Euroland has to mind its language

Date: 14/01/1999

After the painless birth of the euro, wordsmiths are now grappling with the problem of what to call the territory the new currency was born in.

Anglo-Saxon countries prefer the term 'euroland', but that bastion of the French language, L'Académie Française, has ruled that the 11 countries which have signed up to the single currency should be known as the zone euro.

French newspapers appear to be ignoring the plea however. Libération has said it will use the French-sounding eurolande whilst Le Monde is even prepared to incur the Academy's wrath by using the English original.