[zelda_pinwheel]

(and what *is* balok doing these days ? we haven't heard from him in months....)

do you speak verlan over there ?

"verlan" is a slang language formed by putting the word back to front, and the name is (in the ultimate example of self-reference) in fact "backwards" ([à]l'envers) verlanisé (backwardsed) : l'en-vers > verlan. so a demonstration of what it describes.

some examples of verlan (which is of course spelled phonetically, rather than simply re-arranging the letters of the original word, which would be boring) :
chien = ienche
chat = tache
femme = meuf
mec = keum
à pied = à iep
mère = reum
parents = ramps
noir = renoi
arabe = beur
blanc = kéblan

you get the idea.

in recent years some people have even started to verlaniser words that are already in verlan. so : femme > meuf > feuhmeu. arabe > beur > reubeu.

if you don't use verlan, do you have a similar slang language ? there is a long tradition of slang languages in french, like javanais, the "muche" one (which probably has a name, but i don't know it), verlan, etc. and i'm wondering whether this is a universal francophone thing, or more common in france métropolitaine.