The French Academy , founded in 1635 under the reign of the King Louis XIII by the cardinal of Richelieu, is one of the oldest institutions of France. It is composed of forty members elected by their pars.

Functions

The role of the French Academy is double:

; To take care on the French language The first mission was conferred to him right from the start by its statutes. To discharge some, the Academy worked in the past to fix the language, to make of it a inheritance common to all the French and all those which practice the French language. Indeed, it is specified in article XXIV of the statutes that “the principal function of the Academy will be to work with all the care and all diligence possible to give unquestionable rules to our language and to make it eloquent and able pure, to treat the Art S and the Sciences. ”

Today, it acts to maintain qualities of them and to follow of them the evolutions necessary. It defines the good use of it. It does it by working out the Dictionnaire of the French Academy which fixes the use of the language, but also by its recommendations and its participation in the various commissions of Terminologie.

; Patronage The second mission, the patronage, not envisaged in the beginning, was made possible by the gifts and Legs which was made to him. The Academy decrees each year approximately sixty Literary prize S, of which the Grand Prix of literature of the French Academy.

Particular mention must be made Grand Prix of the Francophonie, decreed each year since 1986, which testifies to the constant interest of the Academy for the radiation of the French language in the world.

The Academy allots also Subvention S to literary or erudite companies, charitable organizations, assistances to large families, the widows, the underprivileged people or who were characterized by the achievement from acts from devotion as well as a certain number of purses: Zellidja , Nephews , Corblin , Damade .

History

See also: History of French

The French Academy was founded in 1635 by Richelieu. The Statute S and payments aimed by the Cardinal, with the letters patent signed in 1635 by Louis XIII and recorded by the Parliament in 1637, devoted the official character of a company of well-read men, who met before in an abstract way.

The mission which was assigned to him right from the start was to fix the French language, to give him rules, to make it pure and comprehensible by all. It must in this spirit start by composing a Dictionnaire. The first edition of the Dictionnaire of the French Academy is published in 1694, the following ones in 1718, 1740, 1762, 1798, 1835, 1878, 1932 - 1935, 1992. The ninth edition is in the course of publication.

The Academy initially holds its meetings at such or such of its members, then at the chancellor Séguier starting from 1639, with the Louvre starting from 1672, and finally with the Collège of the Four-Nations, become palate of the Institut of France, of 1805 at our days.

During its three centuries and half of existence, it knew to maintain its institutions, which functioned with regularity, except the interruption of 1793 - 1803 during the Révolution, the Directoire and the Consulat.

The cardinal of Richelieu had proclaimed protective Academy. With its death, this protection was exerted by the Séguier chancellor, then by Louis XIV and, thereafter, by all the kings, emperors and successive Heads of State of the France.

The history of the first times of the Academy is known by the detailed account that made of them two of its members in their Histoire of the Academy Francoise , of which the first volume, published in 1653, is of Paul Pellisson, and the second, published in 1729, of the abbot of Olivet.

; The origin of the 40 armchairs The origin of the Fauteuil S of the French Academy is told thus by the academician Charles Pinot Duclos: “There was in the past in the Academy only one armchair, which was the place of the director. All the other academicians, of some row who they were, had only of the chairs. The cardinal of Estrées, having become very crippled, sought a softening in its state in assiduity at our assemblies: we often see those which the age, disgraces, or the dislike of the sizes force to give up it, to come among us to comfort itself or désabuser. The cardinal asked that it was allowed to him to make bring a seat more convenient than a chair. One returned account to the king Louis XIV, who, envisaging the consequences of such a distinction, ordered with the intendant of the furniture depository to make carry forty armchairs to the Academy, and confirmed from there, by there and for always, the academic equality. The company could not less wait of a king who had wanted to declare the guard of it. ” In addition let us quote these two pleasant worms of Fontenelle:

When we are forty, one makes fun of us, Thirty-nine sums, one is us with our knees.

; The “41e armchair” A great number of writers, often famous, never crossed the doors of the Academy, either that they were never candidates there, or that their candidature was rejected, or that they were struck prematurely by death. The expression 41 {{E}} armchair was forged by the writer Arsène Houssaye in 1855 to appoint these authors. Among the famous names that one could quoted, one can retain those of Descartes, Molière, Pascal, Regnard, Rochfoucauld, the Wise one, Piron, Diderot, Beaumarchais, André Chénier, Balzac, Dumas father, Zola, etc

Statute and organization

Under the terms of the Law of program for research (2006), the French Academy is a moral person of public law to particular status managed by its members in assembly.

She elects her perpetual secretary who, as its name indicates it, the remainder until its death or with its resignation. This permanence makes of it the most important character of the institution. She also elects, every three months, a president charged to chair the meetings.

The “immortal ones”

The French Academy is composed of 40 members elected by their pars. Since its foundation, it received in its center more than 700 members. It gathers Poète S, Romancier S, men of theater, Philosophe S, Historien S, Médecin S, scientists, Ethnologue S, critic art , Militaire S, statesmen, men of the church, who have all magazine particularly the French language.

The academicians owe their nickname the immortal ones with the currency “With the immortality”, which is reproduced on the seal given to the Academy by its founder, the cardinal of Richelieu, and which aims at the French language and not the academicians. They often had to be enlightened judges of the good use of the words, and thus to specify the concepts and the values which these words are carrying. This moral authority as regards language enracine in uses, traditions, an ostentation.

The election with the French Academy is often regarded by the opinion as a supreme dedication. However, there was always a “counter-culture” carried out by authors whom the Academy refused or who are not proposed. These authors do not fail to criticize with virulence the Academy well thinking and its academicians, who vainly hope to pass to the “prosterity” according to the word of Jean Cocteau.

Edmond Rostand, itself academician, turns the Academy in derision in Cyrano of Bergerac by evoking the forgotten members of the first generation: “Porchères, Colomby, Bourzeys, Bumblebee, Arbaud… /All these names of which not one will not die, that it is beautiful! ”

In 1980, Marguerite Yourcenar, novelist and essay writer, was the first woman elected with the French Academy. Since, the Institution accommodated Jacqueline Worms de Romilly in 1988, Helene Carrère d' Encausse in 1990, Florence Delay in 2000 and Assia Djebar in 2005.

The famous green dress that the academicians cover, with the Bicorne, the cape and the sword, at the solemn meetings under the Coupole, was drawn under the Consulat, drawing allotted to the painter Jean-Baptiste Isabey. It is common to all the members of the Institute of France. The “immortal ones” as well as the ecclesiastics are exempted by it, as well as port of the sword. Mrs. de Romilly, Carrère d' Encausse and Delay however chose the “green dress” at the time of their receptions. Mrs. Carrère d' Encausse was the first woman to carry the sword, a splendid weapon created for the occasion by the large goldsmith géorgien Goudji. Mrs. Delay and Djebar also chose to carry the sword. As for the hellenist Jacqueline de Romilly, it received a pin symbolic system at the time of its election to the Academy of the inscriptions and Belles-Lettres in 1975.

The quality of academician is an irremovable dignity. No one cannot resign of the French Academy. At least that which is declared outgoing it is not replaced before its death: Pierre Emmanuel and Julien Green is recent examples.

Exclusions can be marked by the Academy for serious reasons, in particular sullying the honor. These exclusions during the history were extremely rare. Several were implemented after the Second world war for facts of collaboration: Charles Maurras, Abel Bonnard, Abel Hermant, Philippe Pétain.

Current members

See also: List of the members of the French Academy by armchair, List of the members since 1635

Corrections of the orthography

In his speech of October 24th, 1989, the Prime Minister proposed with the reflection of the Superior council five precise points concerning the orthography:

  • the hyphen;

  • the plural of the made up words;
  • the circumflex accent;
  • the last participle of the reflexive verbs;
  • various anomalies.

It is on these five points that the proposals of the French Academy carried. They do not aim only the orthography of the existing vocabulary, but more especially that of the vocabulary to be born, in particular in sciences and technology.

Presented by the Superior council of the French language, these corrections received an favorable opinion of the French Academy unanimously, as well as the agreement of the Council of the French language of Quebec and that of the Council of the language of the French Community of Belgium.

They were published in the Official journal of December 6th, 1990

These corrections, moderate in their content and their extent, are summarized as follows:

  • the hyphen: a certain number of words will replace the hyphen by the welding (example: portemonnaie like wallet);

  • the plural of the made up words: the words made up of the letter balance type will follow in the plural the rule of the simple words (of the letter balances);
  • the circumflex accent: it will not be obligatory any more on letters I and U, except in the verbal terminations and some words (examples: that it was, ripe);
  • the last participle: it will be invariable in the case of to leave followed by an infinitive (example: it was let die);
  • anomalies:
    • borrowed words: for the stressing and plural, the borrowed words will follow the rules of the French words (example: a business manager, business managers);
    • désaccordées series: C-Ws communication will be made in conformity with the writing rules of French (example: douçâtre), or with the coherence of a series specifies (examples: to rise like blowing, carriage like cart).

The Academy in the fiction

In the novel of fiction the Armchair haunted (1909) of Gaston Leroux, the successive members of the same armchair die in mysterious circumstances.

Random links:Gattières | Local tram | Cassandra Peterson | Antef the Old one | Edward O' Hare