On Monday, French officials continued their centuries-long struggle to preserve the purity of the language and revised the rules for the use of English video game jargon.
While some terms find obvious translations – “pro-gamer” becomes “joueur professionnel” – others seem more strained as “streamer” turns into “joueur-animateur en direct”.
The Ministry of Culture, which is involved in the process, told AFP that the video game sector was filled with anglicisms that could act as “a barrier to understanding” for non-gamers.
France regularly issues severe warnings about the degradation of its language from across the Channel, or more recently the Atlantic Ocean.
The century-old language watchdog, the Académie Française, warned in February of a “deterioration that must not be seen as inevitable”. It highlighted the term, including the train operator SNCF’s brand “Ouigo” (pronounced “we go”) along with straightforward imports such as “big data” and “drive-in”.
Monday’s changes, however, were published in the official journal, making them binding on government employees.
Among several terms to be given official French alternatives were “cloud gaming”, which will be “jeu video en nuage”, and “eSports”, which will now be translated as “jeu video de competition”.
The ministry said experts had searched video game sites and magazines to see if French terms already existed. The overall idea, the ministry said, was to allow the population to communicate more easily.