Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE FRENCH ACADEMY
The French are convinced that theirs is the most beautiful
language in the world. This is not new—almost 400 years
ago in 1635, under the reign of Louis XIII, Chief Minister
Cardinal Richelieu founded L'Académie Française, expressly
to watch over the French language and ensure its purity. It
was also meant to unify a country that was still divided by
dialects, from the north to the south. Today, the Academy is
still going strong, its primary mission being to set the rules
and standards on usage, vocabulary and spelling. It continues
to update and publish the definitive dictionary of the French
language, first issued in 1694; oversees works on grammar,
logic and other such subjects; and it administers several
prestigious literary prizes.
Although the Academy has ruled that words—even those
associated with newly evolving technological developments—
should be French and not imported from English (or other
languages), this rule is not always abided by in common
usage. For example, many people use 'franglais' (français-
anglais) terms, such as '
uploader
', '
le chewing gum
' and '
le
software
' (instead of the approved French term, '
logiciel
')—a
corruption of the language, the French pronunciation
notwithstanding. English words such as 'weekend' and
'snack' have also made their way into daily usage, producing
'
le weekend
' and '
le snack
'. And a bus driver who drives too
quickly is routinely called '
un cowboy
'.
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