[Ads-l] Student query about French slang

[Ben Yagoda]

I got this message from a student named Emilie Matthews, and I told her I would send it out on the list. She can be reached at em5497 at nyu.edu <mailto:em5497 at nyu.edu>

"I’m a student in Professor Shapiro’s Feature Writing class at NYU, working on a piece about the linguistic and cultural differences between Québec French and French from France, more specifically how idioms and slang evolve. I am from Aix-en-Provence and have lived in Montreal since 2014. 

"For example, Québec French retains historical expressions rooted in Catholicism (osti, calice, tabarnak), while French from France constantly reinvents slang, often through "verlan", where the order of syllables in a word is reversed (e.g., "cimer" for "merci").

"Professor Shapiro suggested I reach out to see if you might know any experts who specialize in French idioms and slang or in the evolution of idioms and slang in general and how it reflects cultural identity. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!”

Ben

Ben Yagoda
Linktree of published pieces: https://linktr.ee/benyagoda
Website: benyagoda.blog
“The Lives They’re Living” podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-lives-theyre-living/id1744211348
Just out: “Gobsmacked! The British Invasion of American English” (Princeton University Press) 
https://bookshop.org/a/108735/9780691262291




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