Today, I had a very interesting conversation with my French professor about the evolution of the French language and how it is being influenced by English and digital media. One example he gave me was how the younger generation in France uses the word "email" to talk about emailing. They have adopted many other English words that are related to the digital world also because the equivalent word does not exist in French.
The old guard, represented by the group called l'Academie français, has sought to stem the influence of English on the French language by creating words. The word that they created for email is "courriel." This word is a cross between "courrier" and "electronique." The l'Academie français wants to keep the French language as pure as possible and will go as far as to ban the word email from public places to do so.
The action of l'Academie français made me think about the Party in 1984 and how they seek to revamp the English language by converting it to "Newspeak," an abbreviated language that strips English of synonyms and antonyms, giving single words the meaning which multiple words had. By reducing the language, the Party would eliminate the ability to express complete feelings and turn the populace into nothing more than machines, using a slightly more complicated form of binary code. This is just another form of control which Orwell seeks to illuminate in his book.
How is technology affecting our language? Many people can't help writing LOL, LMFAO, TTYL, BFF, and other texting lingo in there everyday writing. The digital world is responsible for these abbreviations and new ways of expressing thought. It is interesting to think where the digital world will take us in regard to language, whether it will destroy form or create an entirely new style of grammar.
The old guard, represented by the group called l'Academie français, has sought to stem the influence of English on the French language by creating words. The word that they created for email is "courriel." This word is a cross between "courrier" and "electronique." The l'Academie français wants to keep the French language as pure as possible and will go as far as to ban the word email from public places to do so.
The action of l'Academie français made me think about the Party in 1984 and how they seek to revamp the English language by converting it to "Newspeak," an abbreviated language that strips English of synonyms and antonyms, giving single words the meaning which multiple words had. By reducing the language, the Party would eliminate the ability to express complete feelings and turn the populace into nothing more than machines, using a slightly more complicated form of binary code. This is just another form of control which Orwell seeks to illuminate in his book.
How is technology affecting our language? Many people can't help writing LOL, LMFAO, TTYL, BFF, and other texting lingo in there everyday writing. The digital world is responsible for these abbreviations and new ways of expressing thought. It is interesting to think where the digital world will take us in regard to language, whether it will destroy form or create an entirely new style of grammar.
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