French Academy

The French Academy is a French learned body that discusses and makes decisions regarding the French language.  Almost daily, we talk about what l'Académie Française has determined as regulative for French.  Our English-speaking readers from the USA might find this unusual, since no such comparative body exists for English.

Other facts regarding the Académie Française:

• Officially estab. in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, chief minister to King Louis XIII
• Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution
• Restored in 1803 by Napoleon Bonaparte
• Oldest of the 5 académies of the Institut de France
• Consists of 40 members (called immortels)
• New members elected by the Académie itself
• Académicians hold office for life (but removal possible for misconduct)
• Publishes an official dictionary for French
• An official language authority, but its rulings are only advisory

Tomorrow, I will post on one of the original members of the Académie, a member we have been hearing about in our French classes.