ADJECTIVES IN HISTORY, THE ATTRIBUTIVE INTERPRETATION OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION

Pablo Gmez 1 Filologa Inglesa Lengua Inglesa 1

Introduction
I have chosen adjectives as the topic of my p oject because they a e an essential pa t of all languages! and they a e ve y impo tant to desc ibe anything to de identified! conse"uently they a e ve y common in all egiste s although they a e mo e common in ne#s and academic p ose than in conve sation$ %y intention is to sho# ho# adjectives a e used in academic p ose! specifically in a histo ical te&t that I have ta'en f om the boo' Selcted essays of George Rud, The Face of the Crow. Studies in revolution ideology and popular protest. 19 focused on this te&t is Fo the classification of the adjectives that I have found in the te&t I have follo#ed the !ong"an student gra""ar of spo#en and written $nglish, %ouglas &i'er, Susan Conrad and Geoffrey !eech, ())(. I have decided to clasificate adjectives follo#ing th ee diffe ents c ite ia* syntactic! mo phological and semantic$ )he efo e! the analysis #ill be divided into these th ee pa ts$ +djectives a e one of the fou le&ical #o d classes! as nouns! ve bs and adve bs$ It is sometimes difficult to spot ,#ethe a #o d is an adjective by loo'ing at it in isolation! because the fo m of a #o d does not necessa ily indicate its syntactic function- . /! cent al adjectives have fou specific cha acte istics! ho#eve ! adjectives that do not fulfil all of these cha acte istics a e called pe iphe al adjectives$ )he specific cha aste istics of adjectives a e* in the fi st place a mo phological cha acte istic! they can ta'e compa ative and supe lative fo ms by means of inflection! adding the mo phemes 0 er and 0est o using the p emodifie s "ore and "ost* in the second place a syntactic cha cte istic! cent al adjectives can function att ibutively and p edicatively! be pa t of a noun ph ase! modifying a noun! o function as the head of an adjective ph ase espectively! pe iphe al adjective occu in only one of these #ays* in the thi d place the e is a semantic cha acte istic! , #ith p eciseness f om an a ticle about the diffe ents inte p etations of the F ench (evolution$ )he eason #hy I

Anal !i!1
In the te&t that I have chosen the e a e seventy one adjectives! as I have said befo e! my #o ' consist of classificate those seventy one adjectives )he fi st point of my analysis is the sintactic classification$ +s I have noted in the int oduction! adjectives can be1 1/ attri"uti#$! #hen they modify a noun$ 2$g discussion$$$-$ 3/ and they can also be %r$dicati#$! #hen they a e the head of an adjective ph ase$ In this case! the adjective phase can pe fo mance t#o diffe ent syntactic oles1 +/ !u"&$ct %r$dicati#$! #hen it complement a copula ve b 2$g$ ,4ut the Libe al of 1565 became soured and disillusioned,It is the pu pose of this pamphlet to conside the "ain stages of this

4/ o"&$ct %r$dicati#$ that ,occu #ith comple& t ansitive ve bs! follo#ing the di ect object-.4ibe et all! 3773! page 371/ #hich they cha acte ize$ 8o#eve adjectives can fulfil othe syntactics oles$ )hey can occu as post modifie s! as noun ph ase heads! as lin'ing e&p essions! as f ee modifie s and finally! as e&clamations$ 8e e! I only conside one of these syntactic oles! the one that I have found in the te&t! adjectives functioning as noun ph ase head$ 9hen adjectives act as a noun %'ra!$ '$ad they can be modified by an adve b and they can also be p emodified$ :nly a fe# 'inds of adjectives can occu in this syntactic ole$ )hese 'inds a e* fi st! adjectives that efe to nationalites 2$ G ,by no means identifies the insu gents #ith the French as a #hole-$

;econd! adjectives that have an abst act efe ence 2$g$ ,4ut the li'eral of 1565 became sou ed and disillusioned-$

)hi d! adjectives that efe s to social g oups$ +nd fou th! #hen adjectives have a plu al and gene ic efe ence 2$g$ ,by no means identifies the insurgents #ith the F ench as a #hole-$

.4ibe et all! 3773/ In the te&t! the main g oup of adjectives a e those that fuction att ibutively! as has been noted befo e these a e adjectives #hich modify a noun! a total of si&ty t#o adjectives have been found! nea all that appea $ )hen! the second g oup a e those adjective that pe fo m a p edicative function! in b ief these adjectives a e the head of adjective ph ases! not ve y nume ous! in this case only seven e&amples a e found$ Finally! the e a e t#o isolated e&amples of adjectives #hich fulfil the head of a noun ph ase position$ )he second point of the analysis is the mo phological classification$ )his is the study of adjectives f om the point of vie# of his fo mation$ In the fi st place the e a e a g oup of adjectives called "a!$ (or)!! #ich a e constituted by only one mo pheme * )hey can be used to fo m ne# #o ds adding #o ds endings$ 2$g$ Current, true, old! etc$

In the second place the e a e an othe g oup called %artici%ial ad&$cti#$!! these a e adjectives de ived f om ve bs! using both 0ing and 0ed pa ticipal fo ms$ 1/ pa ticipial adjectives in 0ing often disc ibes the "uality of a pe son o thing$ 2$g$ conflict*ing, succed*ing! etc$

3/ pa ticipial adjectives in 0ed often desc ibe feelings and eactions 2$g$ repeat*ed, sour*ed! etc$

)his type of adjective can be confused #ith pa ticipial fo ms of ve bs$ +s an e&ample! in the te&t I have found t#o #o ds . e<# iten and accepted/ that loo' li'e pa ticipial adjectives but they a e ve bs! pa t of a passive$ .2$g$ ,=o pe iod of histo y has so f e"uently been re*writen$$$-* ,)he main events of the (evolution have been accepted as facts$+djectives can also be fo med by adding a p efi& to a pa ticipial adjective$ .2$g$! +n*flater*ing/

)he thi d g oup of adjectives is ad&$cti#$! +it' d$ri#ational a((i,$!, -adjectives fo md by adding an adjectives suffi& to a noun o ve b! adjectives can also be fo med f om othe adjectives! especially by using the negative p efi&es un*, in* and non* - .4ibe et all! 3773! page 1>1/$ 2$g$ =oun ? suffi&1 occasion , al, nation , al! etc @e b ? suffi&1 disputate , ious -disputatious., signify , ant -significant/! etc$ P efi&es ? adjective 1 +n , fortunate, un , flatering! etc$ )he fo th and last g oup of adjectives is ad&$cti#al co)%ound!, these a e adjectives fo med by the combination of mo e than one #o d$ 2$g$ long*standing

It si also inte esting f om the pointo of vie# of the mo phology! a compound #o d found in the te&t fo m by an adjective and a noun .turning*point! the highlighted #o d is the adjective/! the g amatical catego y of the esulting #o d is noun$ 9hen I have classificated adjectives f om this point of vie# .mo phology/ the outcome has been the follo#ing$ An"uestionably! base fo ms a e the most ep esented 'ind of adjective! #ith thi ty one appea ances$

=e&t! the e a e t#enty seven adjectives #hich have been fo med by adding #o d endings o de ivational suffi&es$ In this point I have to distinguish bet#een* fi st! adjectives fo med f om a ve b and a suffi& .>/* second! adjectives fo med f om a noun and a suffi& .16/* and thi d! adjectives #ith a p efi& .6/$ =o#! the follo#ing g oup a e pa ticipal adjectives! the e a e five *ed adjectives and five /ing adjective .one of these five adjectives is un<flate <ing! #hich is also sco ed as an adjective #ith a p efi&$ Finally the e is only one compound adjective$ )he thi d and last point of the analysis is the semantic classification of adjectives$ F om the point of vie# of semantics! 4ibe divides adjectives in tho diffe ent g oups! "ualitative adjectives also 'no#n as desc ipto s and classifie s adjectives$ 1/ ,D$!cri%tor! a e adjectives that desc ibe colo ! size and #eight! ch onology and age! emotion! and othe cha acte istics$ )hey a e tipically g adable- .4ibe et all! 3773! page 1>B/ . 2$ g$ True, old, unsta'le, great, late!etc$

3/

,Cla!!i(i$r! limit o

est ict a nounCs efe ent- .bibe et all! 3773! page

1>B/$ %ost of them a e non g adable$ )hey can be1 +/ (elationalDclassificationalD est ictive classifie s #ich limit the efe ent of a noun in elation #ith othe efe ents 2$g$ particular, original! etc$

4/ +ffiliative classifie s #ich indicate the national o social g oup of a noun 2$g$ French

E/ )opicalD othe classifie s a e the g oup of adjective #ich p ovide the subject a ea o specific type of a efe ent$

2$g$

social, national, feudal! etc$

4ibe indicate that semantically spea'ing! adjective a e not clea ly distinguish$ In some case is the conte&t #ich indicate #hethe an adjective is a desc ipto o a classifie adjective$ In the semantic classification classifie adjectives! #ith fo ty e&amples! dominate easonably ove desc ipto s! #ith thi ty one e&amples$

Conclu!ion.
;umming up! the fi st and main conclusion is that in academic p ose att ibutive adjectives a e much mo e common than p edicative ajective and of cou se than othe syntactics oles adjectives can fulfil$ +tt ibutive adjectives a e a good eso t to add info mation to a noun ph ase$ )his is impo tant fo a good histo ian! #ho has to define #ith accu acy facts! social g oups! etc$ and he must avoid ma'ing pe sonal evaluations and judgements$ )he second conclusion efe s to the fo mation of adjectives$ )he p incipal g oup of adjectives a e those fo m by a #o d and a de ivational suffi&$ )he most used de ivational suffi& is /al! ve y usefull to c eate ne# adjectives #hich a e usually specialized #o ds$ .2$ g$! feudal, li'eral!$$$/

)his aspect of adjective mo phology in academic p ose! specifically in a histo ical te&t! it is also elated #ith the #o ' of histo ians in #hich the c eation of ne# adjectives is basic$ )he thi d conclusion is about semantics$ )he analysis sho#s that the e a e mo e classifie s than desc ipto s! although this is the field #he e diffe ences a e smalle $ )he use of classifie s in academic p ose is due to the need of specifying the efe ence of noun ph ases$

Int$r%r$tation! o( t'$ Fr$nc' R$#olution

=o pe iod of histo y has so f e"uently been e<# itten in the light of cu ent p eoccupations o been such a epeated battle<g ound of conflicting ideologies as the F ench (evolution$ 2ve since 2dmund 4u 'e! 157 yea s ago! dipped his pen in vit iol to blast the (evolution in its infancy! gene ation afte gene ation of F enchmen! #ith occasional suppo t f om othe count ies! have joined in the f ay and done thei bit to disp ove the validity of (an'eFs contention that histo y is G#hat actually happenedG$ )he main events of the (evolutionHthe meetings of the =otables and of the ;tates Gene al! the Eonstitution of 1B>1! the fall of the mona chy! the e&ecution of (obespie e! and the ise of =apoleonHhave! it is t ue! been accepted as facts by even the most inc edulous and disputatious* but p ecious little else$ 9hat so t of (evolution #as itHone of Gpove tyG o Gp ospe ityGI a bou geois evolution that ove th e# feudalismI a national st uggle fo libe ty! democ acy! o Gete nal JusticeGI o ! again! a c iminal conspi acy against the old social o de I 9hat did it achieveI 9hat #as its ultimate significanteI 9hat so t of men #e e its leade s! its suppo te s and its victimsI 9hat pa t #as played in it by a istoc acy! middle class! peasants! u ban sans<culottesI 9hen did it beginI 9hen did it endI 9hat #e e its most significant landma 's and tu ning<pointsI 9as the e one single F ench (evolution o #e e the e seve alI Kuestions such as these have been as'ed and va iously ans#e ed by succeeding gene ations and GschoolsG of histo ians$ It is the pu pose of this pamphlet to conside the main stages of this discussion and some of the changing vie#s and inte p etations that have a isen in the cou se of it$

T'$ Par/! Co))un$ and Tain$

+mong those #hom the (evolution of 1565 had made enthusiastic fo the popula cause #as 8yppolite )aine$ 4ut the Libe al of 1565 became sou ed and disillusioned by his e&pe ience of the Eommune of 15B1 and! five yea s late ! he published the most elo"uent! bitte and scathing indictment of the g eat (evolution that had yet been penned$ 4ut

#he eas ea lie conse vative histo ians had p esented the (evolution as an unfo tunate accident o the p oduct of a conspi acy! )aine sa# it as a logical outcome of the dissolution of gove nment and of the old social o de .#hich he! incidentally! condemned/* thus ana chyH Gspontaneous ana chyG! as he calls itH #as let loose and the GmobG too' ove $ +t one stage of his na ative! this appea s to happen f om the ve y sta t* else#he e! he is mo e specific and dates the final su ende to ana chy and te o f om the fo cible etu n of the Ling to Pa is f om @e sailles on M :ctobe 1B5>$ GEette fois on nFen peut plus doute * la )e eu est Ntablie et a demeu N$G 4ut he puts fo #a d #hat #as then a highly o iginal e&planation of the pa ticula ange and violence of the popula outb ea'1 one facto #as famine #hich! he claimed! had been ch onic since Janua y 1B5> and #as becoming p og essively mo e seve e* anothe #as the high hopes a oused among the people .Gla g ande espe anceG/ that! as the Ling himself had o de ed the ;tates Gene al to meet and the cahie s to be d a#n up! eve ything #ould be done to ed ess thei # ongs$ )his! he believed! #as as impo tant as the economic c isis and the long<standing g ievance against feudal e&action in p ompting the peasants to ta'e the la# into thei hands and to ma ch on the mansions of thei seigneu s to shouts of GLong live the LingOG 4ut )aine! unli'e %ichelet! by no means identifies the insu gents #ith the F ench people as a #hole1 the p ovincial iote s of 1B5> a e p esented as Gcont e<bandie s! fau&< saunie s! b aconnie s! vagabonds! mendiants! ep is de justiceG* and the capto s of the 4astille become Gla lie de la sociNtNG! Gla de niN e plebeG! GbanditsG and GvagabondsG H epithets that have se ved the conse vative histo ians of the (evolution eve since$ )aine goes fu the 1 the leade s! too! the Jacobins and othe p omote s of the concept of Gpopula sove eigntyG a e neithe typical F enchmen of thei day no no mally balanced mo tals1 they tend! in fact! to be social failu es and misfits! mainly of the lo#e midle class! men of unstable cha acte ! iddled #ith dogma and #ith an e&agge ated sense of thei o#n impo tance$ FEe sont la nos Jacobins* ils naissent dans la dNcomposition sociale! ainsi "ue des champignons dans un te eau "ui fe mente$G )aineFs ideas #e e to have a g eat influence on late # ite s1 not su p isingly! the dest uctive and unflatte ing pictu e that he painted of the (evolution appealed to e&t eme conse vatives* but his social analysis p oved of inte est and value to a late school of adical histo ians as #ell$

4ibliog aphy < Geo ge (udN! Selected $ssays of George Rud, The Face of The Crowd, Studies in Revolution 0deology 1nd 2opular 2rotest! 1>55 < !ong"an student gra""ar of spo#en and written $nglish, %ouglas &i'er,

Susan Conrad and Geoffrey !eech, ())(