Captions on
Answer in the YouTube comments: Do you say courriel or email?
« Courriel » is French for email: « courrier électronique » squeezed into one word. Usito finds it in writing in 1994, spreading mostly in Québec in the late 1990s. The OQLF put it in its Internet vocabulary in 1997 and made it official in 1998; France recommended it on June 20, 2003. Who coined it? Sources disagree, so we don’t say; Usito calls it Québec-made. The OQLF advises against « email » and « mail ». « Courriel » is standard.
When to use it
Standard: official in Québec since 1998, recommended in France since 2003. The OQLF advises against « email » and « mail ».
Example lines
- « Je t’envoie un courriel. »I’ll send you an email.From the Short
Practise it
2 questionsStandard: official in Québec since 1998, recommended in France since 2003. The OQLF advises against « email » and « mail ».
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Sources
Every claim in the video is checked against these.
- Usito, entry « courriel »First attested 1994; considered of Québec origin.
- OQLF, Grand dictionnaire terminologique, « courriel » (2023)Added to the Vocabulaire d’Internet in 1997; official notice in 1998; « email » and « mail » advised against.
- OQLF, Grand dictionnaire terminologique, « courriel », FranceTerme record (Journal officiel, 20 June 2003)Recommended in France, Journal officiel of 20 June 2003.