What's so special about French Slang?

With its immensely diverse society and its multiplicity of cultural roots, France has given birth to a language so richly embellished by this multi-ethnicity that its slang, once used almost entirely by gangs and small groups, has diffused into the spectrum of classes to include members of far broader socio-economic backgrounds. 

Slang in France stands out on two levels: firstly because it is used by a far greater number of young people of a low social and economic position than slang in the United Kingdom - for example (I shall use the United Kingdom and the use of slang in the English language as a comparison with France and the use of slang in the French language in order to juxtapose the two systems and highlight the comparably elevated role of slang in the latter) - and secondly because it is used by a far more extensive portion of society. 

In order to determine the cause of the exceptional pertinence of slang in French language today and the path French slang has taken, we must first define what is meant by slang, or argot as it is called in French. The use of argot is: ‘ the use of a type of language consisting of words and phrases that are regarded as very informal, are more common in speech than writing, and are typically restricted to a particular context or group of people.’ (This definition is according to the Oxford English Dictionary definition for slang. It is notable that within English language, slang is still seen as ‘typically restricted to a particular context or group of people’. In French, slang is by no means the language of the middle classes, but is used far more widely.) 

This site draws attention to the development of argotin general, with specific attention to the beginnings and progression of verlan (verlan is the process of inverting syllables to transform a word into a slang term, commonly used in French language today). The site also aims to derive and delve into the origins of commonly used slang in France today and shall highlight the considerable current impact of verlanin France, both linguistically and socially. In order to do so, one must try to interpret the extraordinary range of factors which have affected the slang currently in use, from the varying origins of immigrants to France (particularly of Arabs from Maghreb and Mashriq areas) to the demands for rapidity of expression in a currently technology driven environment.