From the Criminal's to the People's: The Evolution of Argot and Popular Language in the Nineteenth-Century

Drawing on texts by Hugo, Balzac, Zola, as well as on works that claim a documentary status, this study illustrates the simultaneous emergence, during the second half of the nineteenth century, of the modern French working class and its language. Two related issues are addressed in particular: first, how argot, originally the secret language of criminals, gradually became connected to the popular language of the capitol; and how popular language was apprehended and used by the bourgeoisie to confine the working class within the boundaries of an objectifying representation. (PG)