harry, you speak as if there were only ONE dictionary of the french language, by the Académie Française, but in fact there are many. maybe you have never heard of the Petit Robert, whose editorial director is Alain Rey, a brilliant linguist and lexicographer.
Here is a very interesting interview with him. a relevant citation which you might want to read :
Quote:
The Petit Robert just turned 40. How has it remained modern?
In 1967, there were hardly any one-volume dictionaries on the market. Their content was encyclopedic, without much information on the language itself. So when the Petit Robert came out, it was something very new. It included the conventional meanings of words, complete with examples from great authors, but it also featured everyday, familiar terms.
Indeed, by then it had become impossible to ignore everyday language. Writers had begun using it freely, and conversation was full of slang. We were also determined to be modern in the citations we chose to illustrate words: Molière rubbed shoulders with Raymond Queneau. It wasn’t just by chance that this dictionary came out right before the French revolution of 1968! Readers recognized their era in the Petit Robert. I hope they still do today.
Unlike encyclopedias, our dictionary evolves along with changes in the world. It doesn’t present a language set in stone. I’m always fighting the ideology of a certain elite that attempts to impose a superior, immutable standard on French. The fact is, languages incorporate many changing usages that are more or less legitimate. No one has the right to judge them as “good” or “bad.” In this regard, you could say that the Petit Robert is in a state of perpetual revolution.
More than 400 words were added to the 2007 edition of the Petit Robert. How were they selected?
First, we try to read everything that’s written in French, from online literature to mail-order catalogues, which wonderfully reflect contemporary lifestyles. We choose a few words, and they are then submitted to the editorial committee, whose members I appoint. Our discussions always end in a vote, and the majority rules. Unlike the Dictionnaire de l’Académie Française, the Petit Robert doesn’t try to impose a rigorous standard that will be valid for the next 50 years. We want foreigners living in France to be able to find most of the words they hear every day in our dictionary. It’s one of the criteria we consider before accepting a new term.
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