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Frequency dictionary of French slang | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
| translator2 Senior Member United States Joined 6919 days ago 848 posts - 1862 votes  Speaks: English* | Message 1 of 10 17 November 2011 at 2:56pm | IP Logged | ||
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It is frustrating to watch a contemporary French movie and come across yet another new slang/argot term and not know whether this is something that should be added to one's active/passive vocabulary or just ignored. I am not talking about the high-frequency words like mec, bouquin, flic, piaule, pif, planquer, etc. that are used all the time and easy to learn and recognize, but the ones you only hear occasionally.
I know there are numerous books/dictionaries and websites/glossaries of French slang, but does anyone know of a site that lists slang terms in order of frequency in the spoken language? Do native French speakers have problems with argot/verlan sometimes? 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Le dacquois Diglot Groupie France Joined 5647 days ago 54 posts - 69 votes Speaks: English*, French Studies: Spanish, German | Message 2 of 10 17 November 2011 at 4:05pm | IP Logged | ||
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I haven't come across such a site but I think that the usage of slang is such a broad
issue that there's no real rules on who ought to know what. I mean, my French partner often doesn't know slang terms on TV, usually stuff related to la banlieue parisienne and her grandmother only understands slang from the 50's! I read in a novel the other day the expression 'couler un bronze' and although I'd never come across it before I understood it straight away. I found it absolutely hilarious and very well described. Since then I've decided to find other ways of saying it and some of them have had me in stitches. So, I suppose it depends on your centre of interest! If you only come across it occasionally then I'd just try to understand it. If you hear it often, try to use it when you speak. However, I don't think I'll say Je vais pousser l'endive to my granny-in-law whether it's popular or not ;) Edited by Le dacquois on 17 November 2011 at 4:07pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Cabaire Senior Member Germany Joined 5599 days ago 725 posts - 1352 votes | Message 3 of 10 17 November 2011 at 4:58pm | IP Logged | ||
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Couler un bronze is easy to find and to understand, but that piece about gardening is a riddle for me. Edited by Cabaire on 17 November 2011 at 4:58pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| rivere123 Senior Member United States Joined 4830 days ago 129 posts - 182 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French | Message 4 of 10 18 November 2011 at 12:17am | IP Logged | ||
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Thank you for that, I think I'll ask my French teacher "Est-ce que je peux couler un bronse?"
On topic, I'd be quite interested in this as well. I recall a thread from a few weeks ago with Canadian-French slang, if I come upon it I'll get the link. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Le dacquois Diglot Groupie France Joined 5647 days ago 54 posts - 69 votes Speaks: English*, French Studies: Spanish, German | Message 5 of 10 18 November 2011 at 11:23am | IP Logged | ||
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Translator2, could you give us a few examples of the slang terms you're coming across and
not knowing? 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| translator2 Senior Member United States Joined 6919 days ago 848 posts - 1862 votes Speaks: English* | Message 6 of 10 18 November 2011 at 4:47pm | IP Logged | ||
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Ok. I know them now because I looked them up. The problem is not determining what they mean, but rather knowing how often they are used, whether they are words that everyone would know (which you think would be true since they are used in a movie) and whether they are worth memorizing.
Stuff like: kroumir (old person/geezer), calots (eyes), castagne/se castagner (fight), riquiqui (tiny), roploplos, ramier, scoumoune, faire la bitume, becheuse, se bigorner, bisbille, bouboule, etre Byzance, se creper la tignasse, faire des mamours, peinturlurer, badigoinces, benard, etc. While nouns and adjectives can usually be guessed from context, the verbs are especially tricky are there seems to be a whole series of slang verbs starting with the letter "e": emberlificoter, embobiner, embringuer,enguirlander, enquiquiner, empapaouter, encaldosser, enrhumer, esbigner, ereinter...
1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Le dacquois Diglot Groupie France Joined 5647 days ago 54 posts - 69 votes Speaks: English*, French Studies: Spanish, German | Message 7 of 10 18 November 2011 at 7:47pm | IP Logged | ||
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While we're waiting for a link maybe you could run the terms through some online
dictionaries to see which ones have entries and which ones are left out? That might give some idea of frequency. I just tried that and noticed some are pretty much standard French and others aren't even in there. It's worth a shot :) 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| lecavaleur Diglot Senior Member Canada Joined 4777 days ago 146 posts - 295 votes Speaks: English*, French Studies: German, Spanish | Message 8 of 10 19 November 2011 at 4:47am | IP Logged | ||
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A good thing to remember is that slang dictionaries and the like are jam-packed with words and expressions, most of which you will probably never hear. It's a best practice not to crack out any new gems unless you've heard someone else use them, because slang so rapidly changes that many expressions and words that were popular for a couple of years, or maybe only in a given region, when the book was published have already fallen out of use and are no longer understood by many people.
Slang is best learned by imitation. If you hear it in a movie, chances are enough people know it so that you should add it to your passive voacb. If you hear it in more than one movie or hear people actually saying it, you should consider maybe incorporating it into your active vocab (in appropriate situations only). I remember when I was hanging out a lot with a friend from Lorraine, I got used to saying « on s'pète la tchav ? », which means basically « on s'en va ? », but nobody I've ever met outside of our group ever says that or even knows what it means. It's regional slang. 2 persons have voted this message useful |
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