Since centuries the French Academy basically oversaw the entire French language and was responsible for everything from grammar to publishing French dictionaries to serving as the “official authority on the language”. An important part of this role in recent decades has been to ward off the slow invasion of slang and jargon from the English-speaking worldto which the French are increasingly exposed through film, music, television and now video games.
As The guard reports, which this week expanded to include a “ban” on the use of certain words related to games popular not only in English-speaking countries but around the world. That academy cannot ban the use of the words in everyday speech or even in the media, it is not in their power or their intention, but the ban is is now “mandatory for government employees,” meaning that when French officials speak on the topic or prepare papers, they have to find other ways of saying words like “eSports.”
In this case, it’s now the far less catchy “competitive video game.” Cloud gaming becomes “cloud video game”, pro gamer is “pro gamer” and a streamer should be called “live gamer host”.
If this is your first hearing about the Académie, which dates back to 1635, please don’t let this be the only thing you ever learn about it. You are like a wild little one Vatican for grammar nerds, with its 40 members known as the “Immortals” and appointed for life. New members can sometimes turn down a position temporarily if they disliked the person who previously held the seat, as they must “praise their predecessor at the induction ceremony.” And they even have their own uniforms – with swords! –what you can see below in a photo taken in 2021:
