Very interesting article in today's Wall Street Journal about "Why the [American] Expats Left Paris." I think this article is accessible online without a subscription.
At the end of the article is a sidebar about what's "Hyper-Chouette" -- i.e., super-cool -- in Paris right now. Three slang expressions they mention are: "C'est top!" (It's the best), "President Bling-Bling" (Sarko), and "Je kiffe grave" (I love it.). The first two are self-explanatory, but I wondered about the derivation of the third. What is the literal meaning of "kiffe"?
Ah David you're too chébran. Did you learn your verlan from the streets of Trouville? I thought "hyper chouette" was quite out as an expression. It's like saying groovy.
Slang translation is tough. You not only have to get the meaning but you have to get the force and the "environmental" thAng down. In a documentary about Thelonius Monk ("Straight no chaser", excellent btw), tenor player Johnny was wearing some wowey trousers. TMonk, who spoke rarely, asked: where'd you get those pants? JG: Copenhagen, Sex&Satisfaction. TMonk: "you're a baaaad m#####f#####." The subtitle was: "tu t'embêtes pas!" (which I would have translated as "you got it made, mais bon…). I remember we had the fou rire in the movie theater, much to the dismay of the French audience. The American biz and diplomatic communities are of course a temporary one. These expats are posted to France for 2, 3 years, then they move on. I suppose there is still an American "bohème" here, but it blends with local life and feels no need to hang out among expats so much. You still see a glimpse of it once in a while. I remember one such "do", a bday party that was held quite a few years ago in the then burgeoning Oberkampf neighborhood, for a legendary underground "comix" artist.
Pretty sure it's an Arabic one, and not verlan. I was recently on an RER to the airport, early, and trying to understand the verlan of a group of young guys who kept repeating the same words like a tic while glued to the train window. I finally realised it wasn't verlan - they were noting the tags along the side of the railway. Finally a mini cheer went up when they saw the one they had done the night before. Has anyone else encountered "graffeurs" on the trip to and from the airport?
Just read the article, it's an excellent read and so good to see a journalist not repeating the same old myths about St Germain but examining the reality.
Paris still offers a freer attitude to sexuality than the US in general, though maybe this is not enough to compensate for the low dollar!
Those in search of literary ex-pats should check out the play readings at Carr's pub on a Sunday, Shakespeare and Co readings and writers' group, and the American Library.
The few young Americans bohemians at large are more likely to be found on the Canal St Martin these days, forget St Germain!
A few years back somebody did a study on what it takes for a city to become an artist home. Basically it needs an economic crash. The drop off leads to rentals become cheap and available for many uses.
New York after the problems during the 1970s is a good example. Clubs could open up. People could rent large studios. OTOH when things got better all these groups got priced out by the non-starving artists.
The story of the graffeurs on the airport-bound RER is too cool! Too bad I don't "do" RER. There has also been an expanding phenomenon of "invasion of building-snatchers" all over Paris, and esthetically I prefer them to the much less thought-out tags. "Space invaders" leave the following mosaic on a building wall, usually between ground floor and 1st floor. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invader_(artist) My building was actualy "invaded" very early on. These space invaders are on buildings all over Paris and have even reached other cities in the world.Also see http://www.hereorthere.com/members/ollisoff/experience/1120 http://www.space-invaders.com/maparis.html
