OQLF urges merchants to ditch term 'Boxing Day'
Quebec language organization wants French terms to replace English for holiday sales
The Office Québécois de la langue française is asking business owners to avoid the words "Boxing Day" to describe holiday sales.
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In a news release issued Thursday, the language watchdog suggests merchants, advertisers and news organizations use the words "soldes de l'Après-Noël" instead of the widely used English term.
The OQLF says the French version is just as inviting as the English version.
It says the term "soldes du lendemain de Noël" is also acceptable.
The agency, founded in 1961, is designed to promote the use of the French language in Quebec.
Its latest proposal was denounced by many on social media, with one person calling it "petty."
<a href="https://twitter.com/CBCMontreal">@CBCMontreal</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/DanDelmar">@DanDelmar</a> So petty. If Premier Couillard really wants to cut costs, he should look at the <a href="https://twitter.com/OQLF">@OQLF</a>. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/grinch?src=hash">#grinch</a>
—@BD_CDA