Montaigne, when translating a Latin quotation in his
Essays
, opted for an acute accent:
“A strong imagination produces the event.”
Albert Londres, in 1924, preferred the following spelling:
“It's me who tells you!
It was an event
,” he writes in
The Man Who Escaped
.
Annie Ernaux chose eighty years later to title her book
“The Event”
, with a serious accent, like the humanist of the 16th century.
It would be painful to have to blame one or the other.
However, for the fluidity of our relationship with spelling, we must decide.
Which
“event”
or
“happening”
is more consistent?
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Are we nitpicking when asking the question?
Our constant hesitation to put a serious or acute accent refers to a fundamental debate.
From the 15th century the form
“event”
is attested , with an acute accent.
How did we get here?
Nobody knows.
This acute accent, however, goes against the phonetic rule that in front of a syllable containing a silent
“e”
, we write
“é”
and not
“è”
.
“Event”
is written with an acute accent, but pronounced as with a grave accent.
Phonetic inconsistency
An inconsistency that purists denounce.
It must be said that we find this hiatus with
“celery”
,
“creamery”
,
“regulatory”
.
Very quickly, the spelling adapts to the pronunciation.
And we find the spelling “event”
more and more often
.
Usage creates the norm, we know that well.
And in 1979, the French Academy accepted both spellings.
The use of the acute accent continues to predominate.
The famous spelling reform of 1990 once again confirms the acceptance of both accents.
But strongly recommends the use of the serious accent, more consistent with phonetics.
A change of emphasis which occurs late.
The word
“event”
had slipped through the cracks!
It was from the spelling reform at the end of the 19th century that
"collège"
became
"collège"
, that
"j'abrége"
was replaced by
"j'abrége"
,
"siége"
by
"siege"
...
If the acute accent predominated for a long time, and despite the reform, today it seems that the
“event”
is spreading more.
It is more consistent, if we trust the history of the word.
However, both forms are accepted.