A seminar in Quebec City is bringing together French-language groups from around the world — including the Office Québécois de la Langue Française — to discuss anglicisms, and their use in French.
OPALE, a group made up of French language organizations in Belgium, Switzerland, France, and Quebec, is holding the meeting at Quebec City's Museum of Civilization in Quebec City on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Anglicisms are English words that often creep in French, and in some instances, they grate on French-language purists — so much so that the OQLF's web site has an online dictionary where people can type in anglicisms and come up with a suggested French alternative.
Sometimes the French alternatives are met with derision — a year ago, a suggestion from the OQLF that the English word 'foodie' become 'cuisinomane' in French made headlines, and lit up social media.
According to Jean-Pierre LeBlanc, head of media relations for the OQLF, the seminar is a "scientific study" of the use of English in the French language.
He assures that the event is not a protest of the use of English words in French, but "to show how the English language is influencing the French language and to be aware that there are anglicisms, and that sometimes it's a plus and other times we can offer an equivalence."
When new and complex words are created, they're often only in English. LeBlanc says another goal of groups like OPALE is to create French equivalents of these new words.
The seminar will revolve around anglicisms as social phenomenon, as linguistic phenomenon, and through a management perspective of the language.
Specific topics being discussed include the use of anglicisms in advertisements, information media, and in reference works.