Academie francaise
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
The Academie francaise (French Academy) is the pre-eminent French learned body. The Academie, limited to forty members, has the task of acting as an official authority on the French language.
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2 Role 3 Membership 4 Current Members 5 See Also 6 External links |
History
In 1570, King Charles IX granted the charter of an "academy of Music and Poetry" to the poet Jean-Antoine de Baif and a musician named Gourville, who named it the Academie francaise. The Academie functioned informally until February 10, 1635, when Armand-Jean Cardinal Richelieu, a minister of Louis XIII, obtained letters patent from his King formalising it into a national academy for the literati, and limiting the number of its members. In anticipation of the formal creation of the body, several members were appointed in 1634.
The role of "protector" of the Academie was originally fulfilled by Richelieu, and after his death by Pierre Seguier, the Chancellor of France. When Seguier died in 1672, the role passed to King Louis XIV. Thereafter, the French head of state always served as the protector.
Role
The Academie is the French official authority on the usages, vocabulary, and grammar of the French language, although its recommendations carry no legal power and are sometimes disregarded even by governmental authorities. It also encourages the use of French worldwide and awards literary prizes.
The Academie is charged with publishing an official dictionary of the French language. It has done so in 1694, 1718, 1740, 1762, 1798, 1835, 1878, and in 1932-1935. The Academie continues work on the most recent (ninth) edition of the dictionary, of which the first volume (A to Enzyme) appeared in 1992, and the second volume (Eocene to Mappemonde) appeared in 2000.
As French culture and language have come under increasing pressure with the widespread availability of English media, the Academie has tried to prevent the anglicisation of the French language. It is as a direct result of a decision of the Academie that the French word for "computer" is "ordinateur" and that the field of study dealing with computers is known as "informatique."
Membership
The Academie has forty seats, and all members are elected to a specific seat for life. They are known as the immortels (immortals) because of the device, A l'immortalite appearing on the seal granted to the Academie by Cardinal Richelieu. Famous current and former immortels include author Victor Hugo, author and director Marcel Pagnol, poet and filmmaker Jean Cocteau, playwright Eugene Ionesco, anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss, and physicist Louis-Victor de Broglie.
Members are elected by their counterparts (the first forty members were all appointed). An individual may become a candidate by sending a letter to the Permanent Secretary, who is him or herself a member of the Academie. A candidate is elected if one receives the votes of a majority of members voting; the quorum for the election is twenty members. The election is valid only if the protector of the Academie, the President of France, grants his approbation.
The new member must deliver a speech to the Academie thanking them for the election and eulogising the member being replaced. Eight days thereafter, the new member is formally installed. Though the term of the members is for life, academicians may be "excluded." The first exclusion was in 1638, when Auger de Moleon de Granier was removed after having committed theft. The next was in 1685, when Antoine Furetiere was removed after a bitter quarell relating to the publication of the Academie's dictionary. Thereafter, several members were excluded during reorganisations of the Academie in 1803 and again in 1816. The last removal was in 1945, when Charles Maurras' seat was "declared vacant" (he was, however, not "excluded").
Members wear the habit vert (green habit) at the Academie's ceremonies. The habit includes a black jacket and bicorn hat, each embroidered in green. Furthermore, the members — with the exception of women and clergymen — receive a sword.
Current Members
Listed by seat
- Rene Remond, elected 1998
- Hector Bianciotti, elected 1996
- Jean-Denis Bredin, elected 1989
- Jean-Marie Lustiger, elected 1995
- Vacant.
- Marc Fumaroli, elected 1995
- Jacqueline Worms de Romilly, elected 1988
- Michel Deon, elected 1978
- Alain Decaux, elected 1979
- Florence Delay, elected 2000
- Gabriel de Broglie, elected 2001
- Jean d'Ormesson, elected 1973
- Pierre Messmer, elected 1999
- Helene Carrere d'Encausse, elected 1990 (Permanent Secretary of the Academie)
- Frederic Vitoux, elected 2001
- Valery Giscard d'Estaing, elected 2003
- Erik Orsenna, elected 1998
- Michel Serres, elected 1990
- Pierre Moinot, elected 1982
- Angelo Rinaldi, elected 2001
- Felicien Marceau, elected 1975
- Rene de Obaldia, elected 1999
- Pierre Rosenberg, elected 1995
- Jean-Francois Revel, elected 1997
- Jean Bernard, elected 1975
- Jean-Marie Rouart, elected 1997
- Pierre Nora, elected 2001
- Henri Troyat, elected 1959 (Dean of the Academie)
- Claude Levi-Strauss, elected 1973
- Maurice Druon, elected 1966
- Jean Dutourd, elected 1978
- Alain Robbe-Grillet, elected 2004
- Michel Mohrt, elected 1985
- Francois Cheng, elected 2002
- Yves Pouliquen, elected 2001
- Jean-Francois Deniau, elected 1992
- Vacant.
- Francois Jacob, elected 1996
- Bertrand Poirot-Delpech, elected 1986
- Pierre-Jean Remy, elected 1988
See Also
External links