A constant subject of preoccupation for the Parisian is not to display his superiority in too brutal a manner. The Parisian knows he’s better than other people but does not want to crush them with his superiority. He knows that would not serve his cause.
So the Parisian is constantly looking for ways to diminish his own self. To sparkle a bit of mediocrity in his perfection. Examples of this are countless, but one of the most striking ones is the use of verlan.
Le verlan is a form of ghetto talk that vastly appeared in the eighties in les banlieues as a means for kids not to be understood by non-hood people.
To form a word in verlan, take the original French word (voiture) and switch the syllables (turevoi). If the resulting word ends with a vowel, drop it (photo -> topho -> toph). That last rule is in most instances too complicated for most Parisians.
It would be a simplification to believe that the population of la banlieue comes as a monolith for the Parisian. Truth is, it is twofold: to the Parisian, banlieusards are white and lower middle class; mecs de banlieue are black or arab and lower class. The Parisian despises banlieusards and fears les mecs de banlieue. The Parisian shall therefore never imitate a banlieusard but will try to reproduce some of the habits of les mecs de banlieue. Starting with le verlan.
Some verlan words are now used commonly amongst Parisians of age 40 and less – most Parisians no longer realize that these words are verlan. That’s how mainstream verlan has gotten.
Words like Teuf (fête), keuf (flic), vénère (énervé), ouf (fou), pécho (choper) have become French colloquialisms and shall give no supplement of street cred to the Parisian. Street cred in Paris is a reward that comes with a price - that of mastering verlan.
It would be foolish though to believe that verlan gives social credit under any form. Its use shall only be valued in a nice and comfortable bourgeois coating.
Verlan will be socially gratifying only if the person using it can also hold intelligent conversations with elegant elocution and a clean outfit. Under these conditions, the verlan user shall be secretly revered by other Parisians, who will admire his ability to blend in elegantly in all circles and navigate conveniently through social refinements, despite his suspicious origins. Parisians all secretly long to have a friend from the ghetto.
If the person from the ghetto is elegant and successful on top of that, then he really belongs near the Parisian. Consequently, many Parisians fake irrepressible yet discrete hoodness to impress and open doors. Cheeky things!
The more rare the use of verlan words is, the more street the extraction of the Parisian will be regarded as.
Reup (père) will give you 1 point on the hood scale, oit (toi) 2, as (ça) 3, screud (discret) 4 and so on…Using these words in a completely oblivious manner is key. Misuse of verlan along with use of passé verlan expression (port nawak, laisse béton…) scream fake.
Parisians shall not be fooled.
Parisians are not teubé.
Useful tip: No matter how well they speak French, foreigners should not use verlan. Doesn’t sound right.
Sound like a Parisian: « Putain, j’suis trop vénère, il est grave teubé ce mec »
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Tags: language · slang · Words21 Comments
21 responses so far ↓
I second you with foreigners using verlan.
I have some American friends that speak a very good French but every time I hear a verlan word in their mouth, I can’t help but cringe.
It’s a little bit as if a French person used ebonics I guess.
Merci, Olivier! I knew you’d nail this one. Great!
And the word ‘verlan,’ if I’m not mistaken, comes from l’envers? Verlan of itself?
Anyway, I hope we furriners will stick to “Oo-day oo-yay eek-spay ig-pay atin-lay,” which can’t hold a candle to verlan.
La meme chose avec ‘les cefrans ‘ utilisant certaines expressions d’une langue etrangere qui ne sonnent pas bien dans leur bouche aussi.. :p Essayez de dire: “Chrząszcz brzmi w trzcinie w Szczebrzeszynie” .
Le verlan developpe chaque jour, je crois, des neologismes sont crees de plus en plus souvent dans les langues du monde..
Merci beaucoup and THANK you — for not expecting or wanting Americans to use Verlan! I feel like I’ve been spending my whole life just trying to speak acceptable French. There is no way I’d even try to “shake up” my French! (Je parle comme le poulet
In one of my French language classes in Paris last year, the prof actually tried to teach us some verlan. It didn’t go over very well with the students…
David… I actually love ebonics. But I try to refrain from using it - I know it sounds terrible!!
Polly… My pleasure! And you’re right for l’envers. As per your last quote, I must admit you lost me.
JB… You lost me too.
Minette… Lost me again with the chicken thing! Gosh, I must be slow today
Barbra… This is fun dinner talk, but French is probably beautiful and complex enough a language not to introduce verlan in an actual class. It’d be like learning English by listening Public Enemy!
English version of Verlan: Pig Latin. Its not as pretty as verlan, but all children learn how to speak pig latin: for example pig, take the first letter and put it in the back and combine it with -ay like ig-pay. I can’t imagine trying to come to terms with standard French, and then find out that Parisiennes are sneaking in slang! Informative and interesting.
Canadienne/Polly… oh ok!! So ow-nay, i-ay ink-thay i-ay stand-underay (?!) . Ha!! Thx for sharing!!
Olivier — I’m sory… when I said “Je parle comme le poulet,” I was trying to say that I speak French like a chicken. Mais j’essaye trop forte!
Minette… dans ce cas, en français, on dit “parler français comme une vache espagnole”. It’s actually funny to know that originally, this phrase was “parler français comme un basque espagnol”… Then the phrase got twisted: basque -> vasque -> vache!
I mangle good slang. Called someone ‘girlfriend’ once, and was promptly put in my place…by my daughter. Seemed I was too old and oh, by the way, too white, to use the term.
Love ebonics. Now I love verlan. Much relieved, though, I MUST NOT try and conquer it.
Ruth… Apparently, your daughter knows you’re not that hood!!
I read this just after hearing two businessmen on the metro talking about their “meufs”. Great blog.
Ma rem taught me not to speak like that.
Samantha… Bingo!! Merci!!
AP… Perfect! You’s in da house!!
i never really mastered the use of verlan so i decided i’ll just keep to what i know… i don’t look french anyway
Lil… yeah, sometimes the use/meaning of some verlan words has no connection to the actual equivalent of the word in French: for instance, I could say ‘c’est keus le verlan’, which would technically mean ‘c’est sec’ but that is actaully used as ‘c’est simple’. Go figure… So yeah, prob a good idea to stick to regular French!!
Anyway, I hope we furriners will stick to “Oo-day oo-yay eek-spay ig-pay atin-lay,” which can’t hold a candle to verlan.
“Parisians are not teubé” = these last words are a must !
(I just discovered your blog by some American friends, I cannot help but laugh !!!)
Delphine… Laughing’s good. Stay tuned!!
i ´d like that you can provide me a list of verlan words and phrases, please JE VOUS EN PRIE!