Académie Française unveils 'bible' of correct French language
READ MORE:
Swords, immortality and wifi: Five things to know about the Academie française
Just a few months after releasing their
ninth official dictionary
, the 'immortals' have compiled all of their best tips about the French language in the third edition of '
Dire, Ne pas dire
' (say, don't day)
The book covers a bit of everything, from explaining the common mistakes French speakers make (like whether or not you should say
stupéfait
or
stupéfié
) to how you might replace dreaded anglicisms like 'fake news' and 'wishlist' with French alternatives and what to do about the 'tech speak' sneaking into French day to day parlance.
They also offer their advice for what to do with the
'tics de langage'
(filler words and phrases) that have 'invaded' French, like
du coup.
Overall, '
Dire, Ne Pas dire
' compiled 'nearly 1,000 entries', attempting to answer questions pertaining to the modern French language.
In the Académie's description of the book on their
website
, they say that "rather than being a policeman, [the Académie] is as attentive to the need to enrich the French language, as it is to the fight against the depletion of its vocabulary".
You can purchase it at your local bookstore or on the
FNAC website
.
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What is 'Dire, Ne pas dire'?
Similar to The Local's
'Word of the Day' feature
, the Académie has a segment on their website dedicated to helping people better understand the French language.
'Dire, Ne pas dire'
is where they publish short explanations for the proper usage for French idioms and phrases.
READ MORE:
6 language mistakes that even French people make (including Macron)
For example, in their
'Emplois Fautifs'
(Incorrect Usage), the Académie answered a
question
on March 6th: 'How does one pronounced Abasourdir? Is it 'abazourdir' or 'abassourdir?'"
In response, readers are given the definition of the word, its origins, and finally a thorough explanation of how and why it is pronounced with the 'z' sound.
The public can also write in and ask the Académie for a clarification on how a word or phrase should be used or pronounced. You can send a message using their
online contact form
.
It's worth pointing out, however, that the Académie might be giving you information on perfectly correct French, but that's not necessarily the same as the French you will hear everyday in France.
In reality, French people love to add random words like
du coup
and
hop là
into everyday sentences, while English words abound, especially if you're talking about tech or the online world.
The Académie continues to fight the good fight against English imports like
le wifi
, but its cumbersome alternative -
l'access sans fils à internet
- is widely regarded as a joke in France.
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