ABSTRACT
Although, as we saw in Chapter 10, the French language is continually evolving 'of its own accord', there is in francophone culture a long tradition of attempts by the public authorities deliberately to influence linguistic developments. (The tradition is commonly traced back to the royal ordinance issued by Francois I in 1539 at Villers-Cotterets stipulating that legal and administrative documents must be drawn up in French - not in Latin or in regional languages like Occitan.) Here three recent examples of State intervention will be considered, each of which involves innovation of one sort or another - sometimes in response to demands from a section of the public, sometimes in a bid to forestall developments that are perceived as undesirable. The more overtly conservative aspects of the role of the State will be looked at in the following chapter.
