“At full speed”; “delinquent”; “feeling”. If these words sound pleasant to your ears, if you have often heard them and if, a fortiori, you still use them, I am not taking a great risk in writing that you were probably born before 1970. If, on the other hand, you rather tendency to use “gender”, “noich” or “check”, it is likely that you were born in the third millennium.
It’s a fact: each generation uses its own vocabulary. But do not believe that this phenomenon is specific to our time. “Already, in the 17th century, the grammarian Vaugelas explained in his Notes on the French language that he only writes for 25 or 30 years, affirming that the lexicon is renewed in this space of time,” underlines Gilles Siouffi, professor of French language at Sorbonne University (1). This is even the one of the explanatory factors for the evolution of living languages: the sons do not speak like the fathers who, themselves, do not speak like the grandfathers.
The vocabulary circulates much faster than yesterday
Do you know, for example, that originally, “too much”, this adverb that the teenagers of 2022 put all the sauces, meant “very”. You do not believe me ? And yet, the very serious historical dictionary of the French language is formal. “Too much” comes to us from Frankish – the language of Clovis – in which thorps designated a cluster, a group, a village. This is why for a long time it simply had the meaning of “many” – a meaning that it kept in its derivatives “troop” and “herd”. In the old manuscripts, one thus found Very good (1175), too much better (1360) and even too much more (1381)! Until the day when, no doubt at the initiative of teenagers at the end of the Middle Ages, it began to be used to say “more than is necessary”… So much so that today’s young people , without knowing it, reconnect with its original meaning!
There is therefore nothing original about the new generations born in the 21st century using a specific lexicon. “What is different in 2022 is that vocabulary circulates much faster than yesterday, especially through social networks, which leads to faster renewal of vocabulary,” says Julie Neveux, lecturer in linguistics. at Sorbonne University and author in particular of “I speak as I am”, which dissects our tics of language. (2)
“There are verbal styles as there are clothing styles”
Sometimes, of course, parents seek to endorse the words used by their children. Bad idea ! “To affirm its existence, we go through the linguistic difference in particular”, underlines Julie Neveux. “Young people use language to distinguish themselves and assert themselves, confirms Gilles Siouffi. If they notice that their parents are trying to imitate them, they will immediately laugh at them. And if one of “their” words really becomes too current and spreads to the rest of society, they will tend to abandon it because the important thing for them is to form a community by using a specific vocabulary. And to conclude with this formula that says it all: “There are verbal styles as there are clothing styles”.
See for example the expression: “It’s square like in Korea”, which means “I totally agree”. “It was launched by rap singers fascinated by the authoritarian regime of North Korea, notes Julie Neveux. Then it gradually lost this (doubtful) reference by spreading”. Rap + Kim Jong Un: we understand that such an association speaks above all to people under 25…
It happens, however, that the tongue is the most malignant. Thus, certain words characteristic of ancient times, such as “daron”, “buffoon” or “bleme” (for “problem”) have recently been brought up to date. “Fashion is what is refashioned”, notes again with a smile Gilles Siouffi.
Thus, alongside a general lexicon common to all French speakers (“table”, “road”, “pen”, etc.), there are specific vocabularies for each generation. This is why the vocabulary of French people born between 1945 and 1970 differs from that of generations born in the 2000s, even if often the mechanisms followed – abbreviation, verlan, etc. – are simply brought up to date. For L’Express, Gilles Siouffi and Julie Neveux have identified a few examples. Here they are.
WORDS OF FRENCH BORN BETWEEN 1945 and 1970
Language tics : thoroughly, to all, it’s super good.
Truncations (abbreviations): to be broke (for forfeiture); great; flawless; sensational.
The influence of English: boom, doping, hypercool, surprise party.
Speech markers (“crutches” used to be in the interaction and to be sure to be listened to): Right? You see ?
slang : mumbles, badger, clampin, dip, sauciflard.
Slang : keuf, meuf, beur.
The expressions : full throttle, astap (to kick your ass on the ground); at full speed. hello the damage, it cracks me up.
Words in o : bolcho, bum, coco, gaucho.
And also : archicon, crazy, delinquent, amazing, imper, mass media, announcer.
THE WORDS OF THE FRANVSAIS BORN AFTER THE YEAR 2000
Language tics: in real life, in fashion, making the buzz.
Truncations (abbreviations) : askip (so it seems; charo (probably scavenger) to denounce abusive behavior towards women; “deter” for determined, motivated; tip (traffic jam).
The influence of English : check (hi), before; swag (he has swag > he is stylish); thug (thug).
Speech markers : Suddenly, like, I mean, I admit.
slang: bif (money), crush (love affair); in despi (quickly); tieq (block).
Slang : ieps (feet), noich (Chinese), veuch (hair).
The expressions : have the hype (being very excited or impatient); have the seum (being dissapointed) ; it takes my life (I spend time on it); be cart (to not have enough time) ; I put him in PLS (I humiliated him) ; do not calculate someone (not liking someone, ignoring them).
The words of the cities and the languages of immigration : Gauls, aspirin buttocks, wesh; s’enjailler pour s’enjailler, from nouchi, the Ivorian language which probably created it from English enjoyitself derived from Old French cheer Where embellishment“be delighted”.
(1) A thousand years of the French languageby Alain Rey and Frédéric Duval, Alain Rey and Gilles Siouffi, Editions Perrin
(2) I speak as I amby Julie Neveux, Grasset