Multilingual Rhyming Slang

[George Thompson]

I notice that the standard library subject tracing for this book as for several others on the topic is "spoonerisms" -- which differs from rhyming slang.

The other books are:
    Antel, Jacques.  Le contrepet quotidien / Jacques Antel. -- Paris : Editions Ramsay/J.-J. Pauvert, c1990. 327 p.
    Etienne, Luc.  L'Art du contrepet: petit traite a l'usage des amateurs pour resoudre les contrepeteries proposees et en inventer de nouvelles ... [par] Luc Etienne; suivi d'un commentaire d'Andre Therive. Paris, le Livre de poche, 1972.  297 p.

GAT

George A. Thompson
Author of A Documentary History of "The African
Theatre", Northwestern Univ. Pr., 1998.

----- Original Message -----
From: Jan Ivarsson TransEdit <jan.ivarsson at TRANSEDIT.ST>
Date: Friday, January 3, 2003 11:00 am
Subject: Re: Multilingual Rhyming Slang

> In French there is something called "contrepèterie" (the word is
> known since 1582):
> "Interversion des lettres ou des syllabes d'un ensemble de mots
> spécialement choisis, afin d'en obtenir d'autres dont l'assemblage
> ait également un sens, de préférence burlesque ou grivois. Ex.:
> Femme folle à la messe (Rabelais, 1532) pour femme molle à la fesse."
> This definition (from Petit Robert, Dictionnaire...) seems to me
> to correspond very well with the definition of Rhyming Slang.
> If you want to pursue the thread, I can recommend a very amusing
> book: Joël Martin, Manuel de contrepet. L'art de déCaler les Sons
> (Albin Michel, 1986)
> The over 2000 contrepéteries in its 328 pages will teach you how
> to "déssaler les cons".
>
> Jan Ivarsson
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Jonathon Green" <slang at BLUEYONDER.CO.UK>
> To: <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Sent: Friday, January 03, 2003 4:17 PM
> Subject: Re: [ADS-L] Multilingual Rhyming Slang
>
>
> > > >- rhyming slang seems to have been, and remains an English
> language> > >phenomenon.
> > >
> > > I don't see how we can make such a generalization without near-
> native> > argotic knowledge of the languages we're excluding here.
> Wordplay and
> > > fun with rhyming are a part of language, not a part of English.
> > >
> > > Just seems a bit myopic.
> > >
> >
> > As the initiator of the generalization, I take the point. And
> any examples
> > from other slangs to back it up would be received with much
> interest. Of
> > course every language lends itself to play, rhyming often being
> part of it,
> > but I would still suggest that rhyming slang, as a fully
> realised system,
> > does seem to be an English language creation. I don't believe,
> for instance,
> > that French, with an extensive argot (as in = slang) of its own,
> appears to
> > offer any such subset. But I'd be happy to be proved wrong.
> >
> > Jonathon Green
> >
>