OT (sort of): French youth-speak known as "Verlan"

[Cohen, Gerald Leonard]

Today a colleague drew my attention to French "Verlan" (derives from "l'envers" = "the reverse," and I immediately thought of the word-play that goes on in English (Cockney back slang, e.g. "yob" = boy, Cockney rhyming slang,
Pig Latin, etc.).  A comparative study along this line might be interesting.  Below my signoff is a relevant link.

Gerald Cohen



         USA TODAY <http://www.usatoday.com/>

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