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To: Northern Alliance

The other weird thing about the French Language is that they actually have a global supreme arbitor of the language - I think it is called something like the 'Acadamie Francais". I meets once a week to argue the toss over words, and find french sounding words for new things being invented and named by English speakers!

Even in this there is a cultural difference.... the English speakers leave words to the 'free market' to decide if they enter the language (a word gets in our dictionaries only if it survives common useage for a length of time). The French government have socialised this process and state control it! Tells a story in itself....


37 posted on 03/25/2006 12:08:49 AM PST by Brit_Guy
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To: Brit_Guy
he other weird thing about the French Language is that they actually have a global supreme arbitor of the language - I think it is called something like the 'Acadamie Francais". I meets once a week to argue the toss over words, and find french sounding words for new things being invented and named by English speakers!

I think that is the Alliance Francaise, and yes they actually think they are relevant. Probably the word 'Internet' is banned in Quebec. It would all be quite 'drole' except if one had to live under those language Nazis - one reason I left Quebec a long time ago.

40 posted on 03/25/2006 1:10:19 AM PST by Northern Alliance
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