For some, on Sunday, we will attend the clasico, for others it will be the classico with two “s”, a third group will prefer to call it classic. But what should we really call the clash between Marseillais and Parisians? The debate remains unresolved, no one is completely right or wrong.
Behind the linguistic debate, sporting considerations
To understand why the OM-PSG duel has been looking for a name for almost twenty years, you must first go to Spain. There, there is no possible doubt when we talk about Real Madrid-Barcelona, we are of course talking about the Clásico. The real thing... It was inspired by this legendary duel of Iberian football that, for marketing reasons, Canal + transposed the term to the Ligue 1 clash.
It is then taken from Spanish, that is to say with a single “s”. “Borrowings, as a general rule, at the beginning are taken in their original form, which corresponds neither to the phonetic rules nor to the morphological rules of the target language, which is known under the term xenism (
non
-borrowing). adapted), explains Yekaterina García Márkina, lecturer specializing in Hispanic linguistics at the University of Tours. Over time, it may happen that this xenism is adapted to the target language. Which would explain the spelling with a double s, which corresponds to the French spelling rules. In this case, it would be a suitable borrowing, at least in writing. »
Thus, for some media, the clasico became the classico at the end of the 2000s. It is once again Canal + which is driving this change. As for the written press, Le Parisien remains faithful to the original version, which is mostly used by readers, supporters and players. The team quickly opts for the classic.
A logical continuation for Yekaterina García Márkina: “If the current trend is to use classical
French
, there we would rather speak of calque, therefore of a literal translation of a foreign term with the meaning of the foreign term. It is therefore the transposition of the meaning of
clásico
in the field of football, to the word “classic” which, although it exists in French, did not originally have this use to designate a match between two greats. antagonistic clubs. »
“It makes us cringe when clasico is written with two s”
History would therefore say that this OM-PSG is rather a classic, much more than a Spanishized clasico or a Frenchized classico. Because behind the linguistic debate much more sporting considerations emerge. Many believe that only matches between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona can claim the clásico appellation. In Argentina, the sultry clashes between Boca Juniors and River Plate, two clubs from Buenos Aires, are called Superclásico. In Germany, the term was immediately Germanized. Der Klassiker designates the clashes between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, the two clubs which have monopolized the national titles for 30 years.
In France, the debate is not closed. “We have no religion in this matter,” says Muriel Ruffault, from the correction department of Le Parisien – Today in France. It is not wrong to say clasico or classic. On the other hand, it makes us tick when clasico is written with two s. The most important thing is to start with a clasico or classic name and then always write it the same way and stick to it. And above all without capital letters! »