One was taught to translate 'girl' by 'jeune fille', since 'fille' on its own meant 'prostitute'. Madame le secretaire d'Etat. The argument, largely spurious, of the Academie Francaise against such changes is that feminising, for instance, the word 'minister' has the effect of making a distinction between man and woman, a segregation which runs counter to the equality of the sexes. What does strike me as a curious contrast in the feminist program of French women, as compared with English speaking women, is that they adopt opposed strategies, one based on a feminism with egalitarian aspirations, a feminism of sameness, and the other on a feminism with particularist aspirations, a feminism of difference. I can best conclude by quoting a comment by one of the more enlightened of the Academicians on the Minister for Education's plan.
Usage is always right, even when it is in the wrong.
And that's all for this week's Lingua Franca.