Aininian Office of the French Language
| Office aininien de la langue française | |
| File:OLF Seal.png | |
| File:OLF.png | |
| Cabinet-level executive department overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 23 August 1951 |
| Headquarters | Palais du Sacré-Cœur 1, Boulevard du Faubourg-Saint-Laurent Hartly, Linack |
| Motto | Pour le bénéfice du monde entier. (For the Benefit of the Whole World) |
| Employees | 2,460 |
| Annual budget | $2.9 billion (FY 2014) |
| Minister responsible |
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The Aininian Office of the French Language (French: Office aininien de la langue française) is the cabinet department responsible for the preservation and proliferation of the French language in Ainin. It also regulates the vocabulary, syntax and grammar of the French language as spoken in Metropolitan Ainin. Furthermore, it is responsible for the funding and oversight of the Société de télédiffusion aininienne.
The office's origins are found in the Royal Institute of Linguistics, founded in the 13th century by Fabien, 21st Duke Sansécœur, which was a body of the royal court responsible for developing and enforcing the rules and regulations of Aininian French grammar. The institute persisted until the fall of the Glorious Confederation, after which it ceased operations as the country dissolved into anarchy. During the Antelopian Dynasty's rule over Ainin and the subsequent Aininian Revolution, the institute's writings were heavily suppressed, initially by Namorese then by republican extremists. It was restored in 1867 as the National Institute of Linguistics, under the University of Talon, and became an agency of the Ministry of Heritage in 1934. It was promoted to a standalone cabinet department in 1951.
It is headquartered in the Palais du Sacré-Cœur (Palace of the Sacred Heart) in Eastern Hartly, previously the base of operations of the Grand Inquisitor of the Glorious Confederation. The department is also Ainin's official authority for heraldry and is the armiger of the coat of arms of Ainin.
Notable Policies
- Elimination of the words "soixante-dix", "quatre-vingt" and "quatre-vingt-dix" for the numbers 70, 80 and 90, respectively, to be replaced with "septante", "octante" and "nonante"
- Recalibration of the masculine and feminine status of words (e.g. the masculine noun l[e]' autobus was reclassified as feminine in 2008, the masculine noun un job was reclassified as feminine in 2011)
- Elimination of Anglicisms and perceived Anglicisms (e.g. un parking to un (aire de) stationnement, l'e-mail to le courrier électronique, stop to arrêt)
- Creation of feminine forms for many professions that historically did not have such a form (e.g. une chercheuse for un chercheur, la mairesse for le maire)
Controversy
Persecution of non-French speakers
The Aininian Office of the French Language has been accused of persecuting speakers of other languages, notably English and Luziycan.
On October 8, 1998, the Office attempted to seek an injunction against the use of the Luziycan language in West Aininian public schools, sparking outrage from civil rights groups and West Aininians, a majority of whom are ethnically Luziycan and 18% of which speak Luziycan as a mother tone. It backed down after intervention by the Prime Minister's Office.
On July 26, 2002, the Office declared that many common Anglicisms, including "pâte à dents" for toothpaste, "chatter" for chatting, and "e-mail" for electronic mail were improper French and ordered all government agencies to stop using them. A week later, the legislatures of all seven provinces and the federal Parliament had banners in their lobbies proclaiming support for the continued existence of these Anglicisms. The Office backed down after the House of Commons Standing Committee on Heritage threatened to defund it.
Prescription vs. description
The Office has also come under fire from linguists adhering to the approach of description, accusing the office of practicing excessive prescriptivism when it comes to accepting non-standard vocabulary, such as slang, loanwords and Anglicisms. A common example given by critics of the alleged excessive prescriptivism is the ongoing campaign to stamp out the usage of the terms "soixante-dix" and "quatre-vingt" for the numbers 70 and 80 in favour of "septante" and "octante", respectively.
Reception
Domestically, polls have found that roughly 34% of Aininians support the activities and goals of the Office, while 39% oppose them. The remainder were undecided or did not answer. Due to the lack of public support for it, many critics have called for the disbandment of the office, and to let the language naturally evolve.
However, many leaders in the French community support the office, noting that it has helped the preservation of the French language and attempts to stop "foreign influences" on the language.
The Office has also been subject to commentary from a variety of international sources.
- File:Eastna.png East Nautarya: The independent newspaper The Saint Martin Observer ran an editorial condemning what it called the "cultural homogeneity" perpetrated by the office. The East Nautaryan Foreign Office likewise noted its disapproval of the Office's activities.
- Template:Country data Francilie: The Académie de la Langue Française criticized the changes concerning the number system and the "linguistic isolation" organized by the OLF. Jean-Pierre Calebutte, the General Secretary of the ALFF, said in 2010 that "no language can survive without foreign influence". On the other hand, the ALFF supports the OLF in their struggle for the protection of the French language in Ainin.
- Template:Country data Geadland: The government of Geadland has not taken a position on the OLF. Media outlets in Geadland have ridiculed some of the OLF's decisions, other times they have praised its work.
Luziyca: President William Mishnev condemned the OLF's injunction to prevent Luziycan being taught, saying that "all people have the right to be educated in their mother tongue: if they want to be educated in Luziycan, they should have the right to do so." Many Luziycans disapprove of the OLF, and opinion polls show that 61% of respondents view it negatively.
Namor: Namorese reaction to the Office is leaning to the positive. Due to the nationalist sentiment of some Namorese, there is a number of scholars who believe the Office is doing what's morally right, preserving the purity of a native language. Some have suggested that Namor follow the same path of establishing an office reserved for the Namorese language and restricting use of languages of ethnic minorities. A commentary in The Liberator once wrote that "[i]t is imperative for a united, sovereign state to enforce the use of one national language and this is what the [Aininian Office of the French Language] is doing." It went on to suggest the regions such as Txotai are in need of a similar institution.- Template:Country data Saheil: Instead of having its own French regulatory agency, Saheil follows the direction of the Office and requires government agencies to adhere to its grammar outlines. In addition, major Saheilian newspapers such as The Inquirer and La Force adhere to the Office's rules. Saheil's government makes no comment of persecution of foreign languages in Ainin.
