In countries not the United States, it is not unusual to find an organized body of language experts who weigh in on questions relating to their national language.

You know, like a Council on American Grammar and Usage—except we don’t have such a thing. I think in the U.S. such an organization might inspire rioting in the streets.

In France, which has a less laissez-faire attitude about language, l’Académie française weighs in on matters linguistic, safeguarding French for future generations.