If you’ve been following our French culture blog you’ll already know that France is carrying out many campaigns to preserve the French language. To the detriment of those wishing to keep the language in it’s purest form however, it has been announced that the 2019 editions of France's dictionaries will include entries that represent the “englishification” of the language. 

A few of these include: 

Fashionista - perhaps no surprise given France's world-renowned fashion industry. 

Queer - a person whose sexual or gender identity does not correspond to established ideas of sexuality and gender.

Darknet -- a relatively new word in English meaning the hidden online network often used for illicit ends.  

E-sport -- meaning a multiplayer video game played competitively for spectators

 As the political news continues to swirl, the French have a number of new terms concerning those in power including: 

Dégagisme - a rejection of the political class currently in place (used by Jean-Luc Mélenchon)  

Antisystème, - an alternative meaning of against the system in place

Revenu universel ("universal income" or "basic income") to mean a new kind of welfare program used by candidate Benoit Hamon  

Cabinet Noir - hidden intelligence service

Women's rights have become a massive issue over the 2018, and the French have not been absent from the debate, thus ushering the terms:

Frotteur - the French word for those who get gratification from being unnecessarily close to women in public places. 

Écriture inclusive -inclusive writing

Grossophobia - the stigmatisation of those who are overweight or obese

Boboisation - from the commonly used word bobo (a contraction of the words bourgeois and bohemian meaning hipsters) can be used to mean areas being being taken over by hipsters or gentrified.

We hope you've enjoyed learning about New French Words to Use in 2019! Interested in delving even further into the French language? Our culturally immersive classes taught by native teachers can get you on the path to fluency faster than you may think! Click below to learn more!