What are the different word formation processes present on Facebook?
One of the main processes is code switching as we all know Facebook was invented by an American called Mark Zuckerberg, obviously the first and main language of Facebook is English.
Code switching occurs when you alternate between two or more languages, here between French and English.
The French use different social media networks but many of them are not translated therefore only fluent English speakers would use them in France. That is the reason why Facebook is the media that has the highest amount of users and whatsapp isn’t used as much as in Ireland or in other parts of the world, because it is part of the selection of platforms that are not translated into French.
According to the Web Digital Agency Strasbourg, for Facebook there are 1.49 Billion active users in the world (in July 2015), including 23 million in France. For Youtube, there are 1 billion users in the world (March 2013), including 23 million users in France (Médiamétrie 01/09/15). Google + comes up next, then Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Snapchat, WhatsApp, Viadeo, and finally Pinterest leaving WhatsApp quite far behind for French users.
Even though it’s a translated platform, the French like to use English words to sound cool. Obviously Ze French love Zeir langouage. So some words are simply the translation of the word, like a friend is un ami, or a friend request is une demande d’ami ou d’ajout. But then there is the code switching feature we mentioned above. The words such as ‘liker’ or ‘taguer’ are composed of the English verb and the French ending. So ‘like’ with the ending of the infinite verb ‘er’ from the French language and ‘tag’ + ‘er’ both give ‘liker’ and ‘taguer’. You can even conjugate it such as ‘j’ai liké’. But the French users also use the translated version of ‘like’ which is ‘j’aime’, which makes more sense.
oh la la t’as vu il a liké la photo où tu es tagué
You also have ‘poke’ as in the following sentence: ‘Je t’ai poké sur facebook’.
Many French users like calling Facebook ‘fesses de bouc’ which means ‘goat’s butt’ because the syllables ‘face’ and ‘book’ have the exact same pronunciation as the words ‘fesses’ /fes/ (butt) and ‘bouc’ /buk/ (goat) if you have a French accent. Obviously not if you have an English accent (‘face’ is /feis/ however the word ‘book’ is similar to the French pronunciation).
Even some painters such as a French artist, Pampouille (Pampouille’s art) , have found an interest in these phonetic ethics, creating humouristic paintings on this phenomenon using a phonetic diversion.
Now if you’re looking for a guide to Facebook lexicon for French users, this blog is pretty cool: Top 100 must know French words for facebookoholics.
Edgar's Letters... 