French Language Watchers Still Working at Keeping Nixing English Infiltration

I know  it has been a long time since subscribers of The Frugal, Smart, and Tuned-In Editor Blog have heard from me!  Even though I am a bit out of commission doing a caretaking stint for my daughter who broke her foot, I couldn’t resist passing this story about French efforts to keep their language “pure” when I saw it in PEN America‘s newsletter. This used to be a topic that came up often, but I haven’t seen it lately. It always amazes me when I see it so I am indeed amazed anew!

French itself is based on changes made in Latin over years—along with several other Romance languages. Similarly,  English is filled with Latin words and French words borrowed after 1066 when England had French royalty. What would we do without "chandelier?" So different from "light fixture."

So are the French fighting a losing battle? Doesn’t this kind of thing obfuscate principles of linguistics and encourage the kind of bigotry that is causing so much trouble in the world now? What do you think? You'll find a link below to send me your own personal rant!

Here is the pitch for the article in Guardian and a link straight from PEN's newsletter DARE as well as a way for you to subscribe to their valuable newsletter free:

“An Insult': French Writers Outraged by Festival's Use of 'Sub-English' Words
A celebration of the “Scène Young Adult” in Paris next month has drawn the condemnation of dozens of French authors and intellectuals, who have described the adoption of English terminology as an “unbearable act of cultural delinquency.”
THE GUARDIAN”

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ABOUT THE BLOGGER

Howard-Johnson is the author of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. She is also a marketing consultant, editor, and author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers including the award-winning second editions of The Frugal Book Promoter  and The Frugal Editor. Her latest is in the series is  How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically. Learn more on her Amazon profile page, http://bit.ly/CarolynsAmznProfile. 

Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers is one of her booklets--perfect for inexpensive gift giving--and, another booklet, The Great First Impression Book Proposal helps writers who want to be traditionally published. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including one she encourages authors to read because it will help them convince retailers to host their workshops, presentations, and signings. It is A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. In addition to this blog, she helps writers extend the exposure of their favorite reviews at TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com. She also blogs at all things editing--grammar, formatting and more--at The Frugal, Smart, and Tuned-In Editor (http://TheFrugalEditor.blogspot.com )Her SharingwithWriters.blogspot.com blog focuses on the writing life and book marketing and promotion. It is a Writers' Digest 101 Best blogs pick.