Javanais () is a type of

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

slang A slang is a vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in everyday conversation but avoided in formal writing and speech. It also often refers to the language exclusively used by the members of pa ...

where the extra

syllable A syllable is a basic unit of organization within a sequence of speech sounds, such as within a word, typically defined by linguists as a ''nucleus'' (most often a vowel) with optional sounds before or after that nucleus (''margins'', which are ...

infix An infix is an affix inserted inside a word stem (an existing word or the core of a family of words). It contrasts with '' adfix,'' a rare term for an affix attached to the outside of a stem, such as a prefix or suffix. When marking text for ...

ed inside a word after every consonant that is followed by a vowel, in order to render it incomprehensible. Some common examples are ''gros'' (, "fat") which becomes ''gravos'' (); ''bonjour'' (, "hello"'), which becomes ''bavonjavour'' (); and ''pénible'' (, "annoying"), becomes ''pavénaviblave'' (). ''Paris'' () becomes ''Pavaravis'' (). Javanais is determined by the production rule: ''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 Javanese ( , , ; , Aksara Jawa, Javanese script: , Pegon script, Pegon: , IPA: ) is an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language spoken primarily by the Javanese people from the central and eastern parts of the island of Java, Indones ...

. Around 1957,

Boris Vian Boris Vian (; 10 March 1920 – 23 June 1959) was a French polymath who is primarily remembered for his novels. Those published under the pseudonym Vernon Sullivan were bizarre parodies of criminal fiction, highly controversial at the time of th ...

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 Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

, a Parisian

dance craze ''Dance Craze'' is a 1981 documentary film about the British Two-tone (music genre), 2 Tone music genre. The film was directed by Joe Massot, who originally wanted to do a film only about the band Madness (band), Madness, whom he met during th ...

. In 1962,

Serge Gainsbourg Serge Gainsbourg (; born Lucien Ginsburg; 2 April 1928 – 2 March 1991) was a French singer-songwriter, actor, composer, and director. Regarded as one of the most important figures in French pop, he was renowned for often provocative rel ...

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 sequence; thus the lyrics resemble the word game of javanais. It's also possible to substitute other sounds in place of av, at and ab being the most popular. It works well in English as well as French. For example, the sentence: Today I decided to order some nice chocolates. Could be: Tabodabay abi dabecabidabed tabo abordaber sabome nabice chabocabolabates. The language is best spoken very fast to throw off listeners and care must be used when answering simple questions with yes/no. It's usually best to come up with code words for yes/no such that those listening cannot catch on to the trick.

References

{{Reflist Cant languages French slang Language games

See also

References