La Querelle de l'Orthographe

An essay examines the long-standing dispute over spelling reform, contrasting philologists' logical drive to simplify orthography with writers', grammarians', and the literary public's concern for usage, beauty, and tradition. It questions delegating contemporary language decisions to scholars specialized in ancient tongues, warns against abrupt, top-down legal changes, and argues that orthography evolves organically through usage. The author defends gradual adaptation guided by taste and common practice rather than radical, imposed overhaul, while mourning the decline of cultivated guardians who once shaped elegant and accepted forms of expression.