Editing Verlan (section)

== Cultural significance ==
Verlan is less a language than a way to set apart certain words.<ref name=Valdman/> Many verlan words refer either to [[Sexual intercourse|sex]] or [[recreational drug use|drug]]s, related to the original purpose of keeping communication secret from institutions of social control. Verlan is generally limited to one or two key words per sentence. Verlan words and expressions are mixed within a more general {{lang|fr|[[argot]]ique}} language.

Verlan is used by people to mark their membership in, or exclusion from, a particular group (generally young people in the cities and {{lang|fr|[[banlieue]]s}}, although some French upper-class youth have also started using it as their slang); it is a tool for marking and delineating group identity.<ref name=Valdman/>  Speakers rarely create a verlan word on the fly; rather, their ability to use and understand words from an accepted set of known verlan terms allows them to be identified as part of a verlan-speaking group. Lefkowitz claims that the best speakers of the language are often the worst students, those most needing to hide from authority.<ref name=Lefkowitz/>{{rp|61}}

Some verlan words have gained mainstream currency. Examples of verlan in cultural mainstream include the 1984 comedy {{lang|fr|Les Ripoux}} (''[[My New Partner]]'') ({{lang|fr|ripou}} is verlan for {{lang|fr|pourri}}, or rotten, and refers to a corrupt policeman); and the 1977 hit "[[Laisse béton]]" by singer [[Renaud]] ({{lang|fr|béton}} is verlan for {{lang|fr|tomber}} and the phrase means "drop it").

Verlan is popular as a form of expression in [[French hip-hop]].<ref>{{cite web | last=Rosen | first=Jody | date=10 November 2005 | title=David Brooks, Playa Hater | work=[[Slate Magazine]] | url=http://www.slate.com/id/2130120 | access-date=21 March 2008}}</ref>  Artists claim that it fits well with the musical medium because "form ranks way over substance".<ref>{{cite web | last=St. Alse | first=Yaka | date=21 January 2005 | title=Notes to 'Wardsback'  | work=Open Brackets: Lost in Translation | url=http://openbrackets.com/article/640/wardsback | access-date=21 March 2008}}</ref>

The stage name of Belgian pop artist and songwriter [[Stromae]] (real name Paul Van Haver) is verlan for {{Wikt-lang|fr|maestro}}.<ref>{{cite web | last=Sayare | first=Scott | date=10 October 2013 | title=Stromae: Disillusion, With a Dance Beat  | work=New York Times | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/15/arts/15iht-stromae15.html?_r=0}}</ref>

One hypothesis holds that ''[[Voltaire]]'', the nom-de-plume of François-Marie Arouet, is a verlan word for [[Airvault]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sloutsky |first1=Larissa |last2=Black |first2=Catherine |title=Le Verlan, phénomène langagier et social: récapitulatif |trans-title=Verlan, a linguistic and social phenomenon: in summary |journal=The French Review |date=2008 |volume=82 |issue=2 |pages=308–324 |jstor=25481548 |lang=fr}}</ref>{{rp|p=314}}

The French language movie poster for the 2023 American film [[Barbie (film)|''Barbie'']] contains a line that has been interpreted as verlan: "Elle peut tout faire. Lui, c'est juste Ken", "She can do everything. He’s just Ken". By referring to the character Ken, which is a verlan phonological inversion of ''nique'', a profane slang term for sex, aloud, it sounds like "Lui sait juste ken," meaning "he only knows how to fuck." [[Warner Bros.]] refused to confirm or deny whether the profane [[double entendre]] was intentional but appreciated the added publicity that the poster generated.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Roxborough |first=Scott |date=2023-06-22 |title=Warner Bros. Knew Exactly What It Was Doing With That Racy French ‘Barbie’ Poster — Here’s Why |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/warner-bros-raunchy-french-barbie-poster-meaning-1235519470/ |access-date=2023-07-26 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref>

In the 2007 animated film ''[[Ratatouille (film)|Ratatouille]]'', the character chef Auguste Gusteau's first name and last name are verlans of each other.