[dualogy]

Are we now all supposed to google for whatever the heck "banlieue" or "la BAC" is supposed to mean? :D

[ArikBe]

The banlieues are the suburbs (of Paris). The word has become terminology which is used in international media. It's valid English: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banlieue

The BAC are the "Brigade anti-criminalité", that term is more obscure. Basically a special unit of the police. http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigade_anti-criminalit%C3%A9

[julie1]

In fact, we «banlieusards» from Paris have a tendency to consider ourselves as «THE» banlieue. The most emblematic one. But most big cities have one of their own. Marseilles, Lyon and Lille have theirs.

[julie1]

banlieue = subburbs. Paris == 1M intra muros (~15km radius from notre dame) subburbs == 12M (~40km)

BAC = Brigade Anti Criminalité (Anti Crime Unit) But everybody refers to them as the BAC or in slang the «cowboys»

[jnbiche]

>banlieue = subburbs.

Yeah, but you have to explain that subburbs are not the same in France as in the U.S. Here, subburbs are generally where educated, middle-class people go to live (although that is changing in some places).

In France, the "banlieu" subburbs are what we would call the "inner-city". Speaking colloquially, the ghetto.

Big difference, and just translating "banlieu" as "subburb" does not explain this.

[anu_gupta]

Yes. Being able to find things out for oneself is useful.

[kps]

Although ‘banlieue’ = ‘suburb’ literally, the analogous word in American media is ‘urban’.

For the SV crowd, Paris = San Francisco, banlieue = Oakland.

[jnbiche]

>the analogous word in American media is ‘urban’

I would say the analogous word is "inner-city". "Urban" carries a limited range of socio-cultural connotations, unlike "banlieu" and "inner-city".

[StavrosK]

No, of course not. Anyone writing a comment should only use words everyone that is ever going to see the comment already knows.

[gaius]

Why not? Educate yourself.

[julie1]

Well, knowledge does not jump from written media to brain, else, everyone would be doing their own molotov cocktail (I still prefer the Joliot-Curie), TNT (pretty easy, we learnt it at school while doing mono nitration of toluene), nuclear bomb ... that is what makes the world quite safe in fact.

I was forced to borrow from the adult library when I was 11 because I had already read everything and I was too demanding. But I guess it was not enough :)

But I don't think hidden social rules are taught in books. Behaving «socially correctly» is not taught either. Which so far has been quite my main problem.