Will crypto cause the collapse of the global economy?

Do you have some difficulty understanding crypto jargon? It is true that finding your way around can turn into a real headache. Why does the French-speaking crypto community love English so much? Why are influencers so fond of Anglo-Saxon terms?

Block chain or blockchain? The dilemma of crypto

Recently, a reader suggested that we use the expression “chain block” rather than the anglicism “blockchain”. Rightly, this attentive reader reminded us that French already has a rich lexicon to designate things. The question may seem trivial, but it reveals a recurring debate around borrowings from English. If you’re the type to To send an email from your smartphoneor to search the web to learn more about a digital token, so maybe you should use the phrase “chain block”. But if we show pragmatismit must be recognized that most of the words of our digital daily life are borrowed from English.

Indeed, the term “blockchain” has no no real equivalent in French. It is an integral part of our computer vocabulary. Just like “web”, “smartphone”, “net”, “cyber”, the influence of English is obvious. All these terms come to us from computing and have passed into everyday language. They are now used by convention. Same the french academy (yet reluctant to change) had to do it! However, if you insist on the expression “block chain”, know that it can be used. We will express the idea of ​​technology more, by making it more colorful with French.

The evolution of the language, a wealth

However, language is constantly changing. Far from being fixed, it is a succession of layers, made up of crossings of a multitude of dialects. Crypto comes for example from ancient Greek κρυπτός (kruptos) which means what is hidden. The same with the mathematical lexicon: algorithm, algebra, thus come to us from Arabic. Nevertheless, it is regrettable that English dominates current thinking to such an extent. But isn’t this the reflection of a global reality that extends far beyond language? The famous soft-power (ouch, another anglicism) American is at work.

Crypto and Anglicisms is a love story. Because beyond the simple debate between blockchain or block chain, the French-speaking crypto community particularly likes Anglicisms. Inspired by the world of video games, borrowings from English always seem to be more numerous.

Crypto lingo giving you headaches?  It's normal.
Crypto lingo giving you headaches? It’s normal.

Language builds community

By building a online community around specific terms, you create your own world, your own rules. On Twitter, it seems like another language is spoken: airdrop, GM (good morning) scalability, a different lexical world thrives on the cryptosphere. It blends of course with the lexicon more generally used on social networks. It is also a sign of recognition between initiates. Indeed, to be part of the crypto community, you have to take an initiatory journey. Understanding crypto and its codes has to be earned. More grain to grind for those who perceive the Bitcoin community as a sect. But it can also be something positive, because that way we build (sorry, we ” build ”) a truly unique community.

A brake on the adoption of cryptos?

In the light of social networks, however, we see a real acceleration of language changes. With online phenomena and virality, it can be difficult to navigate. Including even for the more assiduous users of these online media. It is also a problem if we want to democratize blockchain and cryptocurrencies to the wider world. How to entice a neophyte when the jargon is so specific and complicated?

On Twitter, Sam Lessin calls this “good morning” in the cryptosphere “incredibly stupid”

“Use cases to incentivize crypto builders looking for scalability”

You find the title above ridiculous and incomprehensible ? Don’t worry, it’s normal. Admittedly with a little bad faith, it is nevertheless a sentence that you could very well have found online. An overview of what is being done on French-speaking crypto Twitter (slightly exaggerated, we grant you).

Incentivize rather than incite. builder rather than building GM for good morning. The examples are legion. It seems to have like a sloth to want to translate simple English terms. Because even if some words have no equivalents, most do. Why not use them? Why is the crypto ecosystem so keen on using English terms (sometimes quite obscure)? Laziness to translate? Too ” business focus »? A trip to New York gone wrong? In any case, at the house of Tremplin.io, we are open if you have any explanation.

Of course, you shouldn’t take offense at the language: French is a living language, and fortunately! It borrows a substantial part of its vocabulary from many dialects. However, the almost exclusive predominance of English in the French-speaking crypto community raises a question. Beyond the fact that the complicated crypto jargon is a barrier to adoption, we can also judge that certain topics deserve better treatment.

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