France Bans English Gaming Jargon

New French law bans English gaming jargon for gamers in France. This means that popular gaming terminology used globally has to be replaced by french equivalents in France. What do you think of this change?

In a move to preserve the French language, French officials have banned English gaming jargon from being used in video games. This means that developers and publishers will now have to find French equivalents for popular terms such as "streamer," "eSports" and "nerf." The new law, which was passed on Wednesday, is an effort by the government to protect the French language from being lost in the digital age.

Many gamers have criticised this recent change but the French culture ministry say there is "a barrier of understanding" that comes from using anglicisms in the french gaming industry.

France’s Preservation of The Language

This is not the first time France has taken measures to protect the purity of its language. In 2014 France banned the use of any foreign words in their adverts. Changing the way French companies advertise forever.

In more recent years, France introduced a law that requires all public documents and signage to be in French. This happened as recently as 2017.

Examples of Banned English Gaming Phrases

We couldn’t write this article and not include some examples! Below are a few examples of the way gaming jargon is changing in France.

Below you’ll find a couple of banned phrases and their French equivalents:

Pro Gamer: “joueur professionnel” which translates to “professional gamer”

Streamer: “joueur-animateur en direct” this translates to “live player host”

Some other popular terms include:

Cloud Gaming: “jeu vidéo en nuage”

eSports: “jeu vidéo de compétition”

What do you think about these changes? Many French gamers don’t seem thrilled with this sudden change, it certainly shook things up and opened up room for discourse in the gaming community.

Anyway, we thank you for reading. À bientôt! (Until next time!)