Revue d’Études Françaises
N^o 28 (2024)
p.151-163
DOI : 10.37587/ref.2024.1.11

Entre argot commun de France et français algérien : Le quatuor algérien de Yasmina Khadra

Dávid Szabó

This paper focuses on the noir novels (1997-2004) by Algerian author Yasmina Khadra (pseudonym of Mohammed Moulessehoul) published in the single volume Le quatuor algérien in 2008. The language of these novels, in which Khadra bears witness to the tragedy of Algerian civil war, is rich in nonstandard elements (at first glance, slang and colloquial French) that can also be found in novels of this genre written by French authors (words such as plumard « bed », nichon « breast », faire péter qc « to blow something up », flic or poulet « police officer »). The question we asked ourselves before conducting our lexicological survey was to what extent this language can be considered specific to Algerian French and what place is reserved for more specifically Algerian elements (words typical of colloquial French spoken in Algeria or terms of Arabic or Tamazight origin). 

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