The French Academy, which regulates the use of the French language, has recommended not to use slang words from the field of computer games that came from English.
This was reported by AFP.
Some of the terms proposed by the French Academy have direct equivalents (for example, “pro-gamer” became “joueur professionnel” and “cloud gaming” became “jeu video en nuage”).
At the same time, some expressions were not directly translated into French. Thus, “streamer” became “joueur-animateur en direct” (literally “organizer of live broadcast”), and “eSports” (e-sports) – “jeu video de competition” (“competitive video games”).
The French Ministry of Culture has explained that the video game sector is full of anglicisms, which can be a “barrier to understanding” in this area by non-gaming people.
As the recommendations were published in the Official Government Gazette, they are now binding on civil servants.
However, gamers in the French segment of social networks ridiculed the proposals of the French Academy, calling them “completely meaningless.” They also noted that the French equivalents of English became much more inconvenient to use.
This is not the first time the French Academy has tried to combat the influence of English on French, especially in the field of technology, reminds AFP. Yes, the previous attempt to replace “le wifi” with “l’access sans fil à internet” (literally “wireless internet access”) was not successful.