In an attempt to preserve the purity of the French language, officials in France have banned popular game terms such as ‘pro-gamer’ and ‘streamer’. Going forward, official government communication will use more traditional terms like “joueur-animateur en direct” instead of “streamer”, which literally translates to “live player-host”, and the slightly more forgiving “joueur professionnel” for “pro”. -gamer ‘, which, as you have no doubt guessed, translates to’ professional player ‘.
The decision was made after consultation with the French Ministry of Culture, which told AFP (the French news agency ‘Agence France-Presse’) that the gaming sector in particular is currently filled with specific gaming terms that could act as a “barrier to understanding” for all non- players.
The change is now binding on every government employee in France, but whether the change will seep into the everyday lives of French citizens and its press is quite unlikely at present.
Other terms affected by the change include ‘eSports’, which is now ‘jeu video de competition’, and ‘cloud gaming’, which became ‘jeu video en nuage’. All in all, we guess it makes sense; the French language is beautiful and words like ‘eSports’ do not have exactly the same … je ne sais quoi. Hi, look what we did!
What are you making this decision of French officials? Is it a lot of fuss about nothing? Tell us that in a comment.