Are there good English expressions for "raison d’être" and "joie de vivre"? [closed]

Solution 1:

We can trace most English words back to a time they were borrowed from another language:

_{Image from Wikipedia.org}

The expressions raison d'etre and joie de vivre, are relatively recent, acquisitions:

raison d'etre (n.)

"excuse for being," 1864, first recorded in letter of J.S. Mill,
from French raison d'être, literally "rational grounds for existence."

joie de vivre (n.)

1889, French, literally "joy of living."

_{etymonline.com emphasis added}

I might add that the acquisition of joie de vivre seems incomplete, as the etymology lists it as French, rather than from French. It seems to have a reasonable chance of making a complete entry into English eventually, since we have always been quite hospitable toward elegant French expressions. I still italicize joie de vivre as a foreign expression in my writing, but it seems common enough that some might consider it pure English.

As a reasonable intersection of the two French phrases, I like life force:

noun

The vital principle or animating force within living beings:

_{The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus.}

The rational basis of our existence as living things is some life force that we do not yet fully understand, and joy seems to be a particularly meaningful expression of our life force.

Some may complain that the word force is still too French, because it was borrowed from Old French, but it was actually quite a long time ago:

c. 1300, "physical strength,"
from Old French force "force, strength; courage, fortitude; violence, power, compulsion" (12c.),
from Vulgar Latin *fortia (source also of Old Spanish forzo, Spanish fuerza, Italian forza),
noun use of neuter plural of Latin fortis "strong, mighty; firm, steadfast; brave, bold" (see fort).

_{etymonline.com emphasis added}

If we concede to the objections against force, we can still be satisfied with plain old life, which is about as English as any English word can get:

Old English life (dative lif) "existence, lifetime, way of life, condition of being a living thing, opposite of death,"
from Proto-Germanic *libam
(cognates: Old Norse lif "life, body," Dutch lijf "body," Old High German lib "life," German Leib "body"), properly "continuance, perseverance,"
from PIE *leip- "to remain, persevere, continue; stick, adhere" (see leave (v.)).

Much of the modern range of meanings was present in Old English.
Meaning "property which distinguishes living from non-living matter" is from 1560s.
Sense of "vitality, energy" is from 1580s.
Extended 1703 to "term of duration (of inanimate objects)."

_{etymonline.com emphasis added}

Language is my life. Meaning: Language is my conscious rationale to work another day, and the deepest joy of my heart.

Solution 2:

For 'joie de vivre' I suggest

• elan
• panache

For 'raison d'etre', I suggest

• essence
• rationale

These were chosen ironically because you requested something English, which all of these are, and yet your hidden intention was that they be more ... Anglo-Saxon, which these are all not. You've kind of hit a bunch of issues here: translation (how exact must it be), when is a word English vs foreign (when you can tell or when everyone knows what it means), single words vs phrases (why must a single word be necessary? Because often they exist).

So in the end I think it is safe to say that really for what you intend there are no such words, but all of the suggestions, as much as they get close to the meaning, are literally English now.

Solution 3:

Essence, Lifeblood, Be-all and end-all:

Cooking is my raison d'etre
Cooking is my essence.
Cooking is my lifeblood.
His work was the be-all and end-all of his existence.

However the latter (taken from the link) doesn't always sound good.

Solution 4:

"joie de vivre" synonyms include:

• zest
• enthusiasm
• fire
• gusto
• zeal
• spirit
• verve
• ardour
• vitality

"raison d'être" synonyms include:

• purpose
• mission
• justification
• rationale
• point

As to why one might choose to use a loan word rather than something more English sounding, I'd say fashion. The only loan phrase from French that doesn't have a good English synonym (at least to my mind) is "déjà vu" for that strange sense of having done/seen something before.