Show TO REFORM FRENCH the interesting news newa comes from france that important reforms are contemplated tem plated in the orthography of the french language after much dia cassion the members naem berB of the Aca academic demie Franc Fran alee calse have resolved to propose not less lees than 1200 changes and to issue a pamphlet containing these for the benefit of the public it is stated that the Aca academic academia demie has taken this step as a concession to public pressure in the matter petitions a great number of literary institutions tut lotia were received and among others from the institute do d prance france which is considered second to in import ance only to the academic itself this accounts for the promptness with which the academicians academic ians contrary to custom seem to have acted this time among the proposed changes are the following ph will be discarded where it has the sound of plurals will be formed only by the addition of an a to the singular generally an effort towards simplification will be made will be vote vois je in to take the place vaux beux and so BO on it has also been decided to introduce some english words for which the french language has no true equivalents as for instance oms ome home spleen this will give some idea of the pro posed reformatory measures although a full understanding of them oan can be obtained only when the announced brochure appears one of the objects of the french brench academy as set forth in its statutes is the purification of the language the principal function of the academy shall be to labor with all care and diligence to give certain rules to our language and to render it pure eloquent and capable of treating the arts and science 11 1 1 in a letter to cardinal richelieu to whom the academy owes its official recognition if not its existence it was stated that the members proposed to cleanse the language from the impurities it has contracted in the mouths of the common people from the jargon of the lawyers from the m laus a goo agea of ignorant courtiers and the abuses of the pulpit PY it to Is therefore strictly within the scope of this famous I 1 institute noti tute of learning to take the initiative in a matter of this thin kind the great question however Is what are the prospects of success ex peri per lence ence teaches that efforts to change languages by the imposition of new lawland laws and rules generally fall fail V speech follows certain in laws we of developments development as every other growth of civilization but it is necessarily slow a century often belog being required to mark any great difference it if people in general are conservative in anything they are as regards the medium by which they communicate their thoughts to each other it is much easier to continue the inconveniences with which one la Is made familiar almost from the earliest days of childhood than to adopt radical changes in after years A good illustration of this Is for instance the present condition ot ol the written language of norway soon after that country had been separated cepa rated from denmark patriots con calved the idea of creating out of the various norwegian dialects as spoken by the mass masa of the people a written language distinct both from danish anu swedish some of the linguists of the country spent years on this work but the written language of the country is today as it was halt half a century ago essentially danish similar instances might be pointed out from both ancient and modern history the french academy itself we are told has repeatedly failed in its attempts to make now new laws for the language of the country still no one will underestimate the importance of this present effort for not only are reforms highly needed in the french but quite as much if not more in other related languages and to point out in which direction the desirable alterations must go and to call the attention of the public to re dundan cies inconsistencies and other defects Is a great step towards reform we may therefore look in the course of time for these efforts for the reform of french orthography to be felt not only in that country but to some extent in every nation where men of learning are concerned about the lan guage they speak |