Citizendia

Further information: Cajun
Cajun French
français cadien/français cadjin
Spoken in:Louisiana
Total speakers:Unknown
Language family:Indo-European
 Italic
  Romance
   Italo-Western
    Western
     Gallo-Iberian
      Gallo-Romance
       Gallo-Rhaetian
        Oïl
         French
          Cajun French
Language codes
ISO 639-1:none
ISO 639-2:
ISO 639-3:frc 

French spread in Louisiana. Cajuns ('keʒən les Cadiens are an Ethnic group mainly living in Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles and peoples of other The State of Louisiana ( or, État de Louisiane, pronounced) is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America List of language familiesA language family is a group of Languages related by descent from a common ancestor called the Proto-language of that family The Italic subfamily is a member of the Indo-European language family's Centum branch The Romance languages (sometimes referred to as Romanic languages, or Neolatin languages) are a branch of the Indo-European language family comprising all Gallo-Romance languages Gallo-Italic languages Lombard Western Lombard Eastern The Gallo-Romance branch of Romance languages includes French, Occitan, Arpitan, and several other languages spoken in modern France Langues d'oïl is the linguistic and historical designation of the Gallo-Romance languages originating from the northern territories of Roman Gaul, French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people ISO 639-1 is the first part of the ISO 639 international-standard language-code family ISO 639-2 is the second part of the ISO 639 standard, which lists codes for the representation of the names of languages ISO 639 -3 (ISO 639-32007 is an international standard for Language codes The standard describes three‐letter codes for identifying languages Parishes marked in yellow are those where 4–10% of the population speak French or Cajun French at home, orange 10–15%, red 15–20%, brown 20–30%.
Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. In Computing, Unicode is an Industry standard allowing Computers to consistently represent and manipulate text expressed in most of the world's

Cajun French (sometimes called Louisiana Regional French [1]) is one of three varieties or dialects of the French language spoken primarily in the U.S. state of Louisiana, specifically in the southern parishes. A dialect (from the Greek word διάλεκτος dialektos) is a variety of a Language that is characteristic of a particular group of French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people A US state is any one of the fifty subnational entities of the United States of America that share Sovereignty with the federal government The State of Louisiana ( or, État de Louisiane, pronounced) is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America Other Louisiana French dialects include Napoleonic French and Colonial or Plantation Society French, spoken primarily in Orleans, St. Colonial Louisiana French (more commonly Colonial French) also known as Plantation Society French, is one of three French dialects traditionally recognized Bernard, St. Charles, St. John the Baptiste, Jefferson, West Bâton-Rouge, Pointe-Coupée, Avoyelles, St. Mary, Iberia, Assumption, and St. Landry parishes. Cajun French is not the same as Louisiana Creole. Louisiana Creole is a French Creole language spoken by the mixed Louisiana Creole people of the state of Louisiana.

It is usually presumed that Cajun French is almost solely derived from Acadian French as it was spoken in the French colony of Acadia (located in what is now the Maritime provinces of Canada and in Maine). Acadian French ( le français acadien) is a variety or Dialect of French spoken by Francophone Acadians in the The Association for Computer Aided Design In Architecture ( ACADIA) is a Non-profit organization active in the area of Computer-aided architectural design The Maritime provinces, called the Maritimes in local English (or the Canadian Maritimes by non-Canadians is a region of Eastern Canada Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page The State of Maine ( is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean

Cajun differs from Metropolitan French in pronunciation, vocabulary and intonation. In Linguistics, intonation is variation of pitch whilst speaking which is not used to distinguish words

Contents

Parishes where Cajun French was historically spoken

History

In 1755 (during the French and Indian War), about 75% of the Acadian population living in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia was deported in what is often known as the Great Expulsion (Grand Dérangement). Acadia Parish ( French: Paroisse de l'Acadie) is a Parish located in the U Allen Parish ( French: Paroisse d'Allen) is a Parish located in the U Assumption Parish (( French: Paroisse de l'Assomption) is a Parish located in the U Avoyelles (Paroisse des Avoyelles is a Parish located in the U Calcasieu Parish (Paroisse de Calcasieu is a Parish located in the U Cameron Parish (Paroisse de Cameron is the Parish with the most land area in the U Evangeline Parish ( French: Paroisse d'Évangéline) is a parish located in the U Iberia Parish ( French: Paroisse de l'Ibérie) is a Parish located in the U Jefferson Davis Parish (Paroisse de Jefferson Davis is a Parish located in the U Lafayette Parish (Paroisse de Lafayette is a Parish located in the U Lafourche Parish (Paroisse de Lafourche is a Parish located in the south of the U Pointe Coupee Parish, pronounced "Pwent Koo-Pay" and (pronounced "Point Coo-Pea" in English) (Paroisse de la Pointe-Coupée is a Parish St James Parish (Paroisse de Saint-Jacques is a Parish located in the U St Landry Parish (Paroisse de Saint-Landry is a Parish located in the U St Martin Parish (Paroisse de Saint-Martin is a Parish located in the U St Mary Parish (Paroisse de Sainte-Marie is a Parish located in the U Terrebonne Parish ( Cajun French: Paroisse Terrebonne) is a parish located in the U Vermilion Parish (Paroisse de Vermilion is a Parish located in the U Year 1755 ( MDCCLV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or The French and Indian War (1754&ndash1763 was the North American chapter of the Seven Years' War. This article is about the Acadian people and culture The Acadians (Acadiens are the descendants of the seventeenth-century French Nova Scotia (ˌnəʊvəˈskəʊʃə ( Latin for New Scotland; Alba Nuadh Nouvelle-Écosse is a Canadian province located on Canada 's Deportation, not to be confused with Extradition, generally means the expulsion of someone from a place or Country. The Great Upheaval, also known as the Great Expulsion, The Deportation, the Acadian Expulsion, or to the deportees Le Grand Dérangement, was Many of the exiles resettled in Louisiana, establishing the culture and language there. Through the Acadian French language, Cajun is ultimately descended from the dialects of Anjou and Poitou. Acadian French ( le français acadien) is a variety or Dialect of French spoken by Francophone Acadians in the Anjou is a former County (c 880) Duchy ( 1360) and province centred on the city of Angers in the lower Poitou was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers. The word "Cajun" is an anglicization of "Acadien. "

Over time Cajun became the firmly established language of many south Louisiana parishes. Cajun was not only spoken by the Cajun people but also by other ethnic groups that lived in Acadian settled areas. Cajuns ('keʒən les Cadiens are an Ethnic group mainly living in Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles and peoples of other Creoles, Amerindian ethnic groups such as the Houma, Chitimacha, Pointe-au-Chien[2], Bayougoula, Tunica-Biloxi, Atakapa, Opelousa, Okelousa, and Avoyel, through their cohabitation in south Louisiana's parishes eventually became proficient in the Cajun French dialect. The Houma Tribe of Indians or more properly The United Houma Nation are native to the Louisiana parishes of East and West Feliciana The Tunica-Biloxi is a tribe of native Americans living in Mississippi and east central Louisiana. The Atakapa (pronounced "uh-TAK-uh-paw" also spelled Attakapa, Attakapas, Attacapa, formally known as the Ishaks, pronounced Creoles and Amerindians already spoke French prior to the arrival of the Acadian people in Louisiana.

The term "Cajun" is reported to have derived from the English pronunciation of the French word Acadien. Cajuns ('keʒən les Cadiens are an Ethnic group mainly living in Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles and peoples of other English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States 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 pronunciation of the group name in Cajun French. "Cadien" is the French spelling preferred 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 (not to be confused with Acadia, which refers to the region where Acadian French is spoken). Acadiana (also called Cajun Country) (L'Acadiane is the official name given to the French Louisiana region that is home to a large Cajun population The Association for Computer Aided Design In Architecture ( ACADIA) is a Non-profit organization active in the area of Computer-aided architectural design 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. Year 1984 ( MCMLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1984 Gregorian calendar) Daigle, a Roman Catholic priest, published A Dictionary of the Cajun Language, the first dictionary devoted to Cajun French. The ministerial orders of the Catholic Church includes both the orders of bishops and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. 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 (CODOFIL) was established during the late 1960s to promote the preservation of French language and culture in Louisiana. The Council for the Development of French in Louisiana or CODOFIL — known in French as le Conseil pour le développement du français en Louisiane and The 1960s decade refers to the years from the beginning of 1960 to the end of 1969

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 "cher" /ʃæ/ (dear) and "nonc" (uncle) 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 uncertain.

Dialects

Cajun French changes depending on communities and ethnic groups. However, Cajun French has two distinct dialects: Prairie French and Bayou French. [3]

Prairie French

Prairie French is spoken among Cajun, Creole and Black residents in southwest Louisiana.

Bayou French

Bayou French is primarily spoken among Cajuns and American Indians in southeast Louisiana. The Black population of southeast Louisiana now only has a few non-fluent speakers.

Borrowed Words

(audio)This section includes inline links to audio files. If you have trouble playing the files, see Wikipedia Media help.

Words of Native American origin

Words of Native American Origin [1]
TermGlossOrigin
Bayou (info)BayouChoctaw bayuk
Chaoui (info)RaccoonChoctaw or Mobilian shaui
Choupique (info)BowfinChoctaw shupik, "mudfish"
Latanier (info)PalmettoCarib allatani
Pacane (info)PecanAlgonquian via Mobilian
Patassa (info)SunfishChoctaw patàssa "flat"
Plaquemine (info)PersimmonIllinois piakimin, via Mobilian
Tchoc (info)(Black)birdPossibly Atakapa t'sak


See also

References

  1. ^ Read, William A. Acadian French ( le français acadien) is a variety or Dialect of French spoken by Francophone Acadians in the These data are taken from the 2000 Census of the United States and relate to the language spoken at home by inhabitants of Louisiana five years of age or more The French language is spoken as a Minority language in the United States. Canadian French is an Umbrella term for the varieties of the French language used in Canada. Cajun English is the dialect of English spoken by Cajuns living in southern Louisiana and to some extent in eastern Texas. An endangered language is a Language that it is at risk of falling out of use generally because it has few surviving speakers A list of Endangered languages (with fewer than 1000 speakers or in rapid decline 1931. Louisiana-French. Revised edition. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press.

Cajun French Dictionary and Phrasebook by Clint Bruce and Jennifer Gipson ISBN 0-7818-0915-0. Hippocrene Books Inc.

Tonnerre mes chiens! A glossary of Louisiana French figures of speech by Amanda LaFleur ISBN 0-9670838-9-3. Renouveau Publishing.

A Dictionary of the Cajun Language by Rev. Msgr. Jules O. Daigle, M. A. , S. T. L. ISBN 0-9614245-3-2. Swallow Publications, Inc.

Cajun Self-Taught by Rev. Msgr. Jules O. Daigle, M. A. , S. T. L. ISBN 0-9614245-4-0. Swallow Publications, Inc.

Language Shift in the Coastal Marshes of Louisiana by Kevin J. Rottet ISBN 0-8204-4980-6. Peter Lang Publishing, Inc.

Conversational Cajun French I by Harry Jannise and Randall P. Whatley ISBN 0-8828-9316-5. The Chicot Press.

External links


© 2009 citizendia.org; parts available under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License, from http://en.wikipedia.org
 Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic