Revue d’Études Françaises
N^o 27 (2023)
p.111-118
DOI : 10.37587/ref.2023.1.08

Argot et identité : Le cas de Renaud

Dávid Szabó

« …et tous les apaches de Paris
qui m’voient passer sur ma bête,
y s’fendent la gueule, c’est pas gentil.
Laisse béton,
J’démystifie ! »¹

This paper deals with the relationship between slang and the expression of identity in the songs of French singer-songwriter Renaud. In his texts the singer shows elements of different complementary identity parts such as an anarchist, an ecologist, a football fan, or a sailor… However, in the early years of his career Renaud was mostly considered as a loubard, a (gentle) thug from the outskirts of Paris. This mostly false public identity was mainly based on the clothes he wore by that time, the story of certain songs and the slang he used when writing them. This paper concentrates on the linguistic means, mostly slang, of building these identities, especially that of the loubard périphérique.

Pour lire cet article, veuillez consulter le pdf ci-dessous.