Explored the naming rules of modern French streets, pointing out that street names consist of generic nouns and concrete nouns. When the specific noun is a personal noun, it is placed directly after the generic noun without the need for a preposition. When place names and common nouns are used as specific nouns, the preposition 'de' and article need to be added after the generic noun. The author points out that this naming convention is sometimes not strictly followed, partly due to insufficient understanding of the history of street naming. The author pays special attention to the situation where the preposition 'de' is not used, believing that this stems from the use of absolute accusative nouns as attributive modifiers in Old French. Although its semantics are unknown, it is still reflected in street naming. The author will conduct a longitudinal analysis of this phenomenon to help learners understand the relevant rules.

1、 The cas r é gime absolute in Old French

The absolute accusative form of Old French is a special usage of noun accusative, originating from the case changes of Old French nouns, including nominative and objective cases. The noun changes in Old French depend on case, gender, and number, with masculine and feminine nouns having different forms of suffix changes. The accusative form of Old French can be used directly as an attributive without the need for prepositions, a feature derived from the Latin word 'case'. When using absolute accusative as an attributive, nouns must satisfy two conditions: the specific existence of the person and the singular. In ancient French literature, the absolute object case can be used as an attributive before or after the center language, while when the attributive is a pronoun, it must be placed before the center language. Starting from the 12th century, the structure of absolute accusative as an attributive was gradually replaced by prepositional guided attributive. The use of prepositions such as' de 'or' à 'can avoid the limitations of absolute accusative forms, such as plural nouns not being able to use absolute accusative forms. In addition, if the attributive cannot form the logical subject or belonging relationship of the central word, the absolute objective case form cannot be used. These rules reflect the difference between absolute accusative as an attributive and prepositional leading attributive in Old French.

2、 The situation of using absolute accusative as attributive in Middle French and later

In Middle French, the absolute accusative form, although sporadically present, has gradually disintegrated. For example, in Wei Yong's works, the absolute objective form appears, such as "Thibault d'Assigny" which should be completed as "sous la main de Thibault d'Assigny". At the end of the 14th century, literati had difficulty mastering the rules of case change, and by the 15th century, the case system had completely collapsed in French. Wei Yong's use of grid forms is mostly a poetic game, often leading to mistakes. The "Middle French Syntax" mentions counterexamples that violate the rules of absolute form of the object case, such as "la folle et meschant create vos dieux" and "Cassidoires dist ou livre des loages saint Pol". In the 15th century, the rules for using the absolute form of the object case became increasingly loose, tending towards a structure of "ordinary nouns+nouns without prepositional guidance", laying the foundation for the naming rules of streets. During the Middle French period, grammarians had limited understanding of the case system, such as the absence of mention of noun object case forms in the "Rules of Language" and "French Dona". Dubois mentioned in his "Introduction to French Grammar" that the inflectional changes at the end of words are simplified, and the case changes become prepositional combinations. Macquarie denied the existence of cases in French at that time in his book "On French Grammar", pointing out that the use of nouns as attributive modifiers was not common. In the 17th century, the Universal Rational Grammar used Latin case terms, but only for the convenience of language. During the Middle French period, street names already existed, such as "De la Grant rue Saint Andri" and "En la rue Erembourt de Brie" in "A Brief History of Paris Streets". Today, the absolute accusative form of Old French remains fossilized in certain expressions such as streets, place names, festival names, etc.

conclusion

This paper explores the relationship between the absolute form of the object case of Old French nouns and the naming rules of streets, revealing their historical basis and evolution of usage rules. It points out the importance of diachronic research for understanding modern French and emphasizes its application value in translation and other fields.