Encyclopedia
Cajun French is a variety or dialect of the
French language spoken primarily in the
U.S. state of
Louisiana, particularly in
Lafayette Parish,
Evangeline Parish,
St. Landry Parish,
Iberia Parish,
Vermilion Parish,
St. Martin Parish,
St. Mary Parish,
Terrebonne Parish,
Lafourche Parish, and
Assumption Parish.
It is usually presumed that Cajun French is solely derived from Acadian French as it was spoken in the French colony of
Acadia , though the dialect also had influences from Quebec French, Haitian French and Haitian Creole, as well as European French. Cajun is a dialect of
French, but differs from Parisian or Metropolitan French in some areas of pronunciation and vocabulary.
History
In 1756 , about 75% of the
Acadian population living in the Canadian province of
Nova Scotia were deported in what is often known as the
Great Expulsion. Many of them resettled in Louisiana, establishing the culture and language there. Through the Acadian language, Cajun is ultimately descended from the dialects of Anjou and
Poitou . This heritage has left a few archaic words in the dialect; for example,
crevette is said
chevrette.
The term "
Cajun" is derived from the
English pronunciation of the French word
Acadien. Some Cajuns call themselves "Cadiens" or "Cadjins" in French. The first spelling is derived from the French spelling "Acadien" and the second is an approximation, using French phonetics, of the pronouncation of the group name in Cajun French. "Cadien" is the French spelling prefered by Cajun academics. "Cajun" is an English word which is not accepted by Cajun academics to designate the group in French. The primary region where Cajun French is spoken is called
Acadiana . Cajun areas of Louisiana sometimes form partnerships with Acadians in Canada who send French teachers to teach the language in schools.
In 1984, Jules O. Daigle, a
Catholic priest, published , the first dictionary devoted to Cajun French. It is generally considered the authority on the language, though it is not exhaustive. It does not contain some alternate spellings and synonyms which Father Daigle deemed "perversions" of the language, but which are nonetheless popular among Cajun speakers and writers.
Decline and resurgence
Many residents of Acadiana are
bilingual, having learned French at home and English in school. In recent years the number of speakers of Cajun French has diminished considerably, but efforts are being made to reintroduce the language in schools. The
Council for the Development of French in Louisiana was established during the late
1960s to promote the preservation of French language and culture in Louisiana.
Some people question whether the Cajun language will survive another generation. The number of people who speak Cajun has declined dramatically over the last fifty years. Many parents intentionally did not teach their children the Cajun language to encourage English language fluency, in hopes that the children would have a better life in an English-speaking nation. However, many of these same parents are discovering that their grandchildren are researching and trying to learn the language.
Many young adults are learning enough Cajun to understand Cajun music lyrics. Also, there is now a trend to use Cajun language websites to learn the dialect. Culinary words and terms of endearment such as "chèr" and "nonc" are still heard among otherwise English-speaking Cajuns. Some of the language will continue to exist, but whether many people will be able to conduct a full and fluent conversation in the language is still an uncertain question.
Differences from Standard French
Cajun differs in some areas of pronunciation and vocabulary from the accepted standard of
Metropolitan French. In some cases these are differences that are retained from the western langues d'oïl from which Cajun is descended.
- The same pronoun is used for first person singular; je parle in Cajun is the same as in French. However, nous parlons in standard French is always on parle in Cajun French, as it is commonly in all varieties of spoken French.
- Past tense constructions are almost all made using the verb avoir in Cajun French whereas there are a few important verbs whose compound past tense is made using être in standard French. Thus, Cajuns may say "j'ai passé par la maison" where standard French would require "je suis passé par la maison," , or "il a parti" instead of the standard "il est parti" .
is pronounced with tongue towards the back of the mouth, being more like .
, are pronounced .
is pronounced , as in the word
Acadian.
is pronounced as an alveolar trill or flap rather than the uvular fricative of standard French and other dialects. is dropped when at the end of a syllable; for example: "
mon père" , but "
mon père est venu" .
pronounced , similar to Quebec French , but also often more like , with a bit of an offglide towards , similar to Acadian French.
Over the years, Cajun French speakers have incorporated many anglicisms directly into the language. Due to extensive contact with English-language culture, business and communications, this is also a common phenomenon in both Quebec French and Acadian French and is gaining momentum rapidly in France. The majority of Cajun speakers have never been schooled in French and thus are not familiar with standard French spelling. As a result, much written Cajun has non-standard or anglicised spellings, e.g. Cajun
Les le bon ton rouller for standard
Laissez les bons temps rouler.
The first person plural subject pronoun used in Cajun French is "
on" as it is in all spoken varieties of French. "
On" is conjugated using the third person singular form of the verb. "We speak French" translates as "
On parle français". "
Nous-autres" can also be added before "
on" to clarify; it is also used both in Quebec French and Acadian French. Cajuns tend to have a slight pause after each syllable. Also, the last consonant of a syllable is usually elided into the start of the next one.
See also
References
Cajun French Dictionary by Clint Bruce and Jennifer Gipson ISBN 0-7818-0915-0. Hippocrene Books Inc.
External links
