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- Volume 71 - Année 2002
- Numéro 4
- L'ARGOT : CODE, JARGON OU POÉSIE ? (Slang : code, jargon or poetry ?)
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L'ARGOT : CODE, JARGON OU POÉSIE ? (Slang : code, jargon or poetry ?)
Colloque : PLUMAGE, RAMAGE ET CODAGE
Abstract
Slang has frequently been described as a cryptic language allowing criminals to communicate without being understood. This theory does not stand against published evidence. Although there exist undoubtedly several real slang codes, such as verlen, largonji and javanais in French, or "backslang" and "centreslang" in English, it can be shown that secrecy is not the central issues. On the contrary, nearly al1 the slang words or expressions are of a rhetorical nature. They express the strong verbal creativity of some classes of the society and their common characteristic is to ridicule or destroy the "bourgeois" ethical values.
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About: Francis Edeline
Groupe m, Université de Liège, 12, rue de la Cabine, 4130 TILFF