Javanais

Javanais (French pronunciation: ​[ʒavanɛ]) is a type of French slang where the extra syllable ⟨av⟩ is infixed inside a word after every consonant that is followed by a vowel, in order to render it incomprehensible. Some common examples are gros ([ɡʁo], "fat") which becomes gravos ([ɡʁavo]); bonjour ([bɔ̃ʒuʁ], "hello"'), which becomes bavonjavour ([bavɔ̃ʒavuʁ]); and pénible ([peniblə], "annoying"), becomes pavénaviblave ([pavenaviblavə]). Paris ([paʁi]) becomes Pavaravis ([pavaʁavi]).

Javanais follows this formula: CV → CavV. There are also many variations that can be made upon the same pattern such as: CabV, CalV, CanV, etc.

In French the word Javanais is also used to refer to the Javanese language.

Around 1957, Boris Vian wrote a song La Java Javanaise. The lyrics are a didactical method to learn the javanais. Each verse is firstly articulated in regular French, then translated in slang. As the title suggests, the song is a Java, a Parisian dance craze. In 1962, Serge Gainsbourg wrote and sang a song called La Javanaise, a pun playing on Javanese dancing and the javanais style of speaking. The song heavily employs unaltered French words that naturally have an ⟨av⟩ sequence; thus the lyrics resemble the word game of javanais.

See also

• Verlan – the inversion of syllables in a French word
• Louchebem – a form of French slang similar to Pig Latin, originally called Largonji

References