For several months, the pediment of the entrance to the Diderot college had been covered with ribbon. Here it is today returned to view. And it has never been so watched!
Located in the heart of the historic center, probably one of the oldest educational establishments in the city, the Diderot college has undergone many transformations, notably due to successive disasters, over the past centuries. But in 2024 it is its pediment which will be the subject of all attention.
Having faced the ravages of time, the entrance to the ancestral building above all posed security problems. This is why the Departmental Council came to its bedside by not only planning repair work (at a cost of 213,000 euros), but also by taking care of the aesthetics.
So acute or serious?
A very fitting result that President Nicolas Lacroix was able to admire last Friday. It must be said that since the dismantling of the scaffolding and the removal of the tarpaulins, he has heard about it, because tongues are loosening… about the French language. Indeed, social media and onlookers quickly picked up on the accent.
A high-pitched accent that makes people talk… –
Think about it, college written with an acute accent! For an establishment teaching French, in the middle of the Philosophical Meetings, attended by nearly two hundred professors of literature… that’s a task. Especially for the teachers of said college, placed on the front line. Well no! However, perhaps it should have been explained.
“Before the spelling reform, college was written with an acute accent”
“With the help of the Architect of Buildings of France, we chose to restore the accent as it appeared on the original banner. Erased over the years, it had become illegible. If we refer to the various dictionaries, before the spelling reform, in the second half of the 19th centurye century, college was written with an acute accent “specifies Nicolas Lacroix.
Reason, not reason?
So, would changing the direction of the accent have made sense? Perhaps if we rely on 21st century Frenche century, often mistreated by SMS and other approximate writing. Perhaps not if we wish to restore the pediment to its original spelling. One thing is certain, there is one who, a few meters away, from the top of his statue, must be enjoying this little controversy and rejoicing to see the ” college ” writes like this, he who, in his encyclopedia, only used this spelling! THE ” college “ is therefore in harmony with Diderot. Logical, no!
What does the encyclopedia say?
A story of emphasis which will, once again, focus on the town of Langres. And that, in terms of visibility and singularity, is not to displease. However, it would be desirable, as suggested by the principal of ” College “ Diderot, that an explanatory plaque justifying the acute accent be placed nearby. A great way to satisfy the purists, the polemicists… And for students unfamiliar with accentuation, no more problem quoting their establishment!
