BlogWrite for CEOs

Jul

22

2003

PARLEZ-VOUS ‘EMAIL’?

Posted in the Category of Global

Est-ce que c'est le email ou le courriel? Have you heard that the French government has banned the use of the word "email" (too American) in official documents? Instead, the phrase "courrier electronique" or courriel for short is to be used. I checked in with Renan Ayrault, a French colleague and friend who is Director, Product Management for CarFax to get his spin on this linguistically sensitive topic. He replied: "Courriel is not a bad word if you ask me, but I don't think it will become the predominant word. I have seen it used in magazines and newspaper for letters to the editor, but never heard friends or family using it. I just checked on four Web sites: auchan.fr (one of the largest grocery stores / hypermarket chain in France), renault.fr, wanadoo.fr (largest ISP), and fnac.fr (largest bookstore chain in France). All were using email or e-mail ...so I stand by my comments." Zut, alors. Just goes to show that the Internet is a force of nature not even the French government can regulate.

« Return to Previous Page

Trackback URL

Trackbacks are disabled for this entry

Comments

Nancy said on July 22, 2003 at 10:30 PM

As much as I like French, I think “e-mail” will remain THE word for electronic letters simply because is is already established as such in too many places.  It is an interesting topic, though. 

Meanwhile, I am intrigued by the business blog stuff and hope to check it out soon.  I am working with e-newsletters at my company and would like to look into the crystal ball for things to come.

-----


Add a Comment





Remember my personal information

Notify me of follow-up comments?

Please enter the word you see in the image below:


Subscribe to Debbie's Blog

Featured Posts

Latest Comments

previousPosts

Browse By Topic

Top CEO/Exec Blogs

Social Media Blogs

Browse By Date