Making The Internet Safe For The French

from the Your-mother-was-a-hamster-and-your-father-smelt-of-elderberries!- dept

And the French wonder why we make fun of them? They're now getting ready to release the official French terms for all those evil English-only internet terms. The article suggests, however, that instead of concentrating on ways to figure out how to say email in French, perhaps the French should figure out a way to get more French speaking people on the net.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  1. identicon
    Ryan, 27 Oct 2000 @ 7:09am

    I don't speak English!

    I tend to agree, france lags way behind in French adoption. The french government has some stupid laws that are so anti-English speaking, they really have to get with the times!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. identicon
    Alan, 7 Mar 2005 @ 12:56pm

    French Government's protection of language.

    Perhaps if the Brits had been a little more punctilious and proud of their language,as the French are, then we wouldn't now be adopting the American language with such relish. Incidentally, I'm certain that the French could not care less whether the British or any other nation makes fun of them.
    As language is the tool of thought I believe it is right to protect and safeguard it from whim and fashion. Let new expressions and vocabulary enter the language provided they enhance the language and not detract from it.
    We seem to be living in an era where our language has no meaningful framework and is at the mercy of the semi-educated media moguls. The only value attached to the language now seems to be its cash value. The "if it makes money then it must be right" approach to life. One only has to walk into any book shop to appreciate that anybody with a computer and word-processing software qualifies as an "author". The subject matter can be utter drivel; the use of language stunted and at best sub-GCSE level. No matter ; it sells and that is the only criterion for the people who pedal words for a living.
    You will no doubt tell me that there are French nationals who also have the opinion that the government is wrong in its zealous safeguarding of their language. Teachers of French who agree.
    I disagree with them and hope that the French government continues with its prescribed vocabulary lists and its anti English/Amercain stance as far as language is concerned.Far from being narrow-minded, I think they will prove to have been far-sighted.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  3. identicon
    Moonlyp, 15 Dec 2006 @ 8:02am

    Re: French Government's protection of language.

    Speaking of the use of words -

    pedal is as to pedal a bicycle

    to sell something as this sentence describes is to peddle

    not everyone who writes anything is an author who knows how to use English

    link to this | view in thread ]

  4. identicon
    Rob Miller, 14 Dec 2009 @ 1:05am

    Re: Re: French Government's protection of language.

    I liked your site.

    link to this | view in thread ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.