Arrivederci la Posta Elettronica?

Goodbye 'e-mail,' the French government says, and hello 'courriel'—the term that linguistically sensitive France is now using to refer to electronic mail in official documents. The Culture Ministry has announced a ban on the use of 'e-mail' in all government ministries, documents, publications or Web sites, the latest step to stem an incursion of English words into the French lexicon. The ministry's General Commission on Terminology and Neology insists Internet surfers in France are broadly using the term 'courrier electronique' (electronic mail) instead of e-mail—a claim some industry experts dispute. 'Courriel' is a fusion of the two words.

The French aren't the only culture battling to keep out English words, though. Members of the Italian parliament have launched a campaign against English phrases that are flooding into their culture and language. And if you're wondering what l'indirizzo, la rete, and il sito mean, see the list of Italian Internet and computer terms, which includes audio clips.