patois

• Nom désignant un dialecte régional d'une langue, surtout du français, souvent considéré comme non standard, ou la langue particulière à un groupe social, par exemple les malfaiteurs.

A noun referring to a regional dialect of a language, especially French, often considered nonstandard, or a characteristic language of a particular group, such as thieves.

1. C1formal

   A regional dialect of a language, especially French, that is often considered non-standard or substandard.

   Dialecte régional

   • The villagers spoke a local patois that was difficult for outsiders to understand.
   • Many linguists study the patois of rural France to preserve its unique vocabulary.
   • The play was written in a Caribbean patois to reflect the characters' origins.

   Synonymesdialectvernacular

2. Group-specific languageC1formal

   A characteristic language or jargon used by a particular group, such as thieves or a subculture.

   Jargon de groupe

   • The thieves communicated in a secret patois to avoid being understood by the police.
   • The hacker community has its own patois filled with technical slang.
   • The sailors' patois included many terms borrowed from different languages.

   Synonymesargotcantjargonlingoslang