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The Cajuns are the descendants of the Francophone people exiled by the British in from Acadia or Nova Scotia who settled in Louisiana. Daigle called "the Cajun Language" is a way of speaking French that was passed down orally, generation to generation, by the descendants of the original Louisiana Acadians. This way of speaking was influenced by contact with many other languages, including English, Spanish, German, etc. By the twentieth century most Cajuns were bilingual, capable of speaking both their native French and English.
As a result, "modern" Cajun can be a mix of French and English. For example, you might hear a Cajun speaker say, "J'ai pas pu t'appeler back ," for "I couldn't call you back. Since Cajun French was transmitted orally, as opposed to being written down, there is no traditional way of spelling words which are peculiar to Cajun French. James Donald Faulk, in his Cajun French I , adopted a phonetic method of writing in order to preserve the Cajun pronunciation of French words.
Dictionary+of+Louisiana+French%3Cbr+%2F%3E+As+. Dictionary of Louisiana French As Spoken in Cajun, Creole, and American Indian Communities. donnsboatshop.com: Dictionary of Louisiana French: As Spoken in Cajun, Creole, and American Indian Communities (): Albert Valdman, Kevin J.
In the recently published Dictionary of Louisiana French the editors decided to normalize Louisiana French spelling with International French for the cases where nothing would be lost from Louisiana French by adopting such a convention. We will also go along with the editors of the Dictionary of Louisiana French and adopt their spelling choices for Louisiana French words. This is perhaps a controversial choice since some argue that emphasizing the differences between Louisiana French and International French helps establish the former as something special and more worth preserving, rather than just being a local variant of "standard" French.
However, one could argue that there are plenty of differences in grammar and vocabulary to sufficiently establish Louisiana French as a particular rich version of the French language that has its own value as a medium of modern communication and, because of its expanded vocabulary, a potentially powerful mode of expression for new works of literature. In both his seminal references [3] on the Cajun language, Rev. Daigle tried to make the case that Cajun is sufficiently different from French that Cajun qualifies as a separate language. However, more recent sources stress the similarities of Cajun and French.
Probably the greatest difference between the French spoken in Louisiana and that spoken in France is pronunciation. It is perhaps this difference that has led to an exaggeration in estimating the linguistic gulf that separates the Parisian from the Cajun. Any International French word should be comprehensible to the Louisiana French speaker; however, Louisiana French has a set of words unique to its vocabulary as well a tradition of idiomatic expressions not shared with International French.
Also there are some grammar differences between Louisiana and International French. We will go over all these differences in this book. One thing to keep in mind is that Louisiana French contains many local variations in spelling, grammar, and vocabulary. A French speaker from Houma may speak and spell their French differently than someone from Lafayette. The recently published Dictionary of Louisiana French has for its purposes adopted spelling conventions that map more easily onto International French. The following table compares common usage between International French and Louisiana French.
Note that the Louisiana French speak also understands and uses the words in the International French column, sometimes the meaning is preserved, but not always. These are only some of the differences between International and Louisiana French, but it highlights the changes that have occurred over time.
For instance, locales named for American Indian tribes usually use the plural article les instead of the masculine or feminine singular articles le or la. This trend seems to vary by region since in Pierre Part and Lafayette elderly francophones have often been heard to say la Californie, le Texas, la Floride. In informal Louisiana French, most US states and countries are pronounced as in English and therefore require no article but in formal Louisiana French, prefixed articles are absent: Californie, Texas, Floride, Belgique, Liban , etc.
Code-switching occurs frequently in Louisiana French but this is typical for many language contact situations. Fluent Louisiana French speakers frequently alternate from French to English, but less proficient speakers will usually not. From a lexical perspective, Louisiana French differs little from other varieties of French spoken in the world. However, due to the unique history and development of the language, Louisiana French has many words that are unique to it or to select French varieties.
Il y avait une fois il driv ait, il travaillait huit jours on et six jours off. Et il driv ait, tu sais, six jours off. It would take him twenty-four hours straight through.
And he would stay here four days and then go back. And on Sunday, well, Sunday, that was our best day for eating well. My mother would freeze some chicken and we would have some poutine of croquettes. Francophones and creolophones have worked side-by-side, lived among one another, and have enjoyed local festivities together throughout the history of the state. As a result, in regions where both Louisiana French and Louisiana Creole are or used to be spoken, the inhabitants of the region often code-switch, beginning the sentence in one language and completing it in another. Taxonomies for classing Louisiana French have changed over time.
In English, they referred to their language as "Creole French" and "French" simultaneously. His mission was clear: To accomplish his goals, he teamed up with political leaders in Canada and France, including former French President Georges Pompidou. He found Louisiana French too limiting, so he imported francophone teachers from Europe, Canada and the Caribbean to teach normative French in Louisiana schools. His penchant for International French caused him to lose support in Louisiana: Faulk, a French teacher in Crowley, Louisiana , introduced using the term "Cajun French" for Acadian-Creoles and French Creoles who identified as Cajun, for which he created a curriculum guide for institutionalizing the language in schools in Roman Catholic Priest Jules O.
Daigle, who in published his Dictionary of the Cajun Language , followed him. In , Iberia Parish native and activist Christophe Landry introduced three terms representing lexical differences based on Louisiana topography: It was edited by a coalition of linguists and other activists. The title clearly suggests that the ethno-racial identities are mapped onto the languages, but the language, at least linguistically, remains shared across those ethno-racial lines.
Due to present ethnic movements and internal subdivisions among the population, some of the state's inhabitants insist are ancestral varieties. Still other Louisiana francophones will simply refer to their language as French, without qualifiers. Internally, two broad distinctions will be made: Probably the widely used variety of the language, informal Louisiana French has its roots in agrarian Louisiana, but it is now also found in urban centers because of urbanization beginning in the 20th century.
Historically, along the prairies of southwest Louisiana, francophone Louisianans were cattle grazers as well as rice and cotton farmers. Along the bayous and the Louisiana littoral, sugar cane cultivation dominated and in many parishes today, sugar cultivation remains an important source of economy. Informal Louisiana French can at least be divided further into three core varieties: The phonology of these varieties, apart from some minor distinctions, are rather similar and distinct in comparison to the international francophone community.
Vowels are commonly omitted from the beginning and end of for words: The pitch of Provincial Louisiana French and Provincial Quebec French share a predominantly agricultural history, close contact with Amerindian groups and relative isolation from urbanized populations. Particular mention should be made to the francophones of Bayou Lafourche. An linguistic phenomenon here that is absent everywhere else in Louisiana.
Some francophones along Bayou Lafourche pronounce the letters "g" and "j" as an voiceless glottal fricative , but others pronounce the two letters in the manner of most other francophones. The Louisiana Creole spoken in Lafourche Parish in and around Kraemer , Choctaw , and Chackbay contains the letters "g" and "j", but they are voiced as they are in all other varieties of Louisiana and French spoken elsewhere.
This variety is known for its use in all administrative and ecclesiastic documents, speeches and in literary publications. Also known as Urban Louisiana French , Colonial French, or Plantation Society French , it is spoken primarily in the urban business centers of the state. Because those regions have historically been centers of trade and commerce with contact French speakers from Europe, it is regarded as a more conservative variety of the language.
Martinville , and other once important francophone business centers in the state. Generally formal Louisiana French is maintained along strict class lines. The phonology of formal Louisiana French shares much in common with Standard French to various degrees depending upon the speaker. As an example, speakers can be heard pronouncing "r" as a uvular constant as opposed to an alveolar. Furthermore, the pronunciation and intonation of this variety can vary from European to the North American varieties of French. Use of the pronouns nous and vous are far more prevalent in the register as nous has been supplanted by on in the informal varieties.
Medicine men and women, or healers French: During their rituals for healing, they use secret French prayers to God or saints for a speedy recovery. These healers are mostly Catholic and do not expect compensation or even thanks, as it is said that then, the cure will not work. Louisiana French has been the traditional language for singing music now referred to as Cajun, zydeco , and Louisiana French rock. As of today, Old French music, Creole stomp, and Louisiana French rock remain the only three genres of music in Louisiana using French instead of English. Most "Cajun" artists have expressions and phrases in French in songs, predominantly sung in English.
Today one can find many local groups dedicated to practicing Louisiana French regularly, usually over a meal with other interested parties. As of autumn , Louisiana has French-language total immersion or bilingual French and English immersion in ten parishes: Calcasieu , Acadia , St. The curriculum in both the total French-language immersion as well as in the bilingual program follows the same standards as all other schools in the parish and state. Additionally, Les Amis de l'Immersion, Inc. The Consortium of Louisiana Universities and Colleges unites representatives of French programs in Louisiana universities and colleges, and organizes post-secondary level francophone scholastic exchanges and provide support for university students studying French language and linguistics in Louisiana:.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Not to be confused with Louisiana Creole. Blue indicates Louisiana parishes where French is spoken as of Louisiana portal French language and French-speaking world portal. Brasseaux, French, Cajun, Creole, Houma: A Primer on Francophone Louisiana.
Literature, Customs and Dialects, History and Education. Klingler, Michael Picone and Albert Valdman. Working papers in linguistics , 9 2 , Dictionary of Louisiana French: University Press of Mississippi. Journal of Language Contact. The politics and culture of French minorities in North America. If I could turn my tongue like that: Louisiana State University Press. In Picone, Michael D. New Perspectives on Language Variety in the South: Historical and Contemporary Approaches.
The University of Alabama Press. University of Pennsylvania Working Papers in Linguistics. Status and Function of Languages and Language Varieties. Retrieved September 13, Louisiana's Creole French People: Travels through that part of North America formerly called Louisiana.
Bossu, Captain in the French Marines.
Louisiana Folklore Miscellany 6 4 , French immigration was at its peak during the 17th and 18th centuries which firmly established the Creole culture and language there. Internally, two broad distinctions will be made: Martinville , and other once important francophone business centers in the state. An English-to-Louisiana French index enables readers to find out how particular notions would be expressed in la Louisiane. All of this culminates in the fact that outside the extremely southern portions of the state, French remains a secondary language that retains heavy cultural and identity values.
Illustrated with notes relative chiefly to natural history. To which is added by the translator. Davies in Russel-Street, Covent Garden,. The Journal of Southern History. Check date values in: A Dictionary of the Cajun Language.
La politique linguistique actuelle en Louisiane". Archived from the original on Retrieved 30 Mar Cahiers de Geographie du Quebec. French and Creole in Louisiana. Etude morphosyntaxique, textes, vocabulaire. Broward County, FL, The Dictionary of Louisiana French: As spoken in Cajun, Creole and American Indian communities. University Press of Mississippi,