How Do Regionalisms and Vocabulary Updates in the Dictionary Reflect the Evolution of French Language for Expats living in France?

The French language, rich and lively, is constantly evolving over time. Every year, new words enter the dictionaries, reflecting societal, technological, and environmental changes. This year, nearly 150 new words have been integrated.

Among them, some are already familiar, while others are more surprising.

Ecology is highlighted this year with the integration of commonly used expressions. For example: Le greenwashing, which refers to a marketing method used by some companies to give themselves a responsible ecological image, often misleading. L'écoanxiété (féminin), on the other hand, is anxiety related to environmental changes and the impact of humans on the planet. Le réensauvagement refers to the restoration of nature to its wild state.

With the rise of digital technology, terms such as "le metaverse" (a virtual universe parallel to the real world) and "instagrammable" (said of a place, object, or situation that deserves to be photographed and shared on Instagram) have also appeared.

Other words, such as "mégenrer" (verbe) (using an inappropriate gender to speak about someone) and "l'antisexisme" (masculin) reflect the evolution of mindsets and social concerns.

Some terms, already commonly used (especially by young people), are surprising by their previous absence in the dictionary. This is the case of the term "bader" (verbe) (to stroll, to be idle), "avoir un crush" (verbe) (to have a crush on someone), "le nutriscore" (nutritional labeling system) or even "une réunion hybride" (meeting combining physical presence and remote participation).

The French language also evolves with use. Words change meaning or connotation over time. For example, the word "une bouffe", initially meaning "puffed cheeks" (you know the expression "une bouffée d'air ?"), is now commonly used to refer to food. But as expat living in France, you need to know that French is also marked by regionalism. In France, some regions use different words to designate the same thing. The most famous example is "un pain au chocolat" vs "une chocolatine", but we could also mention the "un crayon à papier" which can be a "un crayon gris", "un crayon de bois" (a pencil);

or the "une serpillère", une wassingue or une pièce (a mop); "un sac", "un sac en plastique", "un sachet" or "une poche" are the same thing (a plastic bag).

In Europe, there are also some variations between the French of France, Belgium, and Switzerland. For example, in Belgium and Switzerland, dîner is the midday meal, they say "septante" and "nonante" instead of "soixante-dix" and "quatre-vingt-dix". (any thought ?)

Let's also note that in France, the two most well-known dictionary brands are Le Petit Robert and Le Petit Larousse. These dictionaries are regularly updated to integrate new words and evolutions of the French language.

It is also worth mentioning the French Academy, a prestigious institution that promotes the excellence of the French language. However, it is not always listened to or followed in its recommendations. The Academy rather serves as a reference in case of doubt about certain uses of the language, offering advice and clarifications on grammatical, spelling, and syntactical rules.

In short, the French language reflects our constantly evolving society.

Learning and understanding these evolutions and regional variants is opening up to the richness and diversity of the Francophone culture.