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In France speaking backward is called verlan, a term that is the inversion of the syllables of l’envers, meaning “the inverse.”

There was an emphasis on not being noticed, on taking off their hoodies, on speaking Creole or Verlan.

In French, for instance, slang words known as verlan are created by transposing the syllables of an existing word.

Because many verlan terms originated as a secret code to discuss illicit behavior, the process was often repeated when a new form became too recognizable.

They referred to white people as “babtou” — verlan slang, or the inverted syllables, of “toubab,” a West African expression meaning whites.