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  French in Berlin slang

  In the context of the call for entries to the design competition "Finding Refuge – Huguenots in Berlin", msk7 developed the blümerant installation for Gendarmenmarkt in Berlin. This takes as its subject-matter the abiding influence of the French language on the Berlin vernacular. Just as the Huguenots were integrated into the city, parts of their vocabulary have also become embedded in the language here, sometimes becoming inextricably entwined with it. The letters of the words coined lie in columns and rows in 4m x 4m squares, structuring the Gendarmenmarkt. The ensuing “crossword puzzle” made up of special vegetation mats creates conceptual links between French and German, whilst in situ it establishes spatial connections between the French Cathedral and its German pendant.

  

  Until 1935 the Gendarmenmarkt was framed by lawns. blümerant brings the green back to Gendarmenmarkt for a few weeks and invites visitors to take a stroll. Here lawns are a straightforward metaphor for gardens: in "Jardins du Monde" (German edition: "Geschichte der Gartenkunst"), Michel Baridon identifies a correspondence between the Reformation ban on images in church buildings and the sensual pleasures of gardens. Creation itself now fills the niche formerly occupied by stained-glass windows in cathedrals: the open book of nature outside responds to the open Bible within the church building (quotation based on Dr. Otto Schäfer, "Hugenottisches Erbe in Pflanzen und Gärten").

  

  Down 1 in the sense of “I feel queasy, dizzy, off colour”, for in German if you’re a bit off-colour you might say you feel “faint-blue”; derived from bleumourant. Bleu-mourant is a fading, pale blue, a particular ornamentation with which Frederick II. adorned his porcelain tableware, a delicate pastel colour, which the Berliners referred to as »forget-me-not boiled in milk«, in the 18th century bleu-mourant is said to have been a fashionable colour in Parisian haute couture. 2 naturalised colloquial term for dressing gown or peignoir, literally sloppy clothing 3 misfortune, mishap 4 meatballs, the hallmark of Berlin’s cuisine

  Across 1 wonderful, magnificent; derived from bonne fortune (good luck) 5 policeman, “armed men”, one of many naturalised colloquial terms from the days when Frederick II. surrounded himself with so many French people in Sanssouci that his guest Voltaire once remarked maliciously: “Your Majesty is the only foreigner in our midst.” 6 selection of the best 7 in the sense of “used up, worn out”; an anecdote tells of two Huguenot sisters who used to offer their handmade embroidery work and bobbin lace at the entrance to the Jungfernbrücke and would reply “c’est allé” (it’s run out, is used up) if someone asked for a particular pattern that was sold out 8 affected, excessively refined, fastidious, from être peut-être (to be in doubt)

  

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