Rôle de l'argot dans la variation et l'appropriation : le cas du français au Burkina Faso

Gisèle Prignitz : « Slang as factor of linguistic variation and appropriation : the case of French in Burkina Faso » The aim of this paper is to study the capacity of integration of slang into the common lexicon within an african context. The existence of a lexical continuum being here taken for granted along with the impossibility to strictly distinguish between registers, the following points will be examined : a) a typology of the formation processes of slang terms (« argotic » words) b) a diachronic approach of their use. Slang will eventually prove to be accelerate the creation of neologisms as linguistic grafts. Rather than a symptom of the insufficient knowledge of standard language, slang should be considered as a sign of its actual appropriation and of tis possible evolution towards a regional French.