The wokisation of Petit Robert

Our columnist Mathieu Bock-Côté is currently staying in France, from where he observes French news with a Quebecois eye.

We all have a dictionary at home, and from time to time we refer to it when we doubt a word. He is authoritative. Such is the greatness of Petit Robert!

Don’t we say of a man with a rich vocabulary that he speaks like a dictionary?

But what if the dictionary, rather than doing its job, submits to ideological fashions? Doesn’t it risk seeing its legitimacy shaken?

Iel?

This is what happened this week in France. Le Robert announced the introduction of new words. Among these are the new trendy pronouns promoted by the most radical trans activists. In particular: iel, ielle, iels, ielles.

These somewhat caricatured terms have a function: to fight against the supposed sexism of the French language, a thesis which stems from a neofeminism as radical as it is paranoid. Words are thus created that make it possible to account for “non-binary persons”, claiming to belong neither to the masculine nor to the feminine gender. They would testify to the complexity of sexual identity in our time.

These words belong to the register of inclusive writing. It is she who pushes activists to write words like “students”, “celleux” (in place of those and those), “reader.trices” and so on.

That people who claim to love the French language to massacre it in this way without embarrassment leaves me perplexed.

Strange term, moreover: should we consider that the French language until then functioned according to the codes of an exclusive writing?

The Minister of National Education, Jean-Michel Blanquer, vigorously denounced this submission of Robert to inclusive writing. He could have rightly denounced the wokisation of the dictionary which comes here to legitimize

Let us insist on the matter: in France, the Minister of Education denounces this new way of writing. He sees it as a danger for the French language and says so. He rightly adds that this writing which distorts the language and makes it illegible will cause great learning problems for children when it gradually becomes essential in schools.

Others rightly point out that these new pronouns are only found in the most militant texts. Is it really the dictionary’s role to legitimize radical ideological struggles? The more so as these new pronouns, whatever one says about them, are not returned in the use.

Launder

Because France, unlike Quebec, resists this delusional writing, which does not mean that it is not progressing.

With us, the fear of appearing straight leads many to lie down and borrow it, even when they speak badly in private.

Because this is what is at stake: when inclusive writing imposes itself in a milieu, those who refuse to submit to it designate themselves as ideological suspects and vile reactionaries in front of the wokes. Social pressure is strong to adopt it.

It reminds us that language is a battleground. And who capitulates to this ideological colonization of the dictionary by a vision of the world completely disconnected from reality is in fact participating in the ugliness and weakening of our language.

Reconcile with the terrorists?

The radical left is capable of all excesses. Raquel Garrido, a lawyer associated with this ideological movement, recently pleaded for reconciliation between victims of Islamist terrorism and Islamist terrorists, while attacking those who hinder it. Reconcile with the terrorists? Truly ? Shouldn’t we first go to war with them, put an end to them, and fight the ideology that drives them and contaminates too many young French people with an immigrant background?

The classic right in search of its candidate

The classic right, associated with the Republicans party, is not doing very well. Stuck between Emmanuel Macron, who has sucked his most liberal fringe and Eric Zemmour who captures the identity question to his advantage, she is looking for herself. She is looking even more for her candidate for the 2022 presidential election. The vote will take place on December 4. Big problem for this party: it shelters tendencies so contradictory that one wonders how they will be able to coexist.

Poland, the border of Europe?

Poland is at the heart of French news. The reason: Alexander Lukashenko, the Belarusian dictator, organized the arrival in his country of thousands of non-European migrants to then throw them towards the European Union. He is responding to the sanctions of the EU which challenges his fraudulent re-election. His goal ? Cause a migration crisis. Poland talks about a migratory invasion. She now wants to build a wall at her border. The political class is divided. For or against the Polish wall?