“Suddenly”, “basic”, “genre”… a hunt for French errors has begun on social networks.

Would Moliere’s disciplined, articulate language, rich in vocabulary and delicious figurative expressions, regain its power? Undoubtedly, the opening of the International City of French Language in October in the castle, which was opened with great pomp by the president of the republic, is an indicator of this. The very first cultural institution dedicated to the fifth language spoken in the world is not accidental in this place. It is in this castle, in fact, that Francois 1.^eh In 1539, he signed the decree making French the official language of all administrative acts of the kingdom. Gorgeous, right? However, we have little doubt that this anecdote, just like the tourist itineraries connecting the “past, present and future of French and La Francophonie”, fully appeals to the teenagers that the most enthusiastic parents are sure to travel. to visit the place… “C’est guez” will explode (“It’s null”, in young idiom, possible abbreviation, although not officially confirmed, merguez…)!

A very rough opus, Language bookPublished on this occasion by Éditions du Patrimoine and directed by the distinguished philologist Barbara Cassin, it is certainly also full of good intentions. Unfortunately, however, it is in danger of ending a coffee table book — Yes, horror, Anglicism. – among sixty-year-olds spoiled by their children at Christmas… No, definitely, elsewhere, on social media, the current revival of the French language is taking place, real, euphoric and unexpected… It’s also delicious that this “recovery” is manifested on the latter who contributed greatly to their POV and their WTFwhat an effort!), among other common abbreviations, to impoverish the vocabulary of generations…

Carine Diejud and the hunt for French bugs

Karine Diejud is a teacher of French and Latin at 20th Century College.^e A Parisian district classified as a REP (Priority Education Network). We don’t see anything more charming than this long blond liana with signature lipstick, a real lethal weapon against cruel barbarities and dangerous connections… She is also the creator of the Instagram account @lesparenttheseselementaires. On the latter, which has almost 190,000 subscribers, this passionate teacher who sets her classroom on fire also sets her community on fire. We are delighted to discover his weekly Miscellanies filled with Words of the Day, unusual definitions (you know psilosis), his phrases explained by their origin or etymology, his Words to the Rescue, his 1. book 1 minute’ and, above all, his benevolent but steady tracking of bad usages, errors and linguistic tics, always impeccably staged.

Carine Diejud readily describes herself as a “French language influencer”. She’s not the only one and readily quotes friends like Athena Sol (@athenasol-off) or tiktoker MaitressAdeline (@maitressadeline). The first, 285,000 followers, is defined as a grammar mom (grammatical mother) and a queer feminist in his biography. It’s a different genre. Platinum hair in a bang and nail art flamboyant, he takes a much more cheeky tone even getting into it, but the mission is the same: to avoid mistakes in spoken or written French. In short, he moves. Sometimes we are surprised by his simple and effective explanations. for example, the difference between persuasion and persuasion. Go and see, you won’t ask yourself that question again… MaitressAdeline, she, 2.6 million TikTok subscribers, plays more of a teacher and delivers her spelling and syntax message in a soft authoritarian voice, in the background of what. A notebook school book, annotated in red or green… It smells a little more like its Bescherelle, this collection of manuals that were the rich days of vintage pedagogy. All of them, of course, have already written their books, French style has No more errors! Passing by speak or die – it’s easy to assign them, right?

Learn how to reverse the trend

It is clear that this somewhat puritanical attitude can quickly “save” the pros and cons of French in one of the disputes between the ancients and the moderns, which our country has the secret of. To find out (also?) simple. on my right the “reactionaries” are like “Pivot” and his dictation or Fabrice Luchin and his wild talk, even the French Academy; on my left, contemporaries like the podcast Speak like never beforeBy Leilia Veron (Binge Audio) or by the Linguistes atterré.es collective, authored in July. French is very good, thank you (Collection Tracts, Éd. Gallimard), which declares color. “The accumulation of dire statements about the current state of our language has ultimately prevented us from understanding its immense vitality and even believing in its future. There is a need to respond urgently.”

Of course… Karine Dijoud does not want to belong to any of these camps and rejects the accusation of archaism often leveled against teachers, with strong winds against language changes. “Not because I went to war with ‘sudden’, ‘basic’, ‘after all’, ‘actually’, ‘genre’, which make the remarks inaudible for me, I politicize the topic. Among my followers, I have many self-taught people aged 24-35, not only notaries over 75. I also like this lively French I follow, I also enjoy creating my Comme dit les Jeunes column, which is much appreciated by my readers of all ages and all conditions,” she assures. “I myself can be very sloppy and sometimes too ‘fan’,” he also jokes. Above all, I believe that nothing is lost and that we can still reverse the trend if the language actually declines…” We couldn’t have said it better.