One thing I have noticed is a type of slang called verlan that I have only heard used by young French speakers. It comes from the word “envers” which means inverse. The word itself is inverted to create ‘verlan’. Essentially, this type of familiar language inverts syllables of words to create the new words. Some of the most popular examples are meuf, the inverse of the word “femme” which means woman as well as vénère which is the inverse of “énérvé” and means angry. The verlan words always carry roughly the same significance as the original words but can have different connotations. In particular, I would never use verlan in writing or in any sort of professional or formal contexts. Typically it is only spoken and remains between ‘les jeunes’ (youth), although middle-aged and potentially more aged French speakers may be familiar with some verlan. It is considered not “la langue soutenu” or higher level language, and in a classroom setting, my professor would critique this type of speech.
What I also noticed but did not expect is the amount of English words adopted into the French language as slang. These anglicismes are also used by young people informally in a manner similar to that of verlan. Notably, the majority of French young people have in the least an intermediate level of English due to their schooling but also a substantial colloquial understanding of English due to the popular consumption of American (and British English) media. Because of this, it is common for young French speakers to adopt various English words like crush (infatuation), date (go out with someone), and cool (impressive), which all carry the same significance as they do in English. There’s also other examples like ‘dead ça’ which means ‘killed it’ or ‘crushed it’ in French. My host mom, who is in retirement, has never used language like this, and I would not use any of this informal language with her because in the worst case scenario, she would find it rather offensive, and in the least, she would not be able to quite understand or relate. In fact, my host mentioned that she did not understand much English at all, which is different from the average French young person.
One of the main phrases I have picked up on that my host mom uses is “ça va te faire du bien/ça va te faire du mal”, which literally translates to ‘that will do you well, do you bad’. It is a versatile phrase which just essentially means that something will be helpful/good to you or not good/helpful to you. I picked up on how often she uses this phrase, and I gather that it is only used with people who one knows fairly well, as it is somewhat informal and not a phrase that I would use in the classroom or a social setting where higher professional language is required.
A heartwarming example is that my host mom uses pet names for my roommate and I. She refers to me as ‘ma fille’ and refers to him as ‘mon grand’ which literally translates to ‘my girl’ and ‘my big’ but intuitively acts as terms of endearment. I find it sweet, and it makes me feel more comfortable in her home.