French Academy

The French Academy (in French: Académie française) is an institution in charge of regulate and perfect the French language. It was founded in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu during the reign of Louis XIII, making it one of the oldest institutions in France. The fundamental purpose with which it was created was to normalize the French language. Consists of forty members chosen by their peers, called "the Immortals." It is the first of the five academies of the Institute of France.

Functions

The French Academy fulfills a double role:

• «Watch the French language»
  The first mission was granted to him at his origin by his statutes. In order to carry it out, the Academy worked in the past to establish the language and make it a common heritage for all the French and all those who practice the French language. In fact, article XXIV of the statutes states that "the main function of the Academy will be to work with all the care and diligence possible to give certain rules to our language and make it pure, eloquent and capable of treating the arts and sciences". At present, it acts in order to maintain the "qualities" and follow the evolutions it considers necessary. The Academy thus defines "good use". It does it through Dictionary of the French Academywhich sets the use of the language, but also through its recommendations and its participation in different terminology commissions. The French Academy opposes any mention of the regional languages in the constitution, according to a statement of 12 June 2008, which, according to academics, will lead France to ratify the European Charter of Minority or Regional Languages.

• Mecenazgo
  The second mission, the patronage, not originally planned, has been possible thanks to the donations and legacies granted to it. The Academy awards about sixty literary awards a year, including the French Academy's Grand Literature Award. The Grand Prix of la Francophonie deserves a special mention; it has been awarded annually since 1986 (the first laureate writer: the Lebanese poet and playwright Georges Schehadé) and bears witness to the constant interest of the Academy for the expansion of the French language in the world. The Academy also grants to literary or scientific societies, charitable works, assistance to large families, widows, disadvantaged persons, and a number of scholarships.

History

At first the Academy was nothing more than an unofficial gathering of literati. Cardinal Richelieu frequently attended these round tables on grammar and literary criticism until finally, perceiving the interest of such an organization for his national unification project, he gave the French Academy its official character.

The French Academy was officially founded in 1634 by The statutes and regulations claimed by the Cardinal, together with the letters patent signed in 1635 by Louis XIII and registered by Parliament in 1637, consecrated the official character of a company of scholars, who had previously met informally.

The mission that was assigned to it from its origin was to establish the French language, give it some rules and make it purer and more understandable for everyone. He must, to be faithful to that spirit, begin by composing a dictionary. The first edition of the Dictionary of the French Academy was published in 1694, the following ones in 1718, 1740, 1762, 1798, 1835, 1878, 1932–1935, 1992. The ninth edition is in the process of being published.

The Academy held its sessions, initially in the home of such or such a member, from 1639 in the home of Chancellor Séguier, from 1672 in the Louvre and, finally, in the College of the Four Nations, converted into a palace of the Institute of France, from 1805 to the present day.

During those three and a half centuries of existence, it knew how to maintain its institutions, which functioned regularly, except for the interruption between 1793 and 1803 during the Revolution, the Directory and the Consulate.

Cardinal Richelieu had proclaimed himself protector of the Academy. After his death, this protection was assumed by Chancellor Séguier, Louis XIV and, after them, all the kings and heads of state of France.

The history of this first stage of the Academy became known through the detailed account written by two of its members in Histoire de l'Académie Française, whose first volume, published in 1653, It is by Paul Pellisson and the second, appeared in 1729, by the abbot of Olivet.

The origin of the forty armchairs

The origin of the forty armchairs of the French Academy is recounted by the academic Charles Pinot Duclos: «Formerly there was only one armchair in the Academy, which was the seat of the director. All the other academics, whatever their rank, had nothing but chairs. The Cardinal of Estrées, having become an invalid, sought relief for his condition by attending our assemblies: we often see those whom age, misfortune or the weariness of greatness force them to resign, come to seek consolation in us or become disillusioned. The cardinal asked to be allowed to request a more comfortable seat than a chair. Accounts were rendered to Louis XIV who, foreseeing the consequences of such a distinction, ordered the mayor of the furniture repository to have forty armchairs brought to the Academy and confirmed academic equality forever. The company could not expect less from a king who had wanted to declare himself the protector ».

The “couch 41”

A large number of writers, often illustrious, have never crossed the doors of the Academy, either because they have never been candidates, or because their candidacy has been rejected, or even because they have died prematurely. The expression "41st chair" was coined by the writer Arsène Houssaye in 1855 to designate these authors, among whom Descartes, Molière, Pascal, De La Rochefoucauld, Rousseau, Diderot, Beaumarchais, Chénier, Honoré de Balzac, Alexandre Dumas (father), Gautier, Flaubert, Stendhal, Nerval, Maupassant, Baudelaire, Émile Zola, Daudet, Marcel Proust, Gide, Jean Giraudoux or Albert Camus, among others.

Bylaws and organization

Under the research program law (2006), the French Academy is a legal person under public law with a particular statute managed by its members in assembly. He chooses his perpetual secretary who, as his name indicates, exercises until his death or his resignation. This permanence makes him the most important character in the institution. The assembly also elects, every three months, a president in charge of presiding over the sessions.

The "Immortals"

The French Academy is made up of forty members elected by their peers. Since its founding, it has welcomed more than 700 members. It brings together poets, novelists, playwrights, philosophers, historians, doctors, scientists, ethnologists, art critics, soldiers, State personalities, Church personalities, who have particularly illustrated the French language.

Academics owe their nickname of immortals to the motto "To immortality", which appears on the seal ceded to the Academy by its founder, Cardinal Richelieu, and which refers to the French language and not to the academics. Frequently, they have been called upon to be enlightened judges of the proper use of words, to specify the notions and values that these words carry. This moral authority in matters of language is rooted in uses, traditions, a pomp.

Election to the French Academy is often considered by public opinion as a supreme consecration. That said, there has always been a "counter culture" headed by authors who have been rejected or not proposed by the Academy. These authors virulently criticize the Academy and academics, who hope in vain to pass into "prosterity" [sic], according to Jean Cocteau's word.

Edmond Rostand, academic, mocks the Academy in Cyrano de Bergerac (theater) by wryly evoking forgotten members of the first generation.

In 1980, Marguerite Yourcenar, novelist and essayist, was the first woman elected to the French Academy. Since then, the Academy has hosted Jacqueline Worms de Romilly in 1988, Hélène Carrère d'Encausse in 1990, Florence Delay in 2000, Assia Djebar in 2005 and Simone Veil in 2008.

The famous green costume worn by the academics, with bicorne hat, cape and sword, during the solemn sessions under the Coupole, was designed during the Consulate, by the painter Jean-Baptiste Isabey. It is common to all members of the Institute of France. The "Immortals" and the ecclesiastics are exempt from wearing it, as well as the sword. Romilly, Carrère d'Encausse and Delay all opted for the green suit during their inauguration. Carrère d'Encausse was the first woman to carry the sword, a weapon created for the occasion by the Georgian goldsmith Goudji. Delay and Djebar also chose to carry the sword. As for the Hellenist Jacqueline de Romilly, she received a symbolic brooch during her election to the Academy of Ancient Inscriptions and Languages in 1975.

Academic status is an immovable privilege. No one can resign from the French Academy. Anyone who declares his resignation will not be replaced before his death: Pierre Emmanuel and Julien Green are two recent examples.

The Academy can sentence exclusions for serious reasons, especially for those that stain honor. These exclusions throughout history have been very rare. Several were started after the Second World War by collaboration: Charles Maurras, Abel Bonnard, Abel Hermant, Philippe Pétain.

Current members

Spelling corrections

On October 24, 1989, a reflection on five points concerning spelling was proposed to the Superior Council:

• the script;
• the plural of the composite words;
• the circumflex accent;
• the past participle of the pronominal verbs;
• various anomalies.

On these five points the proposals of the French Academy have been fixed. They concern not only the spelling of existing vocabulary, but also emerging vocabulary, particularly in the field of science and technology.

These rectifications, presented by the Conseil Superior de la Lengua Française, received favorable reviews from all members of the French Academy, as well as the agreement of the Conseil de la Lengua Française de Quebec and the French community of Quebec. Belgium.

The rectifications, moderated in their content and length, were published by the Journal Officiel on December 6, 1990 and can be summarized in the following points:

• certain words will dispense with the script for your link;
• the composite words will follow in the plural the rules of the simple words;
• the circumflex accent will not be obligatory in the letters "i" and "u" except in the verbal endings and some exceptions;
• the past participle will be invariable in case of "dejar" followed by an infinitive;
• anomalies:
  • for accentuation and plurality of loans will follow the rules of the French words; the graphs will be written according to the rules of French writing, or coherently following a particular series.

The Academy in fiction

• In the fiction novel Le fauteuil hanté (1909) by Gaston Leroux, successive members of the same armchair die in mysterious circumstances.
• In the movie L'aile ou la cuisse (from Claude Zidi), actor Louis de Funès (interpreting the role of director of a famous gastronomic guide) becomes one of the Immortal Forty.
• Jean-Pierre Brisset (1837-1919) makes different allusions in his books to the green costumes of scholars.

Grand Prizes

Vocabulary of the Academy

La France illustrée

Dictionary of the French Academy, in 2 volumes

• Annex: French Academy Literature Award
• Annex: Grand Prize for Philosophy of the French Academy
• Annex: Great Paul Morand Literature Prize
• Grand Novel Prize of the French Academy
• Annex:Ganadores del Gran Premio del teatro de la Academia Francesa
• Annex: French Academy's Great Poetry Award
• Annex: French Academy Testing Award
• Annex: Biography Award of the French Academy
• Annex: Cardinal Grente Award
• Grand Gobert Prize
• Annex: Grand Prix of La Francophonie