Hacker News
new
|
past
|
comments
|
ask
|
show
|
jobs
|
submit
login
scrollaway
on Dec 17, 2023
|
parent
|
context
|
favorite
| on:
How Africans are changing French, one joke, rap an...
Look up verlan. It’s a type of French slang where you reverse syllables or sounds of words.
“Verlan” itself comes from the reverse of “l’envers” which means “reverse”.
homarp
on Dec 17, 2023
|
next
[–]
And "l'envers" is pronounced lanver
SV_BubbleTime
on Dec 17, 2023
|
prev
[–]
Who has time for that?
gumby
on Dec 17, 2023
|
parent
|
next
[–]
It’s street slang, for the same reason Cockney rhyming slang exists: solidarity and so that their so-called “betters” don’t understand them.
nicoburns
on Dec 17, 2023
|
parent
|
prev
|
next
[–]
I imagine kids/teenagers originally, as with many linguistic innovations. But of course such people grow up and their conventions become mainstream.
uxp8u61q
on Dec 18, 2023
|
parent
|
prev
|
next
[–]
What do you mean "who has time"? It doesn't take more time to e.g. say "meuf" than to say "femme".
sergiotapia
on Dec 17, 2023
|
parent
|
prev
[–]
spanish has the same thing where you call your friend "chupa nepe" instead of "chupa pene".
Guidelines
|
FAQ
|
Lists
|
API
|
Security
|
Legal
|
Apply to YC
|
Contact
Search:
“Verlan” itself comes from the reverse of “l’envers” which means “reverse”.