I was wondering when exactly the "subjonctif imparfait" (and passé simple) fell out of (spoken) use, since they are still very much alive in other Romance languages. I had a look through a few grammars but I have never seen any dates mentioned.
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Did some more research and found answers to my question:
- passé simple: Why is the passé simple not used in spoken French? lead me to Disparition du passé simple en français oral (pdf) which mentions early 19th century:
Le passé simple n’est plus un temps de la langue parlée. Selon Meillet (1948 : 151) cette forme n’existe plus dans l’usage parlé depuis le début du 19e siècle.
- subjonctif imparfait: the French Wikipedia article says the disappearance started in the 18th century and carried through to early 19th century:
Dès le XVIIIe siècle, le subjonctif imparfait tendait à disparaître dans la langue courante. [...] Cependant, son usage a considérablement reculé depuis le début du XIXe siècle
As for reasons, both articles mention phonetic shifts in the language itself and the homophony of certain forms (e.g. fut / fût, alla / allât etc.)
Jan Berkel
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