France’s linguistic watchdog issues edict: it’s not esports, it’s ‘jeu video de competition’
by James Vincent from The Verge - All Posts on (#5ZV54)
Photo by Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games via Getty Images France's national linguistic watchdog, the Academie Francaise, has banned the official usage of a number of phrases borrowed from English to describe the world of gaming.
Instead of esports," government workers should refer to jeu video de competition." Instead of talk of pro-gamers," they must discuss the activity of the joueur professionnel." And instead of streamers," they must refer to the joueur-animateur en direct" - and so on.
The changes, reported by AFP, were made in coordination with the French Ministry of Culture and published in the government's official legal almanac, the Journal officiel. This makes the changes binding for government employees, though not for the public at large.
The Academie Francaise is tasked...