Toubon Law

The Loi relative à l' emploi de la langue française (the "Law concerning the use of the French language" for German ), usually referred to by the then French Minister of Culture Jacques Toubon as Loi Toubon, is a French law that in on 4 August 1994 took effect. Its main objective is the protection of French consumers and workers and in the promotion of multilingualism.

The original design called for a commitment to the use of French in the public and the private. Loanwords, especially anglicisms should be avoided and used in officially proposed, specially newly created words. A constitutional complaint for breach of the right to freedom of expression and freedom of speech reached that the obligation has been deleted on the use of replacement words.

According to the text of the law, the use of English advertising slogans without French translation, for example, be criminalized.

Critics objection is that numerous state-prescribed and used in the Official French neologisms in everyday use have never been enforced and will probably never prevail. Thus, in contrast to week-end (, weekend ') the official name vacancelle not widely used. Numerous examples of the successful introduction of new terms by the official Neologismenkommissionen be found but in computer science. In France, only the neologisms are ordinateur for PC ', logiciel for ' software ' or ' program ' and matériel for ' hardware ' used.

In France, the Loi Toubon is sometimes derisively called Loi Allgood, based on the family name Toubon, which can be roughly translated as " Allesgut "; Jacques Toubon itself is mockingly named Jack Allgood.

The media are particularly affected by another Act of 2000: According to all the French light music programs are required to send at least 40 percent of French-language songs. Half of these songs must come ' from new talents or new productions " again.

This law has led, for example, also performing artists to receive single releases for a separate French version (eg Protège -Moi to German, Protect Me ', by placebo ) to be played on French radio more often.