Du poids des mots

Paying attention to words is nothing new in the realm of social science. However, it often remains superficial or tends to consider that words have a history that could be retraced. In this article, we will show that it is possible to understand things differently. Relying on three examples (diaspor...

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Main Author: Stéphane Dufoix
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Presses Universitaires du Midi 2014-12-01
Series:Diasporas: Circulations, Migrations, Histoire
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/diasporas/296
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author Stéphane Dufoix
author_facet Stéphane Dufoix
author_sort Stéphane Dufoix
collection DOAJ
description Paying attention to words is nothing new in the realm of social science. However, it often remains superficial or tends to consider that words have a history that could be retraced. In this article, we will show that it is possible to understand things differently. Relying on three examples (diaspora, globalization and the French word “communautarisme”), we will propose another approach – social-historical semantics – in which the historical study of the political, social, journalistic and academic uses of words remains closely associated to the analysis of how words play a role in shaping reality. Far from being nothing but words, they can eventually acquire, through repeated used or through the importance they are granted at a certain moment in time, a very significant weight that imposes itself to almost everyone and thus transforms our comprehension of reality.
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publishDate 2014-12-01
publisher Presses Universitaires du Midi
record_format Article
series Diasporas: Circulations, Migrations, Histoire
spelling doaj-art-3fbe1a594b424ccda3d5ca2e691ee1f22024-12-09T13:33:49ZengPresses Universitaires du MidiDiasporas: Circulations, Migrations, Histoire1637-58232431-14722014-12-0123122910.4000/diasporas.296Du poids des motsStéphane DufoixPaying attention to words is nothing new in the realm of social science. However, it often remains superficial or tends to consider that words have a history that could be retraced. In this article, we will show that it is possible to understand things differently. Relying on three examples (diaspora, globalization and the French word “communautarisme”), we will propose another approach – social-historical semantics – in which the historical study of the political, social, journalistic and academic uses of words remains closely associated to the analysis of how words play a role in shaping reality. Far from being nothing but words, they can eventually acquire, through repeated used or through the importance they are granted at a certain moment in time, a very significant weight that imposes itself to almost everyone and thus transforms our comprehension of reality.https://journals.openedition.org/diasporas/296
spellingShingle Stéphane Dufoix
Du poids des mots
Diasporas: Circulations, Migrations, Histoire
title Du poids des mots
title_full Du poids des mots
title_fullStr Du poids des mots
title_full_unstemmed Du poids des mots
title_short Du poids des mots
title_sort du poids des mots
url https://journals.openedition.org/diasporas/296
work_keys_str_mv AT stephanedufoix dupoidsdesmots