#angilicism

Every language borrows from others. However, whether or not those borrowed words are accepted or considered correct depends on the speakers and the official language academies. In French, for example, week-end is an anglicism that is accepted in France but not in Quebec.

But what exactly is an anglicism? Anglicisms are improper uses of syntax, spelling, or pronunciation of words derived from English. Although common in spoken French, they are frowned upon in more formal contexts.

There are several different categories of anglicisms in French.

1. Semantic anglicisms

Semantic anglicisms are also known as “false friends”. These typically involve using words that exist in French with the English meaning.

e.g.:

Définitivement (to mean: definitely) – instead, use: certainement, assurément

- Définitivement in French means “in a definitive manner, irrevocably, forever”

Pratiquer (to mean: to practice) – instead, use: s’entraîner

- Pratiquer in French means “to put something into practice, to follow, to perform”

Supporter (to mean: to support) – instead, use: encourager, soutenir, appuyer, aider, commanditer

- Supporter in French means “to bear, to handle, to tolerate”

Alternative (to mean: alternative) – instead use: solution, possibilité, choix, option

- Alternative in French means “a situation where one must choose between two (and only two) options”

Estimé (to mean: estimate) – instead, use: estimation, prévision, évaluation

- Estimé in French only exists as a participe passé of the verb estimer

Opportunité (to mean: opportunity) – instead, use: occasion, chance, possibilité

- Opportunité in French means “a favourable occasion, something that is convenient and/or timely”

Questionner (to mean: to question) – instead use: mettre en doute, douter de, contester, s’interroger sur

- Questionner in French means “to interrogate someone”

2. Lexical anglicisms

Lexical anglicisms involve using English words directly in French. These words are sometimes modified to have a more “frenchified” spelling, but the English term is easily recognizable.

e.g.:

Feedback – instead, use: rétroaction

Remake – instead, use: nouvelle adaptation

Best-seller – instead, use: succès en librairie

Coach – instead, use: mentor, entraîneur

Pacemaker – instead, use: stimulateur cardiaque

Brainstorming – instead, use: remue-méninges

Challenge – instead, use: défi

Kit – instead, use: ensemble

3. Syntactic anglicisms

Syntactic anglicisms are expressions that are translated literally from English. They typically involve using the wrong prepositions or the wrong word order in French.

a. Wrong preposition

e.g.:

Être sur l’avion (to mean: to be on a plane) – instead, use: être dans l’avion

Siéger sur un comité (to mean: to be in a committee) – instead, use: siéger à un comité

Vivre en campagne (to mean: to live in the countryside) – instead, use: vivre à la campagne

Être sur aide sociale (to mean: to be on welfare) – instead, use: vivre de l’aide sociale

Un patient sous observation (to mean: a patient under observation) – instead, use: un patient en observation

b. Wrong word order

e.g.:

Les premiers trois mois (to mean: the first three months) – instead, use: les trois premiers mois

Un bon dix minutes (to mean: a good ten minutes) – instead, use: dix bonnes minutes

La personne que j’ai parlé avec (to mean: the person I spoke with) – instead, use: la personne avec qui j’ai parlé

c. Literal translation

e.g.:

Il est un policier (to mean: he is a police officer) – instead, use: il est policier

Être en charge de (to mean: to be in charge of) – instead, use: être chargé/responsable de

Faire du sens (to mean: to make sense) – instead, use: avoir du sens, être logique

Mettre l’emphase sur (to mean: to put emphasis on) – instead, use: mettre l’accent sur, mettre en évidence, insister sur

Demander une question (to mean: to ask a question) – instead, use: poser/formuler une question

Pour votre information (to mean: for your information) – instead, use: pour information, à titre d’information/informatif, à titre indicatif

À l’année longue (to mean: all year long) – instead, use: toute l’année

Heures d’affaires (to mean: business hours) – instead, use: heures d’ouverture/ de bureau

Appel longue distance (to mean: long distance call) – instead, use: appel interurbain

4. Phonetic anglicisms

Phonetic anglicisms involve pronouncing French terms like their English counterparts.

e.g.:

Tévé (to mean: TV) – instead, use: télé

5. Orthographic anglicisms

Orthographic anglicisms are words that exist in French and usually have the same meaning as their English counterpart, but that are spelled the English way instead of the French.

e.g.:

Adresse, not address

Appartement, not apartment

Langage, not language

Girafe, not giraffe

Trafic, not traffic

Gaz, not gas

Connexion, not connection

6. Anglicisms in Quebec

Quebec is known for being stricter about allowing the use of anglicisms in every day speech. That is not to say that they are not present (they are and there’s a lot of them), but some of the terms used internationally have their own French equivalents in the province.

Here are some English terms used in other francophone countries that are considered improper in Quebec.

Week-end – instead, use: fin de semaine

Shopping – instead, use: magasinage

Parking – instead, use: stationnement

E-mail/mail – instead, use: courriel