Words like "streamer" and "esports" will be banned from official usage as a part of an ongoing effort to preserve the purity of the language.
The French government has banned the official usage of English gaming terms as a part of its efforts to preserve the purity of the French language.
According to The Guardian, the changes were made in consultation with France's Ministry of Culture which told the French news agency AFP (Agence France-Presse) that the country's video game sector is oversaturated with anglicized gamer slang and can be "a barrier to understanding" for non-gamers.
Now, government officials are banned from the usage of jargon like "pro-gamer", "streamer", "esports", or "cloud gaming" is banned. Instead, they'll have to use wordier French alternatives like "joueur professional", "joueur-animateur en direct", "jeu video de competition", and "jeu video en nuage". There are other gaming terms on the list as well.
As The Guardian notes, the French authorities have long been fighting to preserve the purity of the language, and such a ban was just another step in this long process.
Previously, the Académie Française, the French council for matters regarding the local language, already expressed its concern about the possible degradation of the language complaining about the use of anglicisms. For example, it wasn't happy with the name of the local railway brand Ouigo which is pronounced like the English "we go". It was also against some more straightforward imports like "big data" and "drive-in" and even published a list of some French alternatives.
What do you think of the ban? Share your thoughts in the comments below and don't forget to join our new Reddit page, our new Telegram channel, follow us on Instagram and Twitter, where we are sharing breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.