Parlez-vous surf? Promoting French language on the Olympic world stage

Throughout the 2024 Paris Olympics, France is on a mission to promote the French language in a sports world increasingly dominated by English, and to erase anglicisms including terms used in hip newer sports.

Daniel Zielinski coordinates a group of experts at the French sports ministry who propose terminology to the Academie Francaise -- the institution that has produced state-sanctioned dictionaries for three centuries.

For the Paris Olympics, the language committees focused on four of the newer Olympic sports -- breakdancing, surfing, skateboarding and sport climbing.

Glossy brochures with titles like "Parlez-vous surf?" (Do you speak surf?) offer translations for anglicisms -- such as "planche à roulettes" for skateboard, "figure" for trick or, in surfing, "rouleau de cap" for point break.

They have already started preparing for the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

"We are working on vocabulary for sports like baseball, softball and flag football," Zielinski said of the American pastimes which will feature in LA.

Ahead of the Games, the national parliament approved a motion urging organisers, athletes, trainers and journalists to use French at the Paris Olympics as much as possible.

'Soft power'

But English resolutely dominates and in the "parc urbain" (street park) in the Place de la Concorde which hosts the skateboarding competitions, competitors of all nationalities talk of their "tricks" and "runs".

"English established itself as the successor to French (at the Olympics) in the 1930s and even more so after World War II," said historian Patrick Clastres.

This is particularly galling from a Gallic perspective given that the modern Games were invented by a 19th-century French aristocrat, Pierre de Coubertin.

French is the fifth most spoken language in the world, used by 320 million speakers worldwide.

But it struggles to stave off encroachment by English in sport, except perhaps in fencing, where referees still tell competitors: "En garde. Etes vous prets? Allez!" ("On guard. Ready? Go!").

The Paris Olympics organisers have gone all out to promote France in general, with the opening ceremony featuring Lady Gaga for a song in French inspired by the Paris music hall tradition.

"Success in sports is a form of soft power and offers a powerful way to market a country internationally," noted Mark Cruse, French professor at Arizona State University.

English 'is enough'

The lure of world-class sport has not gone unnoticed by Cecilia Jourdan, 35, who produces snappy videos on learning French, chatting to her 1.5 million followers on Instagram as she strolls around Paris.

"Videos specifically about the Olympics get a much higher reach. We get more views and more engagement," she said.

At the Jardin de Tuileries near the Louvre museum, crowds gathered to view the Olympic Cauldron, the hot-air balloon and ring of fire which has become a star attraction at the Paris Games.

Richard Murray, a 46-year-old economist, and his wife Michelle, 40, who works in marketing, came from Ashford, England, with their two young children to see the Games.

"They've been learning at school and they're kind of trying it out here as well, ordering things and kind of speaking to people," the father said.

"It's a good kind of learning experience."

But Fanrui Liao, 39, a tourist from Shenzhen, China, said he didn't even attempt to learn French before coming to the Olympics.

"Paris is an international city. We can speak English here. That's enough," he said.