7/6/2023 0 Comments Funny words backwards![]() ![]() Even the word vesre is an example of the technique itself because when you switch up the syllables it becomes revés which means “reverse.” So in Lunfardo, the word mujer, meaning woman, would change to jermu, pizza would change to zapi, and abajo, meaning down, would change to ajabo. In Buenos Aires, there is a type of Spanish slang called Lunfardo which utilizes a type of metathesis that the Argentines call vesre, a slang technique that switches around the syllables in words in a similar way to verlan. In English, this happens when people pronounce the word “ask” like “aks” or “comfortable” like “comf-ter-ble.” In linguistics the technique of transposing sounds or syllables in a word, like the French do with verlan, is called metathesis, and in most languages it happens without the speaker knowing it. The idea of switching syllables around in words isn’t a novel idea, and French certainly isn’t the first language that has employed it. There is also louchébem, which is a type of argot used among butchers. For example, the word caisse is slang for voiture, meaning car, and as you can see the two words don’t use the same letters or syllables. Since French argot isn’t always created using verlan, a lot of French slang is just different vocabulary completely. This type of slang is just one example of French slang that falls under the umbrella of argot, which just means slang in general. Verlan itself is an example of this syllable-switching slang, as it comes from the word l’envers, which means reversed. ![]() Other times, like with reup, the meaning stays the same. Sometimes the verlan version of a word slightly changes the meaning like with ripou, which means corrupt instead of rotten. Finally, reuch is the reversed version of cher, which means expensive. Reup comes from père meaning father, and ripou means corrupt, coming from the word pourri which means rotten. Chelou is the reversed version of louche, and means weird or creepy. This is because they’re all in the form of a certain slang called verlan that reverses the syllables of words. If you’ve studied French from a textbook you most likely won’t learn the words chelou, reup, ripou, or reuch. ![]()
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