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The French Academy Of Petty Linguistic Pedantry can’t leave well-enough alone. First it was «courrier électronique» – but nobody wanted to use that mouthful; as one Francophile once told me, “It’s called «courrier électronique» and it’s pronounced ‘email.’”

Then, there was «mél». I don’t know if this was offficially sanctioned or not, but it was a little more French than “e-mail.” But, apparently, just today, the Academie has coined a new, French word: «courriel.» “‘Evocative, with a very French sound, the word “courriel” is broadly used in the press and competes advantageously with the borrowed “mail” in English,’ the commission has ruled.” Quoi?