Mon Ami, l'OQLF

Mon ami, l’OQLF.

French. I love French. I even love how complicated it can be because it is so precise. Words matter - seemingly even more than in English.

 As a bilingual, English-speaking entrepreneur in Québec, I am ever conscious of the need to have proper French in my soon-to-be launched Kajabi website, compliance with regulations and laws, etc. Given that I am a public affairs consultant, compliance is a big part of what I do.

I was reading a francophone LinkedIn contact’s post about ‘une entrepreneuse albertaine.’ And I stopped dead. Whoa, whoa là! C’est quoi une entrepreneuse? Quant à moi, JE suis une entrepreneure. Or am I?

 Where does one turn in such a situation? None other than the Office Québécois de la Langue Française (OQLF) Now, I know my some of my fellow Anglo Quebecers are recoiling in horror, but trust me the OQLF is an amazing resource to help with French. Especially Québec French. The entry in the super-helpful Vitrine Linguistique for Entrepreneur informs me that both feminine terms are accepted in Québec. Yippee! Entrepreneure it is.

 Entrepreneures, entrepreneuses, and entrepreneurs will find many helpful resources for businesss terminology, among other useful resources. My only reservation was their English term for entrepreneur is ‘contractor’. Non, OQLF, get with the program. English-speakers call entrepreneur.e.s entrepreneurs. Merci pour le site bien utile, quand même!