New French words spoken by the people force them to eventually enter the French Dictionaries every year. They come from what the French borrow from what they live day in, day out, from other languages such as English, or areas such as Africa, Canada, Belgium, Switzerland, etc.
Maybe those which have taken the less time to get into the dictionary are related to the current pandemic. French and foreign newspapers made a big deal out of it. As a comparison, in 1990 a review of the French language brought about several changes. However, it took until 2016 for these to
appear in the French dictionaries!
New French Words of Our Times
According to an article in Le Monde published in May 2019, the 2020 Petit Larousse dictionary has an addition of some 150 new French words.
For example, “divulgâcher,” which obviously comes from to “divulge” and “spoil,” (“gâcher” in French) and means to reveal prematurely.
“Ubériser” which is to make an existing business model obsolete.
The Bio-plastic Word Case
Another new French word: le “bioplastique,” which indicates either biodegradable plastic, or plastic originating from biodegradable resources. However it may not be necessarily biodegradable, depending on what processes were applied to it. It took a considerable amount of time for the word to enter the French dictionary.
Indeed, it is interesting to note that bioplastic already existed in ancient Egypt and reappeared in the 17th century with the discovery of natural rubber. However, what is considered as the first plastic is a mixture of cellulose, nitric acid and camphor discovered in 1855 by Alexander Parkers (English chemist and metallurgist) and marketed in 1869 in the United States by the Hyatt brothers.
Pixabay – Rubber Tree
In the early 1920s, IG Farben began manufacturing petroleum-based plastics. The use of bioplastics is somehow “disappearing” until humanity begins to realize the damage to the aquatic fauna due to the tons of plastics thrown into the ocean that do not break down.
Next, a new word coming from the English language: “bore-out” which means to be professionally depressed by uninteresting work.
The Pandemic New Words
And now let us have a look at Le Petit Robert 2121. It welcomes the words of the pandemic, among others, “la Covid,” which is Covid-19 of course.
As a point everyone in France is talking about “le Covid” but l’Académie Française has decided that it should be “la Covid” because it is referring to an illness which stands for “la maladie” and is a feminine noun. But when this word came out, everyone was saying “le coronavirus” because “virus” is masculine, thus people transferred “le coronavirus” into “le Covid.” We do need our Academicians to keep us on the rails.
Then we have “le déconfinement,” this is ending the lockdown, “télétravailler,” meaning telecommuting, “le patient zéro,” which represents the patient from which a viral disease originates.
English Origin Words
There are many others that cover other fields. Here are a few:
Un “texto,” to name a digital text, la “story,” which is to tell one’s story, “Lady Gaga,” le “cloud,” le “bot, “brainstormer” and “spammer,” all coming from the English language. None of these should be new words for you.
21st Century New Words
We also have “reconditionné,” meaning “repackaged,” as well as “technophile,” lover of technology and “technophobe,” hater of technology!
Sources: Le monde May 19, 2020 – https://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2019/05/07/adulescence-uberiser-bore-out-klouker-les-nouveaux-mots-du-dictionnaire_5459430_3246.html
Le Petit Robert.com – https://www.lerobert.com/mots-nouveaux-petit-robert.html
To get help with French new words or old French words write to learnfrenchwithbrigitte@gmail.com
Whether you’re a beginner or looking to brush up on your French, these phrases, from greetings and introductions to common expressions used in daily life, will help you build a foundation for basic French conversation. Mastering these 100 essential phrases will set you on the path to becoming a confident French speaker.
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