Trampoline bounces between 'le' and 'la,' rules Quebec's language watchdog

Call it a victory for gender equality.

After a lengthy research process,Quebec's language watchdog says the word trampoline,which in French is most often considered a masculine noun, can also be used with the feminine definite article "la.''

In a recent update, the Office qubcois de la langue franaise said it had used historical analysis to determine it's acceptableto jump between le trampolineand la trampolinewhen referring to the bouncy devices.

"Even if the use of the feminine is not recorded in the main French dictionaries, there is no reason to consider it incorrect,'' the organization said.

The watchdog explained that the word is derived from the Italian trampolino,which is masculine, but was adopted in French in the early 1960s based on the gender-neutral English-language version "trampoline.''

Quebec favours feminine

Curiously, the word was first given the feminine gender inQuebecand the masculine in Europe.

The watchdog noted that most other nouns ending in "ine'' such as figurine,disciplineand adrenaline are feminine.

The office noted that the use of the feminine la trampolinehas appeared to decline in recent years, which it ascribed in part to the sport's inclusion in the Olympics, which places it in "an international context.''

Both potential options can befound in various publications and promotional literature of some trampoline manufacturers.

In the end, the organization concluded that freedom of choice should reign.

"It is up to people to choose the use that suits them and which seems to them the most adapted to the context in which the word is used."