As part of France’s ongoing effort to preserve the purity of its language, the government is banning a slew of anglicised gamer slang in favour of French alternatives.
As reported by The Guardian (opens in new tab), the ministry of culture cited “a barrier to understanding” for non-gamers as a reason behind swapping the loanwords in favour of more traditional French ones. Pro gamer gets a pretty straightforward translation to “joueur professionnel,” which translates to “professional player.” Cloud gaming becomes “jeu video en nuage,” the translation remaining pretty much identical to the source material.
Others are a bit jankier. The word streamer is now “joueur-animateur en direct,” loosely translating to “direct live player” which doesn’t quite have the same ring to it. Esports also gets an alternative term, now referred to as “jeu video de competition,” translating to “competitive videogame.”
It’s worth noting that technically the new terms are only binding for government workers, with the changes being issued earlier this week. Whether the terms will end up spreading to the wider population remains to be seen. Considering many French people still use terms like “email” instead of the government-mandated “courriel,” it seems fairly unlikely.