“Lundji”, “dramatic”, “cultchure”… What is affrication, this popular language tic among the youngest ?

The phenomenon is increasingly observed in middle and high schools. FREE MIDI ILLUSTRATION – JEAN MICHEL MART

A new language tic is spreading among young people: it consists of replacing "t" and the "d" by "tch" and "DJ". This phenomenon has a name: affrication. We'll tell you more. 

An article published in Libérationlast January 11 highlighted a new language trend observed among adolescents and increasingly widespread in middle and high schools, which consists of replacing "t" by "tch" and the "d" by "dj". 

"Amandine, without lying, you are dramatic" thus becomes "Amandjine, without mentioning, tch'y is dramatic". A way of pronouncing sounds that is reminiscent of the Marseille accent and certain star rappers from the region called l’affrication, in reference to the friction of syllables between them.

Already widely practiced in the South, particularly in Marseille, this phenomenon is nothing new: affrication is the subject of the attention of linguistics in long-standing and does not only come from the Marseille city, although it is more widespread among a population of North African origin in the working-class neighborhoods, and particularly in the northern districts of Marseille . 

Rap, reality TV and social networks

Affrication is a "banal linguistic phenomenon", "a popular way of speaking or of the working classes" say linguists Médéric Gasquet-Cyrus and Cyril Trimaille. 

On the other hand, among French-speaking Montrealers, the affrication of "t" and "d" before the vowels (becoming "ts" and "dz") shows no variation, neither social nor stylistic, which makes it a categorical trait of Montreal French.

The media coverage of actors, rappers – let us cite Juls, SCH or even Naps – and candidates for reality TV shows could have contributed to the growing success of this phenomenon. ;#39;affrication also and above all spreads among peers from middle school and through social networks, in a desire to stand out and ;affirm one's belonging to a group. 

No connection with Africa

Contrary to what Eric Zemour said on X, in reaction to the article in Libération,&amp ;nbsp;affrication has nothing to do with the African continent and is in no way akin to "Africanization" of the French language as the leader of the Reconquête party seems to suggest.

Le Grand Remplacement n’existe pas. pic.twitter.com/p6KT0dnlJG

— Eric Zemmour (@ZemmourEric) January 15, 2024

"The pieds noirs participated in bringing affrication back to the French language in the 1960s. But contrary to what one might think, the pieds noirs did not hold this habit of Arabic, since there is no affrication in the Arabic language, but rather Spanish or Italian, specifies Médéric Gasquet-Cyrus.