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Part of
A Linguistic Handbook of French for Translators and Language Students
Paul Boucher
[Not in series 216] 2018
► pp. 35–54

Chapter 3
Nominal constructions

Article outline
  • 3.1Introduction
  • 3.2The syntax of CNCs in French
  • 3.3Determiners
    • 3.3.1Nouns without determiners
    • 3.3.2Determiners without nouns
  • 3.4Modification by an adjective
  • 3.5Complex NPs in French and English
    • 3.5.1Semantic relations between head and complement in compounds and complex NPs
      • 3.5.1.1The French N + P + N construction is equivalent to an English compound noun
      • 3.5.1.2The French N + P + N construction is equivalent to an English adjectival or nominal adjunct
      • 3.5.1.3The French N + P + N construction is equivalent to an English syntactic complement
        • Spatio-temporal location
        • Predication
        • Possessives
        • Metaphoric identity
  • Notes
  • Further reading on translating nominal constructions
References (6)
Further reading on translating nominal constructions
Bagge, Christine et Alan Manning. 2007. “Grammar and Translation: The Noun + Noun Conundrum”. Meta. 52, 3: 556–567.Google Scholar
Baron, I. and M. Herslund. 2005. “Langues endocentriques et langues exocentriques: Approche typologique du danois, du français et de l’anglais”, Langue Française. 145: 35–53.Google Scholar
Bouillon, Pierrette and Evelyne Viagas. 1994. “A Semi-Polymorphic Approach to the Interpretation of Adjectival Constructions: A Cross-Linguistic Perspective”. Euralex Proceedings. [URL]
Brems, Lieselotte. 2015. “Some binominal size noun constructions in English and French: a contrastive corpus-based perspective”. Nordic Journal of English Studies. 14, 1: 90–115.Google Scholar
Tarif, Julie. 2014. Enjeux et défis du style dickensien : Analyse de quatre traductions françaises d’Oliver Twist. PhD Thesis, Université d’Angers.Google Scholar
Wauthion, Michael. 2017. « Renversement de gouvernance sémantique dans le syntagme nominal en français » Lingvisticæ Investigationes, 39, 1: 27–47.Google Scholar