As English has words for everything – including the latest technological terms – French speakers have decided to hit back by coming up with a few of their own. Metro investigates.

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OMG. Oh mon dieu. An increasing number of linguists believe the French language is being put at risk due to an influx of English words. Their solution? Invent new ones.

Some of the world’s top linguists gathered recently in Quebec to discuss how the French language is increasingly becoming peppered with English words, with technology being cited as one of the main causes.

Words such as ‘tweet’ and ‘hashtag’ now form part of the French language and those who attended the French Language World Forum believe it’s high time French equivalents were invented.

These linguists claim English words are dominating digital and economic parlance and that the lack of French equivalents is putting the language at risk.

‘Borrowing too many words from English opens the door to a mishmash of French and English,’ said a spokesman for the Office Québécois de la Langue Française, which is responsible for promoting correct use of the French language.

‘This can have an impact on French word formation, phonetics and grammar, not just terminology.’

Experts at the OQLF believe it’s essential that French speakers have words which adequately express their thoughts and that this is crucial to keeping the language alive.

This is because French isn’t just spoken by the French. There are 220million speakers globally.

Recent studies have shown that French is the third most commonly used language not only on internet and social media networks but also in international trade.

It’s estimated that by 2050, Africa alone will account for 80 per cent of French-speakers and linguists claim that making the French language more effective is key to improving business links between Francophone countries.

While there’s an endless selection of English words which are internationally recognised, the same cannot be said for French.

In Quebec, there are many words which simply aren’t used or heard of outside of the region. The word ‘pourriel’, for example, which means ‘spam’ in Quebecoise French, is almost unheard of outside the city, and the same applies to ‘baladodiffusion’ for ‘podcast’ and ‘clavardage’ for ‘chat’.

Promoting these types of words within other French-speaking countries, say linguists, is key to the language’s survival.

Those at the forum have a simple solution. First, work out which French words most accurately describe common objects or concepts and identify those which have already taken root within the language.

These words can be then be promoted in a number of ways, such as by adding them to the online word bank, FranceTerme, something which has proved successful already.

Twitter on smartphone
Twitter has brought several English words into the French vocabulary (Picture: PA)

In 2003, the French government’s general commission on terminology and neology asked the French to stop using the word ‘email’ and replace it with ‘courriel’, which was already popular in Quebec. The word was added to FranceTerme, and its use expanded.

Linguists believe the media is key to promoting such words.

‘Journalists and publishers play a very important role by choosing, using and popularising words,’ said a spokesman at the OQLF. ‘We have to propose French words quickly, circulate them and promote them.’

Language experts also believe that the introduction of a French language web could help to stimulate business between Francophone areas, while more should also be done to promote the use of the language in scientific publications.

Critics point out that the internet is about bringing people together, and that the popularity of terms such as ‘email’ simply enhances this.

However, Prof Timothy Hampton, chairman of French studies at the University of California, argues that while speakers of any language can learn what a word means and how to say it, their unfamiliarity with the history and subtle nuances associated with these words will inevitably prove a disadvantage for some.

‘Years ago, people assumed that the internet would be pretty much an English language tool,’ he said. ‘This has not proven to be the case.

‘Fewer than half the sites on the web are in English. Yet by imposing a single set of terms through which it’s used, one limits the communicative power of anyone without that language.’

One advantage relating to the deliberate creation and introduction of French words is that French speakers are now able to use words which are more accurate than their English equivalents.

One example is the word ‘mot-clic’, which has successfully been introduced by linguists as an alternative to ‘hashtag’.

‘There’s nothing French about the structure or pronunciation of a word like hashtag, which does not spontaneously mean anything to a French speaker,’ said the OQLF spokesman. ‘That’s why we have proposed the term mot-clic, which actually means something in French. After all, what does hashtag actually mean? It’s used to describe a word preceded by a hash sign. This symbol invites the reader to click on the following word to access more information on the topic in question, and the latter is exactly what mot-clic means.’

Carol Sanders, Emeritus Professor at the University of Surrey, believes that French’s versatility should not be underestimated.

‘In the domain of texting, French has shown itself particularly adaptable,’ she said. ‘Though briefly LOL was used, people now write MDR (mort de rire), and make maximum use of numbers, letters and symbols to text – CU becomes A+ (from à plus tard).’

The OQLF spokesman said: ‘Our goal isn’t to convert the whole world to French. The borrowing of foreign words will always be one of the ways in which languages expand. But we need to make sure that borrowing foreign words adds to a language instead of replacing existing words.’