literary individual oral
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French B exam skills
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