FR: Je tu vous lui ai craché à la figure - pronom explétif, datif éthique/d'intérêt

[Charlie Parker]

Here's another example from Hugo's Les Misérables of this odd construction : Dites donc, vous autres, avez- vous vu comme je tu vous lui ai craché à la figure. Fantine has just spit in the mayor's face. I would be thankful for an explanation of the grammar of this te vous with, if possible, some references. Perhaps this usage is treated in the grammars.

Moderator note: Thread split from this one: Comme je te vous lui flanquerais une bonne sommation respectueuse.

 

[Maître Capello]

These two pronouns (te vous) don't have any grammatical meaning here: they are expletive pronouns used colloquially to express the speaker's or raise the audience's interest.

 

[Punky Zoé]

Bonjour

Pour compléter ce que dit MC, Grevisse cite même cette phrase de Victor Hugo :

La langue familière emploie d'une manière explétive le pronom de la 1ère ou de la 2ème personne , pour exprimer l'intérêt que le locuteur prend à l'action ou pour solliciter l'interlocuteur de s'intéresser à l'action (c'est le dativus ethicus de la grammaire latine).
[...]
On a parfois deux pronoms explétifs :
Avez-vous vu comme je te vous lui ai craché à la figure ? (V. Hugo) -
Ce bougre-là [...], je vais te me le coller au bloc (R. Gary)

 

[L'Inconnu]

These two pronouns (te vous) don't have any grammatical meaning here: they are expletive pronouns used colloquially to express the speaker's or raise the audience's interest.

As an American, it would seem to me that he can't decide whether to tutoyer or vouvoyer the person he's addressing.

 

[Punky Zoé]

As an American, it would seem to me that he can't decide whether to tutoyer or vouvoyer the person he's addressing.

Well, it could have been! But in fact in this case we would rather write it "je te/vous or je te (vous)". Here, the "te vous" sequence is just the use of two (not only one) extra (superfluous) pronouns.

 

[Maître Capello]

As an American, it would seem to me that he can't decide whether to tutoyer or vouvoyer the person he's addressing.

It may be your impression but it has actually nothing to do with the tutoyer or vouvoyer thing.

 

[Charlie Parker]

Thank you very much Maître Capello and Punky Zoé. I was hoping that someone would find something in Grevisse. I don't know why I didn't think to look in my Le petit Grevisse which describes precisely this mot explétif :
On vous happe notre homme, on vous l'échine, on vous l'assomme. (J. de La Fontaine)