The functions of slang in the work of Faïza Guène

Abstract

This article analyzes the slang linguistic elements of Faïza Guène's entire fictional work. The writer inscribes her creations in the literary genre "beur" (literature of generations born of Algerian immigration) and urban (suburban) literature, two connected areas of modern French prose. It also studies the phenomenon of « contemporary French in cities » (a term introduced by argotologist J.-P. Goudaillier) as a variety of French argots. Indeed, the author's language is special in the sense that it is characterized by several marks of oral character at all levels. The wide use that she makes of different slang strata is motivated by the fact that, on the one hand, this vocabulary is part of her personal linguistic experience and that, on the other hand, these multiple processes make it possible to give her works the appearance most realistic and plausible that it is. Based on the analysis of a non-standard vocabulary (frequency of argot lexemes, means of their semantization, synonymic ranks, training procedures), the authors draw conclu-sions on the functions of slang in the novels of F. Guène. Although all the functions specific to French argots are present in his works, their hierarchy differs from one novel to another depending on the change of the subjects treated and the characteristics of the characters/narrators.