Ch 17 · Lesson 19French · Chapter 17 · Lesson 19 · Grammar primer
Mdr, tkt, jsp: texting and casual speech
French texts shorten the spoken form: jsp is . And casual speech drops the , says on for and shrinks as to 'as.
The short version
Texts shorten speech, not the textbook
Tkt, .
Why?Hide
French texting abbreviations copy the spoken form. Jsp is , with no ; tkt is . Mdr, , is the French lol. All of it belongs in messages to friends, never in an email to anyone you call .
Texting abbreviations
Texts have their own shorthand. The one to know is mdr, (dead of laughing): the French lol.
| Text | Stands for | English |
|---|---|---|
mdr | | lol |
ptdr | | stronger lol |
slt | | hi |
stp | | please |
tkt | | don't worry |
jsp | | dunno |
dsl | | sorry |
bcp | | a lot |
pk | | why |
mtn | | now |
rdv | | meeting, appointment |
Look at jsp: it shortens the spoken , not the textbook . Texting follows speech.
The grammar of spoken French
Casual French changes the grammar as well as the words, in four predictable ways:
| Careful French | Casual speech | What changes |
|---|---|---|
. | . | the |
. | . | |
? ... | ? ... | short words shrink |
? | ? | statement order, rising voice |
The French negation guide covers the full ... , and the French subject pronouns guide explains why takes the form of the verb.
Mistakes with French slang
| Wrong | Right | Why |
|---|---|---|
? | ? | slang goes with |
mdr (work email) | no abbreviation | texts only |
. (exam) | . | write the full ... |
| | dated verlan from the 1970s |
Going further: The everyday slang words and the rest of the guide, when you want them. This lesson does not need them.
Practice
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One question at a time, mixed across the exercises in this lesson. Miss one and it comes back round before the end.
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