ON THE ROAD AT ALBERTVILLE

The sign says it’s France, and the road signs are in French, so what’s with this nagging feeling that something’s not quite right here?

Could it be all those other signs? The ones in English?

French purists have been complaining for years about the creeping invasion of English. A drive through the provinces shows why. Barely are you in the country when you see a sign inviting you to stop at the snack bar ahead.

And you expect to see plenty of signs advertising restaurants, because restaurant is a French word. But a pizzeria? Or a bar and grill? Jimmy Li’s steakhouse offers the finest in Tex-Mex, and another steakhouse and pub down the road boasts of its steak frittes, which is so English that frites is misspelled.

Car on the fritz? Stop in at the nearby service station . You can gas up there, too, if you don’t mind pumping your own, because at the pumps, it’s self-service. And when you’re in the market for new wheels, you can pop on down to your friendly neighborhood dealer and see what he has in le show room.

If it’s time for a little recreation, Cool Sport can fill all your needs in ski and tennis equipment . And speaking of equipment, if it’s the heavy stuff you need, Michigan awaits your order for backhoes, front-loaders road graders and such.

There are video clubs, hi-fis and broadcast and television systems . You can find refrigeration facilities or go camping , if you like. Of course, camping can be strenuous, so when you return, you may feel like dropping in at the Hotel California, where the price of a room includes the use of the swimming pool and Jacuzzi.

There’s more, of course, and, clearly French, the language of love, the language of diplomacy, the language of the Olympics--wherever the Games might be--is obviously no longer strictly French. Purists might not like it, but for someone who speaks no French, it’s a nice touch of home. So as somebody once said, probably, “Vive l’Anglais! “