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Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site watrose.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!watnot!watrose!cctimar
From: cctimar@watrose.UUCP (Cary Timar)
Newsgroups: sci.lang
Subject: Language committees
Message-ID: <8212@watrose.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 21-Oct-86 20:39:04 EDT
Article-I.D.: watrose.8212
Posted: Tue Oct 21 20:39:04 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 22-Oct-86 05:25:44 EDT
References: <3489@utcsri.UUCP> <8209@watrose.UUCP>
Reply-To: cctimar@watrose.UUCP (Cary Timar)
Distribution: net
Organization: U of Waterloo, Ontario
Lines: 21
Keywords: linguistic change, language committees, tribal languages
Summary: Icelandic is not the only one

In article <8209@watrose.UUCP> rgdutton@watrose.UUCP (Rob Dutton) writes:
>I hear that in Iceland the government has some committee set up to 
>monitor the day-to-day use/development of their language, to ensure
>that it doesn't change in any undesirable way.

Actually most major languages (except English) have such committees. 
I do know they exist for French and Hebrew, and I believe that such
committees were responsible for spelling improvements in German,
Spanish and Hungarian in the 19th century.

A text I once used mentioned a tribe whose language had to change
rapidly because of taboos.  This tribe had a council of elderly women
whose function was to decide the new vocabulary as necessary.  This
institution might have been ancient.

At any rate, this leaves English as the (only?) major language which
evolves freely as the need arises, rather than being restricted by
arbitrary rulings of a governing body.
-- 

			-- Cary Timar