French Language Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for students, teachers, and linguists wanting to discuss the finer points of the French language. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this community
I presume j'suis is slang for je suis.
That much for the lexical formation of this "expression," which has been detailed elsewhere.
However, I don't know the contexts in which it can be used. Is it considered an offensive way of speaking, a derogatory way of speaking, or a perfectly harmless way of speaking between friends and family?
Can children tell their mothers, in a spoilt brat manner, J'suis?
So what I'd actually want to know is a few details about its usage in the language nowadays.
I would say it is perfectly harmless in any context but the most formal. And even in the most formal setting, I can hardly see it to be of any consequence. I would even go further and say it is systematically used by everyone who does not pay a particular attention to eloquence. In every day conversation, not using it makes you stand out.
It is, however, completely different if you intend to transcribe a conversation. Then it might come out a bit childish or disrespectful.
J'suis actually stands for je suis. This is an informal elision.
This is spoken language, so you will normally not be led to read/write this, but in certain songs or dialogues. And this is not offensive at all, this is only je suis badly/quickly pronounced. J'suis sounds a bit like "chui" and this is why you sometimes read chui on internet forums or SMS.
So can children tell their mother j'suis? As this is a matter of prononciation, actually, they do, and this is accepted or not:
— Franck, où es-tu ?
— J'suis là, Maman !
— Et bien viens vite à table, c'est prêt !
or
— Franck, où es-tu ?
— J'suis là, Maman !
— On dit Je suis mon chéri ! Faudra-t-il que je te le répète chaque jour ?
