Salut!
Mes Amis, as you know, I'm always looking to make this blog as useful to you as I can. As such, it is my great pleasure to introduce to you our newest series: "Getting' Yo' Parler on: A Dose of French Slang." Now, don't worry, "Better Know a Department" will continue to have weekly postings, this is by no means a replacement! This is only yet another fine service for you to enjoy here at the BYU French Studies Blog. Now you not only have an idea of what departments in France you may want to visit in the future, but you will be able to better fit in when you parlez.
Introducing this exciting new series, I want to say that this is not meant to replace your studious efforts to learn proper French. You can't tell your French professors that you were simply trying to use "colloquialisms" in your paper. In truth, this series will make more sense the more proper French you know (though you non-bilinguals will still enjoy the series, I'm sure). Lastly, I take zero responsibility for any "Joe-Biden-level-gaffes" that you may experience flexing your newly found slang muscles. But PLEASE write in and tell us about them; we're all ready for a good laugh. With that, we give you our first installment.
Today's lesson: Verlan.
"Rogger," you're thinking, "what in the name of hot baguettes is verlan?" Why, I'm glad you asked. If you rearrange the word, you'll find a "real" French word that gives you a sense of what this is all about. Go ahead and try it. I'll give you one hint, you need to add an additional "e" and one "s." When you think you've got it (or just give up), scroll down the page and I'll keep explaining (and give you the answer. I can't believe you wimped out that fast).
Answer: Verlan = à l'envers. For those of you who don't speak French, or are just starting, envers translates as "toward." Throw the "à l' " in front of it though, and now it means "the wrong way," "upside down," or "back to front." I think you've got the idea now. Somewhere along the way, the French decided it would be really cool to reverse words, (their syllabuls, letters, sometimes just scrambling the word) and use them as slang. Think of this as our "Pig Latin," only ... it's actually popular and cool to do.
To demonstrate the popularity of this, let me share an anecdote with you. I was first introduced to verlan while watching the movie "X Men" dubbed over in French (watching movies in French whenever possible is a practice of mine to help me improve my French). If you've seen the movie, then you know about the scene where Wolverine and Cyclopes have a slightly heated little chat about Cyclopes's girlfriend: Jeanne. In the conversation, they kept referring to her as Cyclopes's "meuf." It completely threw me off. I was diligently taught back in French 101 that the expression "petit(e) ami(e)" means boy/girlfriend. What was this ... meuf thing??? So I asked some friends, and I was introduced to verlan. My point is this: when did you last hear Pig Latin in a major Hollywood production, spoken by the "cool guys" in the movie no less? That's what I thought. So now you can see, verlan is quite popular!
So here's a few words to try out. Throw this out in your next class, just don't use it on a speaking test or written assignment. I take NO responsibility for that!
Proper English/ Proper French/ Verlan/ English slang:
brother/ frère/ reuf/ bro
mother/ mère/ reum/ ma', or mom
father/ père/ reup/ pop, or dad
sister/ soeur/ reus/ sis
Introducing this exciting new series, I want to say that this is not meant to replace your studious efforts to learn proper French. You can't tell your French professors that you were simply trying to use "colloquialisms" in your paper. In truth, this series will make more sense the more proper French you know (though you non-bilinguals will still enjoy the series, I'm sure). Lastly, I take zero responsibility for any "Joe-Biden-level-gaffes" that you may experience flexing your newly found slang muscles. But PLEASE write in and tell us about them; we're all ready for a good laugh. With that, we give you our first installment.
Today's lesson: Verlan.
"Rogger," you're thinking, "what in the name of hot baguettes is verlan?" Why, I'm glad you asked. If you rearrange the word, you'll find a "real" French word that gives you a sense of what this is all about. Go ahead and try it. I'll give you one hint, you need to add an additional "e" and one "s." When you think you've got it (or just give up), scroll down the page and I'll keep explaining (and give you the answer. I can't believe you wimped out that fast).
Answer: Verlan = à l'envers. For those of you who don't speak French, or are just starting, envers translates as "toward." Throw the "à l' " in front of it though, and now it means "the wrong way," "upside down," or "back to front." I think you've got the idea now. Somewhere along the way, the French decided it would be really cool to reverse words, (their syllabuls, letters, sometimes just scrambling the word) and use them as slang. Think of this as our "Pig Latin," only ... it's actually popular and cool to do.
To demonstrate the popularity of this, let me share an anecdote with you. I was first introduced to verlan while watching the movie "X Men" dubbed over in French (watching movies in French whenever possible is a practice of mine to help me improve my French). If you've seen the movie, then you know about the scene where Wolverine and Cyclopes have a slightly heated little chat about Cyclopes's girlfriend: Jeanne. In the conversation, they kept referring to her as Cyclopes's "meuf." It completely threw me off. I was diligently taught back in French 101 that the expression "petit(e) ami(e)" means boy/girlfriend. What was this ... meuf thing??? So I asked some friends, and I was introduced to verlan. My point is this: when did you last hear Pig Latin in a major Hollywood production, spoken by the "cool guys" in the movie no less? That's what I thought. So now you can see, verlan is quite popular!
So here's a few words to try out. Throw this out in your next class, just don't use it on a speaking test or written assignment. I take NO responsibility for that!
Proper English/ Proper French/ Verlan/ English slang:
brother/ frère/ reuf/ bro
mother/ mère/ reum/ ma', or mom
father/ père/ reup/ pop, or dad
sister/ soeur/ reus/ sis
