--- In
cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Arnaud Fournet"
<fournet.arnaud@...> wrote:
> Francescock,
Mais quel tête de noeud ce mec!
> I have never heard about Mitterrand's willingness to reform
> standard orthography. But I let you substantiate that claim.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reforms_of_French_orthography
"Since the 1970s... calls for the modernisation of French
orthography grew stronger. In 1989, [under the presidency of
François Mitterrand,] French prime minister Michel Rocard appointed
the Council of French Language to simplify the orthography by
regularising it... The Council, with the help of some Académie
members and observers from Francophone states, published what it
called the 'orthographic rectifications' on 6 December 1990.
Those 'rectifications', instead of changing individual spellings,
published general rules or lists of modified words. In total, around
2000 words have seen their spelling changed, and French morphology
was also affected... These 'rectifications' were supposed to be
applied beginning in 1991 but, following a period of agitation and
the publication of many books... they appeared to have become dead
proposals."
Exactly like I said. Strange that you, the French Genius, did not
know that.
From a report making the point on the rectifications fifteen years
after their publication, available online at
http://www.renouvo.org/bilan2005.pdf ,
one understands that, until the year of publication of the same
(2005), no specific instructions had been imparted to teachers in
France as to the adoption of the 'orthographic rectifications'.
Moreover, only a few novels, some linguistics books, and some
pedagogical books and journals had been published till then with the
new orthography.
Regards,
Francesco