Challenge #3

You have probably noticed that it’s been a while since I have posted a challenge… Well, that’s because I’ve been experiencing hacking and I have to admit that it’s taken all my time.

I know that most of you have already experienced it and that, unfortunately, I am neither the first nor the last to do so.

Although I have been using the Internet for 25 years, it had never happened before, and naively I thought it only happened to other people.

They hacked everything: Facebook, LinkedIn, Paypal, credit cards and so on. It took me a long time to recover my accounts and to dispute several fraudulent purchases.

Since this kind of misadventure can happen to anyone, and is unfortunately very common, I have put together a glossary of computer-related words for you.

How Are New Technology Words Translated?

Many languages simply absorb new English-language computer and technology words, but French has established translations that are fairly faithful to what they represent. For example, an email will be a “courriel”, a contraction of “courrier” (mail) and “électronique” (electronic), and a spam will be a “pourriel”, a contraction of “poubelle” (garbage) and “courriel” (email). One of my favorites is “clavardage” (chat), which comes from “clavier” (keyboard) and “bavarder” (to chitchat).

The Difference in Vocabulary Between Québec and Europe

Although all French-speaking countries have the same resources for new words, their adoption cannot be imposed, and depends largely on the population.

So it’s in Québec that these new computer and technology words have been most easily integrated into our vocabulary. Probably because, throughout our school career, we have been taught to use as few Anglicisms as possible.

If you are planning to talk about IT in Québec, this vocabulary list will be of great help.

IT Lexicon

Your Challenge: Use a Flashcards App

Your challenge is not to spend the next hour memorizing these new vocabulary words: I suggest you use a flashcard application that will help you make rapid progress in French.

There are several, and I will leave it to you to find the one that suits you best. Personally, I use Anki, but if you want to explore, there are lots of videos that compare different apps. Just type “Flashcards app comparison” into YouTube and you will be spoiled for choice.

To Make Sure You Don’t Miss A Thing

I will be getting back into a more regular rythm and publishing one new challenge every ten days. Moreover, at the end of October, I’ll be publishing a free ebook on the twenty most commonly used verbs in French! If you don’t want to miss a thing, subscribe to our newsletter or follow us on Facebook or Tumblr.