L’orthographe rectifiée: le guide pour tout comprendre par Bernard Cerquiglini, and: La nouvelle orthographe expliquée à tous! par Dominique Dupriez (review)

Reviews 257 openness to linguistic and cultural diversity, and reorient cultural content to include not only France but also neighboring French Guyana. In the postcolonial setting of Reunion Island, where the French educational system is in place, but a majority of students speak Creole as their first language and have cultural references quite different from those of students in Europe, Lucas and Dubois consider the challenges faced by teachers and, with an eye to plurilingualism, promote consideration of the local language and culture in educational contexts.Although disparate in the specific topics that they address, and thus somewhat difficult to consider in a collective sense, the contributions included in this volume offer interesting insights into the complexity of language education with a plurilingual and pluricultural focus in each minority language setting. University of Louisiana, Lafayette Tamara Lindner Cerquiglini, Bernard. L’orthographe rectifiée: le guide pour tout comprendre. Paris: Librio, 2016. ISBN 978-2-290-13348-4. Pp. 95. Dupriez, Dominique. La nouvelle orthographe expliquée à tous! Paris: Albin Michel, 2016. ISBN 978-2-226-32239-5. Pp. 127. The often-animated discussions that took place in early 2016 concerning the orthographe rectifiée marked the continuation of a longstanding tradition, that of vigorous debate concerning the nature of the French language. These two books aim to clarify matters surrounding these debates and to address mischaracterizations of the reforms themselves. Cerquiglini’s short volume, produced in conjunction with Le Monde, offers an overview of the process by which the rectifications came to be. This is followed by the final correspondence between Maurice Druon and Michel Rocard (then Prime Minister) and the report of the Conseil supérieur de la langue française. Cerquiglini’s brief examination of the history of spelling reform follows the trajectory of the Académie’s dictionary projects from the work of Vaugelas in the early years through corrections suggested in 1975, noting especially changes in opinion concerning the role of the Académie in correcting orthography. Indeed, much of today’s standard orthography has its origins in various revisions to the dictionary. Cerquiglini writes of the circumflex (which was refused in the first edition) that the Académie“ne fait pas qu’adopter le circonflexe; [elle] l’académise. Cet accent devient officiel et respectable” (13). Likewise, the modern spelling of poésie (poësie before the seventh edition in 1879) was decried as a perversion of the language. Cerquiglini offers numerous examples of such debates throughout the history of the Académie to argue that current discussions are simply the latest instantiation of a recurrent discourse. On the other hand, he argues that the reforms of 1990 are unique, in that they prioritize the utility of the rectified spellings to the individual speaker over fidelity to the language as a closed system, and that useful changes are more likely to be accepted. Cerquiglini concludes his essay by outlining the trajectory of these latest reforms, discussing some of the proposals and how the Académie voted, offering valuable insight into the process itself. As such, this book is likely to be of particular interest both to those concerned with the history of the French language and with issues of language policy. Similarly, this text is written clearly and concisely, in such a way that might appeal even to those with limited knowledge of French orthography and its history. Cerquiglini’s insightful commentary (with the unique perspective of a participant in the process) helps simultaneously to dispel some of the misconceptions about the rectifications and to encourage readers to question their own assumptions. Dupriez’s book continues along similar lines, emphasizing the utility of the reforms (and how the changes will affect the average speaker). The text opens with a brief essay discussing the nature and value of a regularized orthography, correcting some misconceptions about how this standard comes to be. This introduction addresses some of the most common questions and criticisms of the rectified spelling, highlighting the fact that the goal of this project is simply to arrive at a common standard that can be applied in the future. This is followed by a short summary of the changes, followed by a second section of...