The chauvinist "Parigot" but good prince will say that it is the price of success. Most of the words and expressions emerging in Paris, a veritable lexical hub, tend to be found very quickly in conversations elsewhere in the regions, disseminated, among others, by “expatriates” from the capital back to the fold.
Regionalisms, these linguistic specialties which are invited locally in standard French, do not have time to settle permanently as they are already copied by the Hexagon because of the mixing of populations. "As soon as it is born in Paris, it sets out again, it is exported to the provinces", summarizes the linguist Mathieu Avanzi, author of the successful blog "French of our regions".
If speaking from other corners of our country is enriched by the direct influence of Occitan, Basque, Breton, Alsatian, Savoyard or Picard, this is not the case with that of Paris. , historically considered to be the benchmark French, the standard. The folklore fades. Historically, the capital has seen the birth of many tasty popular expressions in its fiefdom, which have ended up taking flight towards the rest of France. Thus, "it jostles at the gate", meaning that there is a strong crowd, was born in the metro, at the time of the punchers who blocked access to the platforms by the gate when the train arrived, causing nice jostling at rush hour.
Historical slang replaced by the language of the suburbs
“Pay in monkey money”, synonymous with scam, dates back to the Middle Ages, when you had to pay a tax to cross a Parisian bridge. Only jugglers, fairgrounds or jugglers in possession of a primate capable of performing a number were then exempt. The nickname "chicken" equivalent to "cop" appeared in 1871 when the police headquarters took up residence in the barracks built on the site of the old poultry market in Paname.
It was the heyday of the famous “Parisian slang” fueled by hawkers, thieves and then various trades - including butchers at the origin of the jargon called louchébem - which disappeared from circulation several decades ago. Today nobody talks like the Parisian titi Gavroche, nobody dares to “caress the angouleme” (lick their lips)! "This way of speaking has been replaced by what is called the language of young people, in fact that of the suburbs", decrypts the lexicographer Alain Rey. There remains, however, a string of flowery nuggets that have entered everyday language throughout the territory, used by all social strata and no longer only popular: “peck” (eat), “blaze” (name), “taf” (work), "Sorrel" (money) ...
The cheeky Parigot accent of the suburbs has also evaporated. “I could hear this very characteristic popular accent with pronounced vowels at the back of the throat, slow phrasing, a little colored with contempt and derision, but it was around 1945! “Remembers Alain Rey, legend of the Robert dicos, 92 years old next month.
"Bourge d'Auteuil-Neuilly-Passy" accent and start-up jardon
The gentrification of working-class neighborhoods which saw the arrival of the middle and wealthy classes got the better of this specificity. Funnyly mocked by the sketches of Les Inconnus three decades ago, the nasal accent called “bitch” or “bourge d'Auteuil-Neuilly-Passy”, but which, to tell the truth, has survived all social strata. here or there. It consists, with an inflection that raises the voice, to add "han" (hi han, you're fine han) and to sound mute "e" (I'm going to the theater), a tic called "prepausal e". "It was not exported, it was ridiculed so much," smiles linguist Mathieu Avanzi.
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What is very fashionable, on the other hand, in the “dialect” of “overcreative” and “overbooked” bobos parigots, are anglicisms and “franglish” (coworking, brunch, checking emails, the place to be ...) "Professional jargon, especially that of the start-up, is out of its box and has spread to the vocabulary of everyday life", notes the journalist Jean-Laurent Cassely, co-author of the sparkling dictionary "I speaks Parisian ”(Parigramme editions). The book “Les mots qui miss aux Parisiens” (Chiflet & Cie editions) lists imaginary neologisms which, one day perhaps, will find a place in the City of Light. Among them, "clopinoir, restricted perimeter of the sidewalk in front of a bar where smokers come to congregate" or "garamnesia, inability to remember where you parked your car the night before, late".
Lexicon
- Go to 10: go to the 10th arrondissement
- Come on asshole! : ordinary insult while driving
- It goes cream: it rolls
- It's bullshit: it's nonsense
- It's in the pipe: it's in the pipes
- It's just not possible: it's downright impossible
- Instagram your quinoa salad: photograph and then post the snapshot of your lunch on your Instagram account
- I can't take Paris anymore: I want to move
- No way! : out of the question!
- Go on a croq: order a croque-monsieur
- Push yourself fuck! : exclamation to get out of a crowded metro train
- Breaking into the provinces: going green for a weekend
- Getting a brainsto (brainstorming) to brainstorm collectively
- Make a call: call
- Have a lunch at Répu with the kids: lunch in the République district with the children
- Make a Deliveroo: have a meal delivered to your home
- Small studio : small studio
Words from home in 6 episodes
1. Alsace
2. The Land of Savoy
3. Provence
4. The South West
5. Brittany
6. Paris