# France bans e-mail **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 18, 2003, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/france-bans-e-mail/189471 "2003-07-18T20:54:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/france-bans-e-mail/189471/1 "2003-07-18T20:54:18Z")
Goodbye “e-mail.” Hello [courriel](http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030718/ap_on_fe_st/france_out_with __e_mail__ 1). > [@](#): > > Courriel is a term that has often been used in French-speaking Quebec, the commission said. Canadopers, has anyone actually ever seen, heard or used this term? ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/france-bans-e-mail/189471/2 "2003-07-18T21:34:26Z")
Yes, I’ve heard “Courriel” before-- and I’m in westernmost BC. I can understand this. Combined with lazy hyphenaters, I’m sure a lot of french business people are confused by their clients’ constant requests for nail-polish. ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/france-bans-e-mail/189471/3 "2003-07-18T21:40:42Z")
So… um… I’m kind of ignorant, here. I don’t live anywhere near Quebec, and I have never been to France. Do the French PEOPLE actually abide by this nonsense? I mean, sure, they speak French, but do they actually make a point of avoiding English usage and terminology in their language? Or do they just not pay any attention to their idiot government? ---
**Author:** ![Dob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Dob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dob)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/france-bans-e-mail/189471/4 "2003-07-18T21:51:00Z")
from the CNN article… > [@](#): > > The Culture Ministry has announced a ban on the use of “e-mail” in all government ministries, documents, publications or Web sites, the latest step to stem an incursion of English words into the French lexicon. /sigh…just makes me want to French bash even more! Do the French truly consider English (read: American) to be so below them that this kind of stuff is normal?? ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/france-bans-e-mail/189471/5 "2003-07-18T22:06:03Z")
For my part, I refuse to call them omelettes anymore. Going forward, they are egg-cakes. Seriously, I kinda like the term _courriel_, but it just seems like the French Culture Ministry is just pulling their toys out of the sandbox because France is being teased. I never gave it much thought. I thought different countries used different terms anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Beagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Beagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beagle)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/france-bans-e-mail/189471/6 "2003-07-18T22:27:13Z")
Spam courriel, that’s good eatin’. ---
**Author:** ![Mooney252](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7c8e57/32.png) [@Mooney252](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mooney252)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/france-bans-e-mail/189471/7 "2003-07-18T22:35:45Z")
French friends actually use the term “le mél” (which sounds like “le melle”) for electronic mail. I’m sure that it’s too close to Franglish for the protectors of the language. ---
**Author:** ![SexyHamster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@SexyHamster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SexyHamster)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/france-bans-e-mail/189471/8 "2003-07-18T22:35:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Wang-Ka \* > \*\* > Do the French PEOPLE actually abide by this nonsense? \*\* Nonsense? Sure. But no more so than ‘freedom fries’. Of course, Quebec’s language laws have baffled me for years; although, I’m not too familiar with France’s laws. ---
**Author:** ![detop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/france-bans-e-mail/189471/9 "2003-07-18T23:43:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Beagle \* > \*\*Spam courriel, that’s good eatin’. \*\* Actually, the correct French term would be _pourriel_. And yes, I do use the term courriel on a regular basis (as well as e-mail). There are some translated computer terms that I like (courriel being one), logiciel (for software)being another. And courriel makes lots of sense. It is an abbreviation of _courrier électronique_ or e-mail. OTOH, some of the terms that the OLF came up for English terms grates me to no ends. I refuse to use _gaminet_ insted of T-shirt for example. ---
**Author:** ![ElwoodCuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/edb3f5/32.png) [@ElwoodCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElwoodCuse)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/france-bans-e-mail/189471/10 "2003-07-18T23:45:00Z")
Before anyone freaks out, take a look at “cultural imperialism” and “cultural relativism”. I think this story is being made out to be a much bigger deal than it really is. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/france-bans-e-mail/189471/11 "2003-07-18T23:46:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SexyHamster \* > \*\*Nonsense? Sure. But no more so than ‘freedom fries’. \*\* At least there was no attempt to change the freakin’ law about it. was there? ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/france-bans-e-mail/189471/12 "2003-07-18T23:53:53Z")
What’s ironic about the French attempting to keep English out is that French had a HUGE impact on the development of English after the Battle of Hastings, when for about 300 years (I thin that’s right) French was the official language of England. **Mr. Blue Sky** , there wasn’t an actual law that I know of, though the Capitol cafeteria did change it on their menu. ---
**Author:** ![SexyHamster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@SexyHamster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SexyHamster)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/france-bans-e-mail/189471/13 "2003-07-19T00:30:10Z")
To be fair, this particular example of _courriel_ isn’t a law per se. Citizens can use whatever form they want. The [Quebec laws](http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Law/2002/12/12/7174-cp.html) I was refering to are somewhat different. > [@](#): > > - from link \* > In 1993, a UN agency declared Canada to be in violation of its treaty obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. That decision came several years after funeral home director Gordon McIntyre presented his claim when Quebec only allowed French signs. ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/france-bans-e-mail/189471/14 "2003-07-19T00:34:41Z")
Well, I thought “Freedom Fries” was idiotic, too. But at least no one attempted to LEGISLATE the frickin’ concept. I mean, languages CHANGE. Try reading the original Chaucer sometime. And Chaucer spoke ENGLISH! But not the same English you and I are speaking. It’s called “linguistic drift.” It’s a sign that a language, and the culture that it’s interwoven into, are growing, changing, and developing. This is one of the reasons English is so popular. We’ve coopted about every other language in the world for large hunks of our vocabulary. Admittedly, our spelling doesn’t make sense, any more than French does, and it’s needlessly complex, but, well, hey, that’s how it works. …and durned if the idea of attempting to legislate the purity of a language doesn’t strike me as remarkably cement-headed. I was just curious as to what the average Pierre-On-The-Street thought of the idea. ---
**Author:** ![zeprider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/50afbb/32.png) [@zeprider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zeprider)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/france-bans-e-mail/189471/15 "2003-07-19T00:36:11Z")
As I recall, e-mail typed in word95 showed an error and gave email as the correct spelling. Both are correct in word98. So are e mail, nail-polish, and nail polish. If people know what you are talking about, who cares? If I use my made-up word crapastorpper in a sentence people know in context that I meant the technical term thing-a-ma-jig Pretty mundane for a first post ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Zep ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/france-bans-e-mail/189471/16 "2003-07-19T01:45:56Z")
**zeprider** , what I meant about the hyphen was that “émail” is already a word in french. (Enamel.) Not that there is likely to be any real confusion over that, but a close similarity to a native word is often something that makes foreign words less likely to be assimilated. Just think about how confusing it would be for us if we adapted a _french_ word that was similar to an existing english word for our electronic communications jargon. (By the way, congratulations on your first, um, post.) ---
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/france-bans-e-mail/189471/17 "2003-07-19T02:32:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mr. Blue Sky \* > **At least there was no attempt to change the freakin’ law about it.** _Technically_ no. But having the Capitol building’s cafeteria rename the things doesn’t exactly help though when you consider how influential our mass media can spread such a simple tool of propaganda (it has to be simple considering the average attention span of our average American attention span). ---
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/france-bans-e-mail/189471/18 "2003-07-19T02:33:29Z")
And yes, I did that on purpose. ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/france-bans-e-mail/189471/19 "2003-07-19T16:00:20Z")
On the French version of our websites (Canada) we write _courriel_. IIRC (and I may be wrong) it’s a combo of “courrier éléctronique” (electronic mail, hence “e-mail”). But casually everyone still stays “e-mail.” Same with “fax”, the machine is a “télécopieur” and that’s how it appears on the website and in business correspondence, but talking over the phone you say “envoyez par fax.” **Casey** it has nothing to do with “France being teased.” They’ve done these initiatives for decades trying to protect the official language from getting too bogged down with foreign words used as slang which produces a Pépé-le-Pew French. For example depending where you are, you’ll hear “le parking” instead of “stationnement” and there is a point where it all just sounds silly. There are a lot of new words thast get added to English dictionaries (ugh, and I don’t mean like “bling bling”) – and the same is true in other non-English countries. France has just decided that “courriel” should be the official term because it’s more consistent with an exisiting French word for mail. Similarly, while many francophones who use internet chat rooms will use “le chatt” there is also a distinct French term called “le clavardage” – it’s a combo of “clavier” (keyboard) and “bavardage” (chatting). Eventually someone has to decide which one ends up in the official dictionary. The official version is the one to then be used in all official government correspondence. So “banning” the word “e-mail” is actually more along the lines of saying “don’t use slang in official documents.” No biggie. ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/france-bans-e-mail/189471/20 "2003-07-19T16:08:29Z")
I think the French government’s obsession with keeping their language “pure” is _tres_ stupid. As mentioned above, all languages adopt words from other languages. Always have, always will. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/france-bans-e-mail/189471.md?page=2)