The French have a deep affection for their language and harbor a constant vigilance towards its 'purity', especially from the encroaching influence of their English-speaking neighbors. This fondness for their language often motivates authors and intellectuals in France to push back against the creeping influx of English borrowings. A similar phenomenon is observed in Iran, where terms like "address" have replaced "neshani", "asphalt" has substituted "ghirtecht", "page" is now used instead of "safhe/barg", "start" has taken over "aghaz/shoru", and "stress" is preferred over "tanidegi/fashar rawani". Such linguistic shifts also resonate in Arabic-speaking countries, like the UAE.

In an interesting development, the French dictionary recently introduced new vocabulary of Arabic, not English, origin. This addition has been largely spurred by the growing population of Arab immigrants in recent years. Terms such as Jihad, Intifada, Tagine (presumably a Moroccan dish), Fedayeen, Tabouleh, Resistance, Daesh, Keif (in the sense of pleasure, not inquiry), Kohl, Raïs, Hashish, and Nik (a colloquial term for sex) have found their way into French vernacular.

What's intriguing about this collection of words is their thematic concentration around topics of war, conflict, food, sex, and taboos. There is no knowledge, culture, or literature…