Dictionary of French Slang and Colloquial Expressions

If you study slang of the world, patterns arise. Whereas American slang has some patterns of onomatopoeia, and British slang favours rhymes, one learns through this book that French slang often flips words backwards, uses American slang with French intonations, and equates genitals with fruit. "Street French," as Strutz calls it, is unabashed as slang is anywhere else, and if you never thought so, think again.

Unless one reads at least intermediate-level French, this pocket-sized _Dictionary of French Slang and Colloquial Expressions_ will prove useful only as a reference book, not as a guidebook for the traveler. It is a one-way dictionary in French-English, and many of the French entries are not defined but are cross-referenced to another entry. Thus, a few thousand French slang words and colloquialisms are represented but not all are defined. (For example, "crêpe." See "rétourner...crêpe.") As well, some of these French words are in common usage, and I would not consider them to be "true" slang or colloquial expressions because they can be found in _Larousse de Poche_ or _Larousse Dictionnaire Compact_. (For example, "cravate," "conduite," "pareil.")The preface to this small dictionary is quite excellent. One will find there explanations for "javanais," "largonji," "louchébem," "mézigue," and "verlan." Thus, I recommend this book for as a good reference for online chatting because one will encounter French people who are logging on from Lyon and Marseille as well as Paris. For travel to France, I would recommend, at minimum: Rick Steves, Berlitz, or Lonely Planet phrasebooks; a Larousse pocket dictionary; Michelin the Red Guide France 2001; and a book of idiomatic usage and slang, such as "Merde!," "Street French Slang Dictionary & Thesaurus," or "Street French 3."Recommended for collectors of slang and humor dictionaries!

I'll be the first to admit that French is my secondary language. But what was the deal: I who have read Molière in the original, who correspond with actual Frenchmen in their language (without-I might boast-sounding like a dolt), and who reads ParisMatch with no problem was staring at the sentences on AOL's French Chat as if they were...well...written in a foreign language. "Es-tu MEC?" Am I a Mec. What the heck is a mec? My very good French English dictionary was very bad at helping me comprehending the more trendy words. So I was left scrambling to get my hands on a very good dictionary of French Slang dictionary. This book is it. The dictionary begins with a quasi-scholarly assessment of slang then moves on to a standard A to Zed listings of French slang words. Each word is given with a "dictionary" definition and its slang renderings are given in the examples sentences. These example sentences, by the way, are excellent. They are not the namby-pamby sentences of first-year text books. Instead they have a very "real life" feel to them giving a sense on how to employ the slang word in original speech or writing. That said, there are several considerations about the dictionary worth mentioning. First it is a one-way dictionary. (French-English only). So that you can look up a slang word you've encountered, but you're stuck rendering "She puked her guts out" as "Elle a beaucoup vomi" until you happen across the French slangs equivalents. Secondly, there is no pronunciation guide at all. The book assumes you can pronounce never-seen-before words. Finally, this is not one for the kiddies. As a good deal of slang revolves around sexual concepts so does a good portion of dictionary deal with "dirty" words. These words cover the gambit from crude, risqué, to down right vulgarities. This book is a good first step if you want to move beyond a textbook vocabulary. And PLEASE have at least textbook vocabulary to begin with. Slang is slippery enough in one's own language. To memorize slang expressions without a broader understanding of French as a whole could have you sounding like a misplaced hippy or worse... like Pauley Shore.