{"id":31407,"date":"2019-06-13T19:36:29","date_gmt":"2019-06-13T17:36:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=31407"},"modified":"2019-06-13T19:36:29","modified_gmt":"2019-06-13T17:36:29","slug":"hows-it-waxing-silly-french-slang","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/hows-it-waxing-silly-french-slang\/","title":{"rendered":"How’s It Waxing? – Silly French Slang"},"content":{"rendered":"

Words can unintentional sound funny when switching between le fran\u00e7ais et l’anglais<\/strong> (French and English). Les faux amis<\/strong> (false friends) like raisin juice<\/em><\/a> are fun on their own, but when a perfectly normal word in one language sounds like a more cheeky word in\u00a0 the other, the effect is greatly amplified.<\/p>\n

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Image<\/a> from Pixabay. Licensed under CC0.<\/p><\/div>\n

I recently learned un nouvel argot <\/strong>(a new slang word) when mon coll\u00e8gue<\/strong> (my coworker) was feeling a bit goofy and greeted me in a way I had never heard before:<\/p>\n

Salut John ! \u00c7a farte ?<\/strong>
\nHi John! How’s it farting<\/strong>?<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I could understand the idea of saying something else for “\u00c7a va ?”<\/strong> (How’s it going?)<\/em> and sometime hear people play around with “\u00c7a roule ?” (How’s it rolling?)<\/strong><\/em>, but this seemed a little too farfetched.<\/p>\n

Salut ? \u00c7a va…<\/strong>
\nHi? I’m fine…<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Being first thing in the morning, I didn’t want to deal with trying to figure out why he was being borderline rude and decided to focus on mon caf\u00e9<\/strong><\/a> (my coffee) as I turned on l’ordinateur<\/strong><\/a> (the computer).<\/p>\n

Salut John ! \u00c7a farte ?<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

When it happened again a few weeks later, I thought about les petits yeux<\/strong><\/em><\/a> (the little eyes)<\/em> and other expressions that had flown over my head. Maybe there was more here than just silly office pleasantries?<\/p>\n

Not wanting to cause a scene, I didn’t ask about it. I did however decide it was time to look up the confusing word and see if this really was a case of an unfortunate faux ami<\/strong><\/a>. Sure enough, I was wrong and there was nothing inappropriate about what mon coll\u00e8gue<\/strong> had said.<\/p>\n

It turns out there really is un mot fran\u00e7ais normal<\/strong> (a normal French word) that will makes les anglophone<\/strong>s (English speakers) giggle:<\/p>\n

Le fart<\/strong> – Ski wax<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It’s then easy to understand le verbe<\/strong><\/a> (the verb) and other connected words<\/p>\n

Farter<\/strong> – To wax skies
\nLe fartage<\/strong> – Waxing skies<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

D’accord<\/strong> (alright), it wasn’t a naughty word, but I still hadn’t found the connection between le fart et <\/strong>l’argot <\/strong>(the ski wax and the slang).<\/p>\n

After researching some more, it turns out “\u00c7a farte ?”<\/em> <\/strong>really is a somewhat dated slangy way to say “\u00c7a va ?”<\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n

The silly version of the simple greeting was popularized by the 2005 film, Brice de Nice<\/em><\/strong>. The entire plot is completely au s\u00e9cond degr\u00e9<\/strong><\/a> (sarcastic) and the main character, played by the famous Jean Dujardin<\/em>, is a parody of Patrick Swayze’s character in Point Break.<\/p>\n

The stereotypical surfer speaks in a rather strange way, including liberal use of:<\/p>\n

\u00c7a farte ?<\/strong>
\nHow’s it waxing?
\nHow’s it going dude?<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

While confusing at first, I quickly understood what I felt while learning le nouveau mot<\/strong> (the new word) must be what les francophones<\/strong> (French speakers) feel when they learn about the English word, pet<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Words can unintentional sound funny when switching between le fran\u00e7ais et l’anglais (French and English). Les faux amis (false friends) like raisin juice are fun on their own, but when a perfectly normal word in one language sounds like a more cheeky word in\u00a0 the other, the effect is greatly amplified. I recently learned un…<\/p>\n

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