" Antivax ", " hipsterisation ", " influencers " ... The new edition of Petit Larousse welcomes 150 new words and meanings. Each of these terms marked the news of the year 2020. But no " deconfinement ", " reconfinement " and " deconfiner " in these pages. " These words are only two months old ," observes Bernard Cerquiglini. " The decontainment is not in any dictionary and was created in response to the pandemic. "
Also read: Chloroquine, fourteen, coronapéro ... The words that accompanied us during the crisis
As the linguist and scientific advisor of Le Petit Larousse au Figaro explains , “ everyone uses this term, we can consider that it is already in the language. Thus, it aims to enter the next edition ”. So let's be patient. “ For a year, we will see this word live and evolve. It is not an anglicism and we must rejoice! "Indeed, remarks Bernard Cerquiglini, our Italian neighbors preferred to use the English word" lockdown "to speak of " confinement ".
What has been the “ coronavirus ” on everyone's lips since the start of the crisis? “ It already existed in the dictionary but was confined to the medical language. What is striking is that specialized words have entered everyday language. "Let us think of the terms" incubation "," comorbidity "," asymptomatic "..." All crises produce movement in the language ", analyzes Bernard Cerquiglini.
Last year, Le Petit Larousse included in its columns " words which expressed a certain anxiety and anxiety on the part of the French people with regard to the environment and terrorism ". This is how we could read "cybercrime", "survivalism", or even "file S". “ But there were also words that translated civic practices. "Let us evoke the terms" locavorism ", which indicates a" movement advocating to consume only local and seasonal fruits and vegetables, in order to contribute to sustainable development ", or" antispecism ", a" vision of the world that challenges, as opposed to speciesism, the notion of hierarchy between animal species and, in particular, the superiority of human beings over animals ”, we read on the Larousse online.
" Nanane ", " hygge ", " lagom " ...
This year, says the linguist, " the trend is getting stronger on the positive side of the language ". Certainly, there are words like " Black Bloc ", " feminicide " or " clearance ". However, Bernard Cerquiglini retains the " escalation " which, according to him, catalyzes " dictionary optimism ". “ This term has left the field of sports for everyday language and I think that French society has gone up despite the pandemic. "
A sign of the good health of the French language, the Petit Larousse has integrated more words from the French-speaking world than English words, says the linguist. As AFP notes, the new edition welcomes the Ivorian term " grazer " which means " con artist operating on the internet " and " nanane ", the equivalent of our " candy " in Quebec.
Some surprising foreign words should be noted: this is the case of " hygge " which was already found in the 2020 edition of the Petit Robert and which characterizes according to this last dictionary " a Danish art of living, valuing what provides well-being and comfort, the simple pleasures of everyday life ”. Note also the entry of " lagom ", " a philosophy of life based on simplicity, naturalness and moderation ", notes AFP.
According to Bernard Cerquiglini, it will be important to focus on words that no longer have the same meaning since the pandemic. This is the case of " masking ". “ New terms may appear as '' redeconfinement ''. The dictionary is a cardiogram of current events and everyday life in French society. See you in 2021!
