Tuesday 1 March 2011

Magic city

  • The lights almost always go out on metros on lines 6 and 2 as they pull into Nation. The carriage goes dark for several seconds, it's enjoyably creepy.


  • Verlan is a form of slang created by inverting the first and last consonants of a word. I can't possibly describe the effect on a French speaker of hearing someone say teuf instead of fete, or keum instead of mec, but it's the language of the banlieue that has slowly gone mainstream to the point where pretty much everyone under 30 can get away with meuf. I think. Like I said, it would take me years to really get the tone of language being spoken, as opposed to thinking vaguely "Aah, teuf, that's the verlan way of saying fete". I have a huge urge to use it myself, even though as a white English girl I'd sound utterly, utterly ridiculous. Got a text from Alice today saying "Safe keum" which I thought was pretty jokes; I guess it's another thing I can only use around French-speaking English speakers. It's interesting though; the closest thing I can compare it to in English is cutting edge Cockney rhyming slang.


  • Once I finish my job here, I can legally, as a European citizen, sign onto the dole. 


  • It's going to be 12 degrees and sunny tomorrow!


  • I amused myself for ages this morning trying to get my students to pronounce "hungry" and "angry" different. It just comes out as "ahngree" each time.

  • Daffodils and mint are planted on the roof in pots, and I found some more pots on the street yesterday that someone had thrown out. I am planting seeds on our building's odd flat roof to make a little garden, hopefully soon there will be herbs, flowers, chairs and maybe even a little tree...




Spring is coming! Purple and yellow crocuses poke through a lawn in Pere Lachaise cemetery, taken about a week ago.

2 comments:

  1. Oh God, I've now had the "hungry" "angry" battle with all my classes - no one gets the difference, including the teachers!

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  2. You are very cruel to your students! Sounds like your roof garden in coming along - post some pictures soon.
    Laska x

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