Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2012 18:36:07 GMT
Verlan is a time-honoured way to mangle the French language, so of course young people love it. It reverses the syllables of common words.
métro = trome
cité = téci
français = céfran
femme = meuf
vas-y = zyva
Sometimes the construction is quite obvious and sometimes others need to explain it to you the first time. And sometimes the verlan word ends up with a different meaning from the original word.
For example,
arabe = older Arab with traditional ways
beur = second generation French born Arab
But then it gets more complicated, because there is reverse verlan. After having reversed the word, you reverse it again.
rebeu = beur
This would be a more urban second generation Arab.
And that brings me to today, when our newest employee started. I took her around and introduced her to the other staff, but before they saw her, they wanted to know 'what' she was because most people were not familiar with her name Nawel.
I told them, and everybody understood immediately --
"She is a beurette." (a second generation Arab woman born in the Paris suburbs)
The word "rebeurette" has not yet been invented, but it will almost certainly contain another refinement of identity.
métro = trome
cité = téci
français = céfran
femme = meuf
vas-y = zyva
Sometimes the construction is quite obvious and sometimes others need to explain it to you the first time. And sometimes the verlan word ends up with a different meaning from the original word.
For example,
arabe = older Arab with traditional ways
beur = second generation French born Arab
But then it gets more complicated, because there is reverse verlan. After having reversed the word, you reverse it again.
rebeu = beur
This would be a more urban second generation Arab.
And that brings me to today, when our newest employee started. I took her around and introduced her to the other staff, but before they saw her, they wanted to know 'what' she was because most people were not familiar with her name Nawel.
I told them, and everybody understood immediately --
"She is a beurette." (a second generation Arab woman born in the Paris suburbs)
The word "rebeurette" has not yet been invented, but it will almost certainly contain another refinement of identity.
