What is verlan?
Verlan is a form of slang used most frequently by French youths which consists of reversing the syllables of a word. For example, ‘merci’ meaning thank you is ‘cimer’ in verlan.
The History of Verlan
Verlan dates back as early as the 12th century when in the medieval version of the legend of Tristan and Iseut, Tristan is often called “Tan-tris.”
In the 17th century, its main value was recognised: it could be used as a form of communication which not everyone could understand. At this time, revolutionaries used verlan as a ‘secret code’ to criticise the Bourbon royal family which they called “les Bonbours."
In the 18th century, King Louis XV was often nicknamed “Sequinzouil.”
In the 19th century, verlan was similarly used as a ‘secret code’ among prisoners as they plotted potential escape plans. It was also used in a similar fashion at the time of the German Occupation, during WW2, to confuse the Nazis. Soon after came the phrase ‘laisse béton’ from ‘laisse tombé’ meaning ‘drop it/forget about it.’
The term itself was coined by the writer, Auguste Le Breton in the 20th century. During the 1960s, the use of verlan became prevalent in some districts often where populations were mixed ethnically and it also started to be found in songs.
However, verlan really took off in the late 1980s and the early 1990s, when groups of young rappers, such as NTM and Assassin, became the masters of the language. For inhabitants of the inner cities, this form of communication became part of their identity. Verlan is now used in colloquial language and sometimes even appears in french dictionaries!
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