Schools in France are imposing a ban on “teeth-sucking” - a sound made with the mouth common in African and Afro-Caribbean culture – because teachers deem it offensive and disrespectful.
“Le tchip” as the French call it, is a mark of annoyance, disapproval or disdain made by sucking air through the teeth through pursed lips while moving the tongue.
Academics describe it as "velaric ingressive airstream involving closure at two points in the mouth".
It is often referred to as “teeth-sucking” or “kissing the teeth” in English.
Connoisseurs say the practice follows strict cultural rules, making it acceptable to use with peers or subordinates but never towards an elder or employer.
However, these subtleties are apparently lost on many French pupils, who reportedly increasingly unleash “le tchip” in class and in response to teachers.
Now certain schools in France have decided to clamp down on the habit, according to Le Parisien newspaper.
“It’s extremely vulgar,” said Eric Bongo, deputy head teacher at the Charles Baudelaire high school in Evry, near Paris. “I grew up in Africa and when I was young it was forbidden to ‘suck-teeth’ at others.
