French Government Bans Term 'E-Mail' (Internet Surrenders!)

AP ^ | 7-18-2003 | JAMEY KEATEN

[visagoth]

French Government Bans Term 'E-Mail'

JAMEY KEATEN
Associated Press

PARIS - Goodbye "e-mail," the French government says, and hello "courriel" - the term that linguistically sensitive France is now using to refer to electronic mail in official documents.

The Culture Ministry has announced a ban on the use of "e-mail" in all government ministries, documents, publications or Web sites, the latest step to stem an incursion of English words into the French lexicon.

The ministry's General Commission on Terminology and Neology insists Internet surfers in France are broadly using the term "courrier electronique" (electronic mail) instead of e-mail - a claim some industry experts dispute. "Courriel" is a fusion of the two words.

"Evocative, with a very French sound, the word 'courriel' is broadly used in the press and competes advantageously with the borrowed 'mail' in English," the commission has ruled.

The move to ban "e-mail" was announced last week after the decision was published in the official government register on June 20. Courriel is a term that has often been used in French-speaking Quebec, the commission said.

The 7-year-old commission has links to the Academie Francaise, the prestigious institution that has been one of the top opponents of allowing English terms to seep into French.

Some Internet industry experts say the decision is artificial and doesn't reflect reality.

"The word 'courriel' is not at all actively used," Marie-Christine Levet, president of French Internet service provider Club Internet, said Friday. "E-mail has sunk in to our values."

She said Club Internet wasn't changing the words it uses.

"Protecting the language is normal, but e-mail's so assimilated now that no one thinks of it as American," she said. "Courriel would just be a new word to launch."

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© 2003 AP Wire and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.twincities.com

[Thane_Banquo]

Even 58 years after we drove the Nazis out of France, the French are still reminiscing on the good old days of fascism.

[nothingnew]

Sacre' bleu!!

FMDH

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[laweeks]

"Sacre' bleu!!"

Sack a' somethin'! Like the French's Mustard people recentl said, "The only thing our mustard has in common with the French is that it's yellow."

[AdmSmith]

You may check the number of occurrences of e-mail on French government web pages with text in French:

http://www.alltheweb.com/search?advanced=1&cat=web&cs=iso-8859-1&jsact=&_stype=norm&type=all&q=e-mail&_b_query=&l=fr&ics=iso-8859-1&cs=iso-8859-1&wf%5Bn%5D=3&wf%5B0%5D%5Br%5D=%2B&wf%5B0%5D%5Bq%5D=&wf%5B0%5D%5Bw%5D=&wf%5B1%5D%5Br%5D=-&wf%5B1%5D%5Bq%5D=&wf%5B1%5D%5Bw%5D=&wf%5B2%5D%5Br%5D=&wf%5B2%5D%5Bq%5D=&wf%5B2%5D%5Bw%5D=&dincl=gouv.fr&dexcl=&geo=&limip=&doctype=&dfr%5Bd%5D=1&dfr%5Bm%5D=1&dfr%5By%5D=1980&dto%5Bd%5D=18&dto%5Bm%5D=7&dto%5By%5D=2003&size%5Bp%5D=%3D&size%5Bv%5D=&size%5Bx%5D=0&hits=10&nooc=on

it was 1,976

[xm177e2]

To p--- off French people, use the word "courriel" when talking with them instead of the word "E-mail." But pronounce it like an American word, "corry - ell." Do the same thing for computer (they say "ordinateur" ==> you say "ordinator").

They are trying to avoid English-sounding words, so this should drive them up the wall.

[Quicksilver]

The Culture Ministry ... The ministry's General Commission on Terminology and Neology ...

Ugh.

[visagoth]

When I came across the story - my first thought was:

Freedom Mail!

heh heh

[AF_Blue]

French ebonics?

[AdmSmith]

And the number for courriel is..

http://www.alltheweb.com/search?advanced=1&cat=web&cs=iso-8859-1&jsact=&_stype=norm&type=all&q=courriel&_b_query=&l=fr&ics=iso-8859-1&cs=iso-8859-1&wf%5Bn%5D=3&wf%5B0%5D%5Br%5D=%2B&wf%5B0%5D%5Bq%5D=&wf%5B0%5D%5Bw%5D=&wf%5B1%5D%5Br%5D=-&wf%5B1%5D%5Bq%5D=&wf%5B1%5D%5Bw%5D=&wf%5B2%5D%5Br%5D=&wf%5B2%5D%5Bq%5D=&wf%5B2%5D%5Bw%5D=&dincl=gouv.fr&dexcl=&geo=&limip=&doctype=&dfr%5Bd%5D=1&dfr%5Bm%5D=1&dfr%5By%5D=1980&dto%5Bd%5D=18&dto%5Bm%5D=7&dto%5By%5D=2003&size%5Bp%5D=%3D&size%5Bv%5D=&size%5Bx%5D=0&hits=10&nooc=on

yes it is 174

So as always with the frogs they say one thing and do something else.

[Thane_Banquo]

Whenever I hear the term Culture Ministry, I know it's code for Left-wing PC Fascism Ministry.

[Publius6961]

andouilles !!

[Zavien Doombringer]

Internet surfers in France are broadly using the term "courrier electronique" (electronic mail) instead of e-mail

YOu call it tomaaato, I call it tomahto...

[vastrightwc]

Pretty soon the the Minister of Culture is going to have to do away with the Tour De France because it is getting too American. Go USPS!!!!!!

[Publius6961]

What a bunch of weenies!

I am waiting for them to insist that all aircraft approaching all French international airports communicate exclusively in French.

He he he he

[Honcho Bongs]

Online Poll - How would you rate this new word?

Please pick from the following:

DoublePlusUnGood
PlusUnGood
UnGood
Good
PlusGood
DoublePlusGood

Thanks for participating!

[polemikos]

Let's send them an "e-mail" right now.