How to Learn French Slang

French slang is a dynamic, constantly changing vocabulary that takes expressions from the cities and their suburbs, uses a logic of inversion and borrow sounds and words from other languages to constitute a whole other sub-language of the French language. To learn this extremely rich cultural code follow these steps.

Instructions

1. Learn some French. French slang evolves so quickly that by the time you've learned a collection of French slang words and expressions they'll already be out the cultural door. Learning French itself will equip you to understand the logic, such as "backslang," that makes up a good deal of French slang. So, hit the French books to learn some basic French words and structures.

2. Check out some books on the topic. If you want to take the fast track to learning French slang you can check out some of the scholarly and popular books on the topic. "Le français familier et argotique" by Pierre-Maurice Richard and "Insider's French" by Eleanor and Michel Levieux are two good introductory texts to French slang.

3. Learn backslang. A good deal of French slang, and most of what French youth speak on a regular basis in conversation with each other, is a slang called "backslang." The slang takes words like "chien," which means "dog" in French, and inverts it to "iench." Another example is "manger" or "to eat" which becomes "geman." Backslang is critical to French slang so learn a bit of it to start your French slang education.

4. Speak with a young French person. No matter how much you study, listen or observe you will never be able to keep up with the constant change of French slang unless you speak regularly with a young French person. Additionally, the slangs change from region to region, even within the four corners of a city, so if you want to truly get French slang start speaking with different people from different places.