French slang: verlan
  • Erin February 2013
    I vaguely remember my French teacher telling us about a type of slang used in France called Verlan. It reminded me of when we would speak in Gibberish or Pig Latin when I was a kid.  Do people actually use this? Can you give some examples?
    Merci!
  • Christopher February 2013
    Laisse tomber!

    That's all I remember. Sev, t'as d'autres exemples?
  • Sev February 2013
    Yes Erin, people do continue to speak 'Verlan', although mostly younger generations, especially in poorer neighborhoods of France.

    Verlan is the inversion of the syllables in 'l'envers' (the reverse, the flipside, etc. depending on context)

    Chris, 'Laisse tomber!' would actually be 'Laisse béton' (note that people don't typically transform 'Laisse').

    Watch this 1 minute (French) piece.

    Here is a good article in the New York Times

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