Jean-Marie Le Pen et l'imparfait du subjonctif, ou: quand l'imaginaire linguistique s'emballe [Jean-Marie Le Pen and the French subjunctive imperfect: the linguistic imaginary in overdrive]

Abstract

The association between the politician Jean-Marie Le Pen (JMLP) and a form of the subjunctive imperfect/-IS/ is solidly anchored in the French linguistic imagination. This paper examines how, over a period of 33 years, from 1985 to 2017, various commentators in France (and occasionally in other French-speaking countries) have dealt with the topic. It identifies the main themes addressed in comments found in books, journals, magazines, newspapers, on radio and TV, and on the Internet. The paper will then allege that, in light of the near-absence of IS in dozens of pre-2015 JMLP speeches, the JMLP~IS association seems to be baseless, which is confirmation of the idea that some parts of a speech community’s linguistic imaginary may be entirely… imagined.