The noted linguist Henriette Walter is a well known media figure in France, who has used her extensive range of scholarly work to take a stance in the current debate on the French language and to debunk the idea that the language is under threat. She shows that French has always been an accommodating language - une langue d'accueil - taking in words from many different sources. This bilingual volume makes Mme Walter's approach accessible to English speakers and provides reactions to it from a number of scholars working in British universities.CONTENTSPréface Howard Evans (University of Leeds) 1. Le Français, langue d'accueil: chronologie, typologie et dynamique/ French - an Accommodating Language: Chronology Henriette Walter (Université de Haute-Bretagne) 2. La métaphore de l'emprunt: Implications pour une théorie de l'évolution des langues. Réponse á Henriette Walter / The Metaphor of Borrowing: Implications for a Theory of Language Evolution: A Response to Henriette Walter Pénélope Gardner-Chloros (Birkbeck College, London University)3. Le dérèglement du système de pensée français: l'angoisse secrète des puristes? Réponse à Henriette Walter/ Is it the Corruption of French Thought Processes that Purists Fear? A Response to Henriette Walter Jean-Marc Dewaele (Birkbeck College, University of London)4. La dimension politique de l'emprunt et la réaction français. Réponse à Henriette Walter / The Political Dimension of Borrowings and French Reactions. A Response to Henriette Walter Dennis Ager (Aston University, Birmingham)5. Le français, langue d'accueil ou langue sur la défensive? Réponse à Henriette Walter/ Is French Really Open to Outside Influences? A Response to Henriette Walter Anne Judge (Surrey University)6. Itinéraires étymologiques. uelques mots en supplément / Etymological Routes. Some Supplementary Remarks Malcolm Offord (Nottingham University)7. La réforme de l'orthographe en France et en Allemagne: attitudes et réactions/Spelling Reform in France and Germany: Attitudes and Reactions Rodney Ball (University of Southampton)8. Le français de Belgique filerait-il à l'anglaise?/ Is Belgian French More Susceptible to English Influence? Emmanuelle Labeau (Aston University, Birmingham)