Pierre Potier, l’écriture et le pouvoir à la frontière linguistique de la Nouvelle-France

Abstract

In 1743, Father Pierre Potier, SJ, arrived in New France. He then moved to the village of La Jeune-Lorette, a Jesuit mission among the Wendat. His priority was to learn Wendat, by reading and copying linguistic manuscripts prepared by his predecessors through the work of native speakers. This article studies the theoretical and practical relationship between Pierre Potier, the manuscripts written in Wendat and his oral work with the Wendat. It examines how the dictionaries, grammars and their purpose were transposed and adapted from France to North-East America.