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Local France
22-05-2025
- Local France
French Word of the Day: Non-lieu
Why do I need to know non-lieu? Because you might see this in a headline after a scandal in France. What does it mean? Non-lieu - roughly pronounced non-lee-uh - translates precisely as 'not place'. The word lieu is widely used in everyday French to mean simply a place, as in lieu de naissance (place of birth) or lieu de travail (workplace). However non-lieu has a very specific legal meaning. It is actually a shortened version of a longer legal term, which is non-lieu à suivre or non-lieu à poursuivre. Advertisement In the French legal system, this basically means the dismissal of a case by the investigating judge ( juge d'instruction ). READ MORE: Crime and punishment: Understanding French legal language As such, you might see headlines non-lieu réquis par , which means 'dismissal of the case requested by (insert famous person). There are a few reasons why a non-lieu might occur, but some of the most common are a lack of sufficient evidence to justify further action, the end of the statute of limitations, or the death of the accused. A non-lieu differs from another term you might see - classement sans suite - which is based on the discretion of the public prosecutor who might choose to drop the case before going to trial. It also differs from l'aquittement (aquittal) which occurs at the end of a trial. As for the origin of this terminology, non-lieu has existed since the 19th century. In the more general use of lieu it usually it designates a real, physical space ( Lieu public ou privé - a public or private space). However according to the Académie Française , it can also be used more abstractly to refer to the 'grounds/reason for something'. The Académie gave some examples of this usage, like Il y a lieu de douter (there is a reason to doubt) or Il y a lieu à contestation (There are grounds to contest) - and it's from this sense that we get non-lieu . Use it like this La justice a prononcé un non-lieu pour les trois policiers impliqués dans l'incident. - The judge dismissed the investigation against the three police officers involved in the incident. L'avocat a défendu le non-lieu, affirmant qu'il était conforme au droit et qu'il n'y avait pas de preuves réelles contre son client. - The lawyer defended the dismissal of the investigation, saying that it was in line with the law and that there was no real evidence against his client.
Local France
25-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Local France
Académie Française unveils 'bible' of correct French language
France's Académie Française - which has been in charge of standardising and safeguarding the language since 1635 - has bundled together all of its advice for what to say (and what not to say) in the French language, and published it in a book. 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 . Advertisement 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.
