Cajun French Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
Cajun French is a dialect of the French language, spoken primarily in the American state of Louisiana. It is derived from another French dialect, Acadian, which is spoken in the state of Maine and in Canada's Maritime Provinces.
The deportation of about 75% of Acadian population living in the province of Nova Scotia in 1755, during the French and Indian War, caused many of them to resettle in Louisiana, thereby establishing the language there. Through Acadian, Cajun is ultimately descended from the dialects of Anjou and Poitou (see Poitevin-Saintongeais).
The term Cajun is derived from the English pronunciation of the French word Acadian. 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). Cajun areas of Louisiana sometimes form partnerships with Acadians in Canada who send French teachers to teach the language in schools.
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.
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Differences from standard French
Cajun differs in some areas of pronunciation and vocabulary from the accepted standard of Parisian 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 and plural; je parle in French is the same in Cajun, but nous parlons in French is je parlons. (This feature also exists, for example, in Poitevin-Saintongeais and in Norman)
- [a] is pronounced with tongue towards the back of the buccal cavity.
- [k],[t] is pronounced [tsh].
- [d] pronounced [dg], as in the word Acadian. (This sound is represented in modern Poitevin-Saintongeais by the digraph gh)
- [wa] pronounced [we], similar to Quebec French (and also to other langues d'oïl).
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