French academic who waged war on English language dies

[Harold Schiffman]

French academic who waged war on English language dies

Last Updated: 5:14PM BST 15 Apr 2009

Maurice Druon became famous for his angry tirades against the invasion
of English into French Photo: AP
He became famous for his angry tirades against the invasion of English
into French. He spent decades trying to rid his language of hundreds
of foreign words – everything from "supermodel" and "takeaway" to
"low-cost airline" and email" – which he claimed destroyed the purity
of his mother tongue.


Even such obscure terms as 'shadowboxing', 'detachable motor caravan'
and 'suppression subtractive hybridisation' – which have slipped into
French usage – were included in his banned lists. He regularly updated
his catalogue of 'offensive' English words on the website of the
famous Academie Française – the centuries-old institution set up to
protect French culture. On the latest hit-list, he targeted words
including barbecue, blazer, bowling, jeans, cover girl, drugstore,
jackpot, job and knockout. One of his greatest challenges was finding
alternative words for new technology, with an entire page on the
website devoted to the word "podcasting".

It also noted that the French do not appreciate the term 'Wi-Fi' –
easily pronounceable in French as 'wee-fee' – because it is short for
the English phrase "wireless fidelity". So it recommended that
France's millions of internet users say 'acces sans fil a l'internet'.
Druon was said to be furious when French culture minister Xavier
darcos admitted last year that the secret to success is speaking
better English. Mr Darcos also warned that because of globalisation,
very few people outside France will being able to speak French in the
future. Druon was later quoted as describing the minister's remarks as
'high treason'.

As one of France's most respected intellectuals, Druon – a former
World War Two Resistance fighter – also published a series of
historical novels and was French culture minister for two years in the
1970s. President Nicolas Sarkozy payed tribute to him yesterday,
saying: "He was a great writer, a great politician and a grand soul."
He died at his home in Paris on Tuesday.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/5158969/French-academic-who-waged-war-on-English-language-dies.html


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