I know that some European countries have academies that have the authority to dictate their native language. I’m wondering how they do this. I would guess that at the time these academies were founded, they would have no problem with cutting off your head for uttering an incorrect usage, but what about nowadays? Does anyone really listen to the academies anymore? How do they control how you speak an write? My guess is that licences come in here somewhere.
Thanx.
Please refer to your earlier thread. There is no need to start a new one; the earlier thread had not even dropped off of the first page; however, it can be helpful to bookmark a thread you are interested in following. On Internet Explorer, this is simply a question of clicking on “Add to Favorites…” on the Favorites menu on your menu bar. Then you can easily find the thread by selecting the appropriate item from your Favorites menu. (The default title will be something like “Straight Dope Message Board – Language Academies”.)