Friday, May 27, 2005, 12:38 GMT
French internet slang
Friday, May 27, 2005, 18:24 GMT
It's a waste of time, like most short-lived slang used in new media that impose restrictions on conventional language. See also CB radio, online chat, blogs, Minitel, SMS, etc. Whenever the full language is not practical, people make up abbreviated jargons or slang; as the medium matures or passes out of fashion, the jargon or slang disappears. Does anyone still "break one nine"?
Friday, May 27, 2005, 19:55 GMT
And at list you need 5 more times to understang what the guy wrote!
Saturday, May 28, 2005, 07:32 GMT
Some of the 'internet' stuff mentioned in the comics linked above are originally 'banlieue' or 'racaille' speaking : 'truc de ouf' (lexicalised verlan neologism) and 'kiffer' (Arabism meaning 'appreciate', 'like'). They're now class-marked (low) or generational (young).
'Kikoo' or 'coucou' ('peep-bo', 'peek-a-boo') and 'mdr' or 'mort de rire' ('lol') are typical IRC or chatroom. A variant for 'kikoo' is 'lu' ('salut' = 'hi') or 'lo' ('hello').
'Tro delir' is 'trop délire' may mean 'funny' or 'incredible'.
'Mdr tro delir quoi' is roughly : 'hilarious, isn't it ?'.
'Kikoo' or 'coucou' ('peep-bo', 'peek-a-boo') and 'mdr' or 'mort de rire' ('lol') are typical IRC or chatroom. A variant for 'kikoo' is 'lu' ('salut' = 'hi') or 'lo' ('hello').
'Tro delir' is 'trop délire' may mean 'funny' or 'incredible'.
'Mdr tro delir quoi' is roughly : 'hilarious, isn't it ?'.
Saturday, May 28, 2005, 07:36 GMT
fascinating...
He,can you compare the banlieues with the American Ghetto's?
I think I like the Mdr more then LOL ...Because Laughing out loud ,this word LOL has already got a meaning in Dutch (strangly,it means 'fun')
He,can you compare the banlieues with the American Ghetto's?
I think I like the Mdr more then LOL ...Because Laughing out loud ,this word LOL has already got a meaning in Dutch (strangly,it means 'fun')
Saturday, May 28, 2005, 07:44 GMT
As long as people will be typing at keyboards, abbreviations will always be used, since few can type correctly or quickly enough to keep up an appropriate pace. It doesn't take outsiders long to adapt to as it's based on ordinary language of which very little is unusual or unique.
Saturday, May 28, 2005, 07:53 GMT
How about this 'verlan' thing I'm hearing about ?
Saturday, May 28, 2005, 07:59 GMT
I don't know if banlieues [bÃlj2] and ghettos are excatly the same thing. 'Banlieue' means 'surburbs' and for instance Neuilly is a posh banlieue.
For instance ethnic difference resurface in words like Fr (fem) <race> [Ras] = En <race> but with a diverted meaning. Fr <race> may mean <body>. Example : Fr <bouge ta race> [buZtaRas] = En <move your (fucking) ass/body> / <clear off>. Still, Fr <nique ta race> [niktaRas] = En <fuck off> (literally : 'fuck your race') was perhaps originally directed at Whites, but it is now used by anybody irrespective of the supposed 'race' of the collocutor or addressee.
Banlieue-speaking sometimes reinforce deep-rooted French trend to pile up successive phrases : Fr <ça m'a étonné> [samaetone] = En <I was astonished (by that)> is BF <ma gueule elle est tombée par terre> [mag9lEletÕbepaRtER] = En (literally) <my face(1), it's fallen on the ground>.
(1)Fr <gueule> = En <mouth of an animal>, hence Slang French <gueule> = En <(human) face>.
For instance ethnic difference resurface in words like Fr (fem) <race> [Ras] = En <race> but with a diverted meaning. Fr <race> may mean <body>. Example : Fr <bouge ta race> [buZtaRas] = En <move your (fucking) ass/body> / <clear off>. Still, Fr <nique ta race> [niktaRas] = En <fuck off> (literally : 'fuck your race') was perhaps originally directed at Whites, but it is now used by anybody irrespective of the supposed 'race' of the collocutor or addressee.
Banlieue-speaking sometimes reinforce deep-rooted French trend to pile up successive phrases : Fr <ça m'a étonné> [samaetone] = En <I was astonished (by that)> is BF <ma gueule elle est tombée par terre> [mag9lEletÕbepaRtER] = En (literally) <my face(1), it's fallen on the ground>.
(1)Fr <gueule> = En <mouth of an animal>, hence Slang French <gueule> = En <(human) face>.
Saturday, May 28, 2005, 08:02 GMT
It's not a waste of time if you use online chats regularly. The same goes for the jargon/language that is relevant to your medium of interest. Nothing is useless or wasted if it used.
Sunday, May 29, 2005, 10:10 GMT
Many of the suburbs of Paris are relatively unpleasant places compared to the city itself, and so "banlieues" (suburbs) has become a metaphor for the dregs of society. Not all Paris suburbs are unpleasant, though, and some of them—mostly to the west—are very affluent.
Young losers from the bad suburbs tend to ride into Paris on public transport on Fridays and Saturdays to gather and sometimes to make trouble in the city itself. Not long ago there was a gang-style killing at one end of the Champs-Elysées, even though police presence there is formidable. It's unfortunate that the losers from the 'burbs feel compelled to share their losership with the rest of society, instead of just working to fix it.
Anyway, some types of jargon are specific to this loser class, and it influences the slang used online, since there are many common points between the two groups. As for verlan, that is a very old but still moderately common slang that is based on simple inversion of syllables: the word verlan itself is just a reversal of the French word for "the reverse."
Young losers from the bad suburbs tend to ride into Paris on public transport on Fridays and Saturdays to gather and sometimes to make trouble in the city itself. Not long ago there was a gang-style killing at one end of the Champs-Elysées, even though police presence there is formidable. It's unfortunate that the losers from the 'burbs feel compelled to share their losership with the rest of society, instead of just working to fix it.
Anyway, some types of jargon are specific to this loser class, and it influences the slang used online, since there are many common points between the two groups. As for verlan, that is a very old but still moderately common slang that is based on simple inversion of syllables: the word verlan itself is just a reversal of the French word for "the reverse."