“Friday is Black Friday, I will take the opportunity to make my Christmas presents. I could also benefit from Cyber Monday, before going for a drink in Happy Hour. ”
If there is one area in which Anglicisms reign supreme, it is trade.
With a lot of incisive formulas to attract consumers, advertisers constantly use anglicisms, ignoring the French language.
The editorial staff suggests that you definitively ban these anglicisms in favor of their French equivalents.
● Black Friday
In 2019, as reported by Le Figaro, an international collective of association of the French language had called on French-speaking consumers to refuse to
"see sell off"
their language. They proposed rejecting the name
“Black Friday”
in favor of the expression
“
Black Friday ”
, which Quebecers already use. The Americans are at the origin of this famous
"Black Friday"
. It is, informs the Quebec Office of the French language
, “the day of the kickoff of the holiday shopping, the fourth Friday of November (Friday following Thanksgiving). Discounts considered to be very advantageous are then offered to consumers ”.
In Quebec, alternatives are proposed:
“Crazy Friday”
,
“Super Friday”
, or
“November Megasale”
(or
“pre-Christmas”
).
Note with a capital letter, as these are commercial events.
● Cyber Monday
Once past
"Black Friday"
follows
"Cyber Monday"
.
It designates the following Monday as “Black Friday”.
This expression is borrowed directly from
American
“marketing”
, to encourage consumers to shop online.
The Office québécois de la langue française recommends saying
"Cyberlundi"
, and writing it in one word.
● Fashion Week
Twice a year, this fashion industry event allows stylists and fashion houses to exhibit their latest ready-to-wear collections for around a week.
The expression
"Fashion Week"
is then used extensively.
Remember that it can be translated in French as
"Fashion Week"
, or
"Fashion Week"
.
On this subject, Yves Pouliquen, member of the French Academy, writes so rightly:
"Isn't it strange that Fashion, the Art of living, so intimately linked to our history, do not know how to take advantage of the extraordinary variety of French expressions that centuries have carved out to define this exquisite way of being (...) ”
.
● Happy Hour
"Are you on Happy Hour?"
Bar servers hear this formula about a hundred times a day. It blooms on the lips of students with light purses, who address their question worriedly. Will they benefit from this famous hour, generally located in the early evening, during which drinks are cheaper? If Le Larousse has integrated the English phrase as it is in its columns, Le Robert specifies that it is an Anglicism, which can be replaced, according to the official recommendation of the General Delegation for the French Language and the Languages of France, by
"Good hour"
.
Note that
“after work”
, which designates a festive meeting following an event, does not benefit, according to the French Academy, from fully satisfactory equivalents in French.
“After-party”
or
“post-party event”
have not yet come into use.