bidonville: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
LowFormal, Academic, Journalistic
Quick answer
What does “bidonville” mean?
A makeshift shanty town or slum, often constructed from salvaged materials like oil drums (bidons), typically found on the outskirts of a city.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
A makeshift shanty town or slum, often constructed from salvaged materials like oil drums (bidons), typically found on the outskirts of a city.
Any impoverished, informal, and often illegally constructed settlement characterised by extreme poverty, overcrowding, and a lack of basic infrastructure and services.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
Used infrequently in both varieties, primarily in academic or historical contexts related to Francophone regions. No significant difference in usage patterns.
Connotations
Evokes a specific historical and geographical context (e.g., colonial and post-colonial North Africa). In American English, 'favela' (Brazil) or 'shanty town' might be more common generic terms.
Frequency
Extremely rare in general use. More likely to be encountered in texts on urban studies, post-colonialism, or historical sociology.
Grammar
How to Use “bidonville” in a Sentence
The bidonville [verb of existence/state: sprawled, grew, housed]...They lived in a bidonville [prepositional phrase: on the outskirts, near the city].Vocabulary
Collocations
Examples
Examples of “bidonville” in a Sentence
verb
British English
- [No verb form exists in English usage]
American English
- [No verb form exists in English usage]
adverb
British English
- [No adverb form exists in English usage]
American English
- [No adverb form exists in English usage]
adjective
British English
- [No adjective form exists in English usage]
American English
- [No adjective form exists in English usage]
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Virtually never used.
Academic
Used in urban studies, geography, sociology, and post-colonial studies to denote a specific type of informal settlement with historical roots in French colonialism.
Everyday
Extremely rare; a speaker would likely use 'shanty town' or 'slum' instead.
Technical
Used as a precise term in historical and sociological literature to differentiate settlements arising from specific mid-20th century North African urban migration patterns.
Vocabulary
Synonyms of “bidonville”
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms of “bidonville”
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “bidonville”
- Using it as a general synonym for any poor neighbourhood.
- Pronouncing it as an English word (e.g., 'bye-don-vill') rather than attempting the French approximation.
- Misspelling as 'bidonvill', 'bidonvillee', or 'bidon villa'.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
It is a loanword from French used in specific English contexts, primarily academic and historical. It is not a common word in everyday English vocabulary.
Both are types of informal settlements/shanty towns. 'Bidonville' is specific to Francophone regions (especially North Africa), while 'favela' is specific to Brazil. The terms carry different historical and cultural connotations.
It is not recommended. Using 'bidonville' outside its specific Francophone North African context can be seen as inaccurate or insensitive. More general terms like 'shanty town', 'informal settlement', or region-specific terms (e.g., 'favela', 'barrio') are preferable.
For advanced learners and academics, it represents a precise concept in urban and post-colonial studies. It highlights how language carries specific historical and geographical knowledge, differentiating it from more generic terms for poverty.
A makeshift shanty town or slum, often constructed from salvaged materials like oil drums (bidons), typically found on the outskirts of a city.
Bidonville is usually formal, academic, journalistic in register.
Bidonville: in British English it is pronounced /ˈbiːdɒ̃vɪl/, and in American English it is pronounced /ˌbiːdɔːnˈviːl/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “[No common English idioms directly use this loanword. The concept is embedded in phrases like 'the bidonville economy' or 'bidonville politics'.]”
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think: 'BIDON' sounds like 'be done' – a place where people are 'done' or abandoned, and 'VILLE' is French for town. A 'be-done-town' of the abandoned.
Conceptual Metaphor
THE CITY IS A BODY; the bidonville is a marginalised, impoverished, and often diseased limb or growth on its outskirts.
Practice
Quiz
The term 'bidonville' is most accurately used in which context?