The Ministry of Culture wants to regain control of the vocabulary of “gamers”, invaded by Anglicisms. The commission for the enrichment of the French language proposes a new list of terms. Not sure everyone likes it…
The “free-to-play” soon forgotten? The French language seeks to regain control over the vocabulary of video games, invaded by Anglicisms, with a list of new expressions published in the Official Journal. The video game “is a sector where a lot of anglicisms are used”who can be “a barrier for dissemination and understanding by non-practitioners”, explained Monday, May 30 to AFP the Ministry of Culture, a stakeholder in the Commission for the enrichment of the French language. In addition to the difficulty “technical” posed by this jargon reserved for insiders, the ministry points to a risk of misunderstanding “for those who do not have a fluent English practice”.
The list, published on Sunday May 29 at Official newspaper, thus suggests replacing the word “streamer”, designating a person who broadcasts content in real time, with “live player-host”. The aerial “cloud video game” must replace “cloud gaming”, a service allowing remote play without downloading. Some Anglicisms easily find their equivalent in French, such as the term “pro-gamer”, changed to “professional player”. Same thing for the “season pass”, sesame for additional content, which has become the “season pass”. For “free-to-play”, it will be necessary to say “game in free access” and “competitive video game” becomes the French version of “eSport”.
Terms “compulsory” for regulatory texts
For each expression in English, “Experts try to see if there is already a French term circulating, on video game sites or specialized magazines”in order to “choose a translation that has already started to be used”underlined the ministry.
The goal: that “the general public and professionals can use this vocabulary” like the word “infox”, a “commission recommendation” used as an alternative to “fake news”. “The terms published in the OJ by the Commission are mandatory for public service agents”and the texts “regulatory”said the Ministry of Culture.
However, it would seem that the French Twitch community, made up of video game players but not only, is not quite ready to change its jargon. The reactions of the users of the live streaming platform were not long in coming. The “live host” Jean Massiet, specializing in deciphering political news on the platform, notably commented on the announcement on Twitter.
The account of the Popcorn show, also broadcast live on Twitch and presented by Domingo, also joked, trying to translate in turn by replacing the term “talk-show” with “talk-show”.
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