WSJ, The French Get Lost in the Clouds Over a New Term in the Internet Age: Before a word such as "cloud computing" or "podcasting" ("diffusion pour baladeur") receives a certified French equivalent, it needs to be approved by three organizations and get a government minister's seal of approval, according to rules laid out by the state's General Delegation for the French Language and the Languages of France. The process can be a linguistic odyssey taking years.Just shut up.
"Rigor cannot be compromised," said Xavier North, the 57-year-old civil servant who heads the General Delegation.
Mr. North? Vraiment? The guardian of French takes umbrage at the suggestion his name might be English. "My name is absolutely not Anglo-Saxon," he says. "It comes from Alsace," in the east of France. Also, he pronounces it Nort.
Years on that treadmill, years. A 20 person team. Are these their legs?
I have some memory in school in Grenoble of learning history for foreigners in France. There was a lot about French kings named Francis going to war with Italy, one losing his life hitting a low-lying branch on his horse.
Just shut up.
(The French are too easy...I mean really)
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