What is "javanais"

n. A type of slang used in the French language, where an extra syllable ''-av-'' or ''-va'' is placed inside a word as an infix

Javanais is a type of French slang where the extra syllable is infixed inside a word after every consonant that is followed by a vowel, in order to render it incomprehensible. Some common examples are gros (, "fat") which becomes gravos ; bonjour (, "hello"'), which becomes bavonjavour ; and pénible (, "annoying"), becomes pavénaviblave . Paris becomes Pavaravis .

Javanais is determined by the production rule: CV → CavV. There are also many variations that can be made upon the same pattern such as: CabV, CalV, CanV, etc.

In French the word Javanais is also used to refer to the Javanese language.

Around 1957, Boris Vian wrote a song La Java Javanaise. The lyrics are a didactical method to learn the javanais. Each verse is firstly articulated in regular French, then translated in slang. As the title suggests, the song is a Java, a Parisian dance craze. In 1962, Serge Gainsbourg wrote and sang a song called La Javanaise, a pun playing on Javanese dancing and the javanais style of speaking. The song heavily employs unaltered French words that naturally have an sequence; thus the lyrics resemble the word game of javanais.