Get this English jargon out of our offices ASAP, say the French

The English language and jargons such as 'ASAP' and 'brainstorming' are increasingly being heard in French offices. Photo / Thinkstock

English is increasingly being heard in French offices including jargon such as "workshop", "ASAP" and "brainstorming", a new dictionary suggests.

The Academie Francaise - custodian of the language that come up with alternatives to Anglicisms - has managed to keep English terms at bay in the bureaucracy, but their linguistic sway over the private sector has proved far less effective.

Already the bane of English offices, French firms are seeing more terms such as "benchmarking", "bullet points", and "burnout".

The Dictionnaire du Nouveau Francais published last week lists 400 neologisms that have entered the French language but not yet been picked up by official dictionaries - and about half of them come from English. In many cases, this simply means stealing the English term, such as drawing up a "to do list" rather than a "liste de choses a faire", or meeting a "deadline" rather than respecting a "delai".

The practice has infuriated purists, with Alain Rey, a French linguist, saying: "When there is a possible French translation I admit that I find it completely ridiculous [to use an English version]. This supposedly universal management speak made up of French stuffed full of English or very bad and poorly mastered English does not guarantee clear thought."

Jean-Francois Amadieu, a sociologist, said the trend "is tending to accelerate" as companies imitate each other or pick up the terms via conferences or business magazines.

Often, the French clumsily customise the English term, morphing it into Franglais, such as "switcher" (to switch) or "forwarder" (to forward).

Alexandre des Isnards, the author of the dictionary, says Anglicisms in the workplace are often about efficiency.

The Dictionnaire du Nouveau Francais published last week lists 400 neologisms, about half coming from the English language. Photo / Thinkstock

"When people are under pressure at work, they say the first word that comes into their mind. They don't stop and analyse it and think what word they should use," the told The Local news website. "Sometimes English is used simply because it's more efficient. For example it's quicker to say "ASAP" rather than "le plus rapidement que possible".

But the phenomenon clearly grates on many French ears, with Le Figaro calling it a "veritable scourge" and asking readers to send in pet hates. Among these were "conference call" and "drinker" - meaning to have drinks in the office.