Chapter 9. Multi-word loan translations and semantic borrowings from English in French journalistic discourse

The French written press abounds with multi-word loan translations from English, such as en terme(s) de or adopter un profil bas. The results provided in this study correspond to the presence of this type of phrases in the French weekly magazine Le Nouvel Observateur in the first decade of the 21st century. Although some have been in use for several decades, they clearly show a steady and unbroken evolution in the last few years. Multi-word semantic borrowings, as is the case with tour noir, are less pervasive and tend to go unnoticed to the general reader. There are, however, two different stages of integration corresponding to higher or lower frequency rates, typographical markers and lexicographical treatment.