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The new French words you need to know (including some English ones)

The Local France
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The new French words you need to know (including some English ones)
Photo: AFP

As ever, the 2019 editions of France's dictionaries include new entries that reflect the events of the year gone by. Here are the ones you need to know...and some of them will be very familiar.

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The new editions of France's major dictionaries are set to hit bookstands tomorrow -- here's a look at some of the new words you'll find. 
 
English words
 
First, let's start with the ones you'll be familiar with. 
 
This year's influx of English words into the French dictionary include fashionista -- perhaps no surprise given France's world-renowned fashion industry. 
 
Queer, meaning a person whose sexual or gender identity does not correspond to established ideas of sexuality and gender has also been added to the dictionary. And while some English speakers may find this shocking due to the fact that the word has been used in a derogatory way, the gay rights movement has reclaimed the word as part of the LGBTQ movement in which the 'Q' stands for queer or questioning. 
 
The prevalence of the English language when it comes to technology has also been felt with the entry of words such as chatbot ("conversational agent"), replay for when you just can't get enough of that Youtube video, hoverboard and darknet -- a relatively new word in English meaning the hidden online network often used for illicit ends.  
 
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Photo: Lagotic/Flickr

E-sport -- meaning a multiplayer video game played competitively for spectators -- was also among the more recent English words to make the list. 
 
Meanwhile, one of the more unusual English additions was cosplay which is a hobby which sees people dress up as fictional characters. 
 
More surprisingly, running, drive and SUV have also entered into French dictionaries. 
 
Globish meaning a simplified version of English used by non-native speakers, consisting of the most common words and phrases only has also taken its place in the French dictionary.  
 
Politics
 
Many of the words which have been added to the latest editions of France's dictionaries are related to politics and will be familiar to anyone who watched the 2017 presidential debates. 
 
These include dégagisme, meaning a rejection of the political class currently in place -- it was used by Jean-Luc Mélenchon during the election campaign when he was the candidate for the far-left party La France Insoumise. 
 
Similarly antisystème, meaning against the system in place, has been added to the dictionary. 
 
The protests and strikes France has seen has influenced some of the latest additions to the French dictionary. Photo: AFP
 
Revenu universel ("universal income" or "basic income") to mean a new kind of welfare program in which all citizens of a country receive a regular, livable and unconditional sum of money, from the government -- used by socialist party candidate Benoit Hamon -- has also been added. 
 
The cabinet noir ("hidden intelligence service"), denounced by François Fillon, has also found its place in the dictionary. 
 
The definitions of two words which have been in the dictionary for a long time -- marcheur and insoumis -- have gained new political significance in this year's editions due to the mass protests and strikes France has seen in the past year and can now be used to mean demonstrator and politically disobedient, respectively. 
 
Terrorism 
 
Some of the new entries reflect France's continued battle to fight terrorism. 
 
These include fiché S, which is a list of individuals who are suspected by French police of being a danger to the state including Islamist terrorists, political extremists and football hooligans, revenant ("a jihadist who returns to his country of origin") and cyberdéfense ("the technology used to defend a country").
 
Women's rights
 
During 2017, the subject of women's rights was a hot topic in part due to the wave of allegations against Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein and this has been reflected in some of the newly added words. 
 
For example, the phrase violences faites aux femmes has been included for the first time, as has frotteur -- the French word for those who get sexual gratification from rubbing up against people (usually women) in public places. Although the dictionary's definition of a frotteur has caused uproar and forced a re-think from writers at Robert.
 
Women in Paris tell their stories of being groped, pestered and sexually harassed
Photo: Jean Francois Gornet/Flickr
 
The Weinstein affair also opened up a wider public debate around feminism in 2017 including the question over whether to introduce écriture inclusive ("inclusive writing") -- which basically puts the masculine and feminine forms of nouns in the text -- and this phrase has made it into the dictionary.
 
The French language is in 'mortal danger', say its own panicked guardians
 
Trends 
 
Lifestyle trends and changing attitudes in society have also contributed to the kinds of words that have been added to the dictionary. 
 
These include grossophobia meaning the stigmatisation of those who are overweight or obese and VTC -- minicabs which can only be rented through reservation unlike normal taxis.
 
Boboisation from the commonly used word bobo (a contraction of the words bourgeois and bohemian meaning hipsters) can be used to mean areas being being taken over by hipsters or gentrified.
 
And English wasn't the only language to influence this year's new entries: Japanese words including teriyaki -- meaning a dish of grilled meat or fish marinated in a soy sauce and sake.

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