‘Streamer’ and ‘eSports’ banned in France, along with other English gaming terms

WTF? ! From aperitif to vinaigrette, there are a large number of commonly used French words in the English language, but as far as the wording of the games is concerned, it seems that the French government is not very happy when turning the tables.

The Guardian reports that the French authorities have amended the rules on soldiers’ English rules to protect the purity of language and make it easier for people to communicate.

The French Ministry of Culture told AFP that English words in the video game industry have been affected, which could act as a “barrier to understanding” for non-gamers. Some translations are very clear: “pro-gamer” is now “professional gamer”, but “streamer” is now more complex “live gamer-host”.

Elsewhere, “cloud gaming” will become “cloud video game” and “eSports” will become “competitive video game”.

The question of the Englishization of the French language has been around for many years in France. This has recently gained prominence as more and more English words and phrases find their way into everyday speech, especially in technical and social media contexts. The French Academy of Sciences, a French language watchdog, had warned of “inevitable degradation”, highlighting terms such as “big data” and “drive-in”.

The agency’s previous attempts to introduce new French words have not been met with open arms. The worst example is its option to replace “Wi-Fi” with “wireless internet access”, which translates to “wireless internet access”. But this week’s changes have been published in the Official Gazette, meaning they are now subject to government employees.

According to The Local France, experts searched video game websites and magazines to see if any French words already existed.