France has always been opposed to borrowing words from English, and today, when tech terms have become international, the guardians of the French language have been attempting to replace them with French equivalents. Already excluding words like “startup,” “venture capital” and “crowdfunding,” France has become irritated by the term “smartphone.”
READ MORE: French Kiss of Death to Free Speech
After an unsuccessful attempt to introduce “ordiphone” and “terminal de poche,” the French Language Enrichment Commission, along with France’s Académie française, has been urging francophone people to use the word “mobile multifonction” instead, or “mobile” as a shortened version.
Ah la langue française 😝. Maintenant on ne dit plus smartphone mais "mobile multifonction" #smartphone #mobilemultifonction #francais pic.twitter.com/1SO3J1zMeR
— Yepzy (@yepzy_) 12 января 2018 г.
Certainly, the French couldn’t help but mock the Commission’s decision across social media.
“Can I borrow your “mobile multifonction” to make a call?”
Jpeux emprunter ton "mobile multifonction" pour un appel? 😂 pic.twitter.com/9i8WI1JTDQ
— IG: keviin.vie (@Itxchi_) 12 января 2018 г.
“I retweeted from my “mobile multifonction”
Je cite ce tweet à partir de mon mobile multifonction https://t.co/iCgoWCHbhQ
— M r K r i t i k ✨🎬 (@Mr__Kritik) 12 января 2018 г.
Others imagined what it would be like if “Wi-Fi” and “Bluetooth” received French equivalent:
Sans fil et dents bleues😂
— breizhat (@breizhat92) 11 января 2018 г.
Some realize that while there is the need to preserve the language, the suggested terms are bizarre:
Hehe;) I don't think they understand that nobody will follow their recommendations. They live in their very own little bubble. They already try to tell people to use "mot dièse" instead of "hashtag"…They kind of failed;).
— Rim-Sarah Alouane (@RimSarah) 12 января 2018 г.
Lol, I see the need to preserve language, but what an awkward phrase! Meanwhile… 🙄
— Nabeela Zahir (@NabeelaZahir) 12 января 2018 г.
Last year, the Commission ruled for the use of “joueur” instead of “gamer,” ”internet clandestin” instead of “dark web” and invented the word “infox” to replace “fake news.”
