Introduction

Paradoxical attitudes are expressed towards women's language in seventeenth-century France, at times even within the writings of a single author. On the one hand, following what Coates (1986: 15) terms the Androcentric Rule whereby ‘men will be seen to behave linguistically in a way that fits the writer's view of what is desirable and admirable; women on the other hand will be blamed for any linguistic state or development which is regarded as negative or reprehensible’, there is evidence that women's language is perceived as weaker than men's, as incorrect and full of errors. As we shall see, women are condemned for their poor spelling, for their creation of new words and expressions, for their incorrect pronunciation and for their tendency to make grammatical errors. According to this view (sometimes termed the ‘female deficit’ approach: see, for example, Henley and Kramarae 1994: 384) women's language is inferior as measured against a male norm; this linguistic inferiority reflects women's lower social status and their lack of education. Sorel in Du nouveau langage françois suggests that women are also much more subject to the whims of fashion than their male counterparts: ‘Les dames se persuadent de bien parler quand elles disent des paroles qui sont fort à la mode. La pluspart se servent de toute sorte de mots sans en considérer la signification’ (Brunot 1905–53: III, 67).