TheAcadémie Françaiseand monocentricity in a multicultural world

Abstract

TheAcadémie française, one of the oldest language academies in the world, represents a prototypical institutional body that supports strong monolingual ideology. This article sets out to understand its relevance and the normative stance it represents in a multicultural world. It analyzes the symbolic position that this institution still holds in and beyond France in light of the challenges associated with preserving a traditional monocentric language ideology in an era of globalization. In the last two decades, this ideology has been challenged by claims that French can survive as an international language only if it is open to legitimate influences from other cultures.