Hashtag goes Gallic in French lawbooks

PARIS (AP) — The French government is redefining hashtag with a Gallic touch. The country that has an academy devoted solely to the use of the French language has given its official seal of approval to a new word for the Twittersphere: mot-diese.

Pronounced 'Mo-Dee-YEZ', it doesn't exactly trip off the tongue. But that's not the point. French law requires that government agencies use French terms — and teachers are required to spread the word. New words are approved by the Academie Francaise and written into the lawbooks.