Cajun English

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Acadiana, the tradtitional Cajun homeland and the stronghold of both the Cajun French and English dialects.

Cajun English is the dialect of English spoken by non-Francophone Cajuns living in southern Louisiana and, to some extent, in eastern Texas. Cajun English is significantly influenced by Cajun French, the historical language of the Cajun people, a direct descendant of Acadian French, which differs somewhat from Metropolian or Parisian French in terms of pronuncation and vocabulary, particularly because of the long isolation of Acadians, and even more so Cajuns, from the Francophone world. English is now spoken by the vast majority of the Cajun population, but French influence remains strong in terms of inflection and vocabulary, and the accent is quite distinct from the General American pronunciation.

[edit] Part of the Cajun identity

While Cajun French is considered by many to be an endangered language, mostly used by elderly generations, Cajun English is spoken by even the youngest Cajuns, and is considered to be part of the identity of the ethnic group.

[edit] Features of Cajun English

Cajun English distinguishes itself with some of the following features:

• Many vowels which are separate in General American English are pronounced the same way, for example, the words hill and heel are homophones, both being pronounced as /hɪɹl/.
• Stress is generally placed on the second or last syllable of a word, a feature directly inherited from French.
• The voiceless and voiced alveolar stops /t/ and/d/ often replace dental fricatives, a feature used by both Cajun English speakers and speakers of Louisiana Creole French (Standard French speakers generally render dental fricatives as alveolar).
• Cajun English speakers generally do not aspirate the consonants /p/, /t/, or /k/. As a result, the words "par" and "bar" can sound very similar.
• The inclusion of many loanwords, calques, and phrases from French, such as "nonc" (uncle, from the French oncle), "cher"(dear, pronounced /ʃæ/, from the French chér), and "making groceries" (to shop for groceries, a calque of the French faire des groceries)

[edit] Other Examples of Cajun Vocabulary

• Allons!: Let's go!
• alors pas: of course not
• faire do-do: to go to sleep
• Dis-mon la vérité! : Tell me the truth!
• quo' faire? : Why?
• magasin: store
• my eye! (also my foot!): no way!
• mais: well (This word commonly begins most sentences.)
• the frissons: the chills
• that: they; them (from the Cajun subject pronoun ça which means they them and that.
• cassé'd: drunk (This is from the Cajun adjective cassé which literally means broken but it is also used to mean drunk. French past participles being used in Cajun English add the English past tense suffix -ed.
• nèg': buddy; pal (It should be noted that this term can sometimes be considered a racial slur)
• tee': buddy; pal; Jr. From the French word "petite" which means "little".
• rôder: to "run the roads" (French verbs can also act as English verbs. English verb suffixes are added appropriately to form the correct conjugation.)
• get down: to exit a vehicle (Derived from the French phrase:
• poil: pubic hair (French for "course body hair")

[edit] Example Sentences

• Mais, where you goin' at, you?
• Mais, where you goin' at, cher?
• Mais, who's house you gone to, nèg'?
• Mais, I'm goin' make groceries, me.
• I saw Théophile at the bar the other night and he was all cassé'd.
• That /dæt/ never want to behave, that. (in reference to children) [Note: When "that" is being used in reference to more than one person, it takes the 3rd person plural verb conjugation.]
• Nonc Jean's ghost stories give me the frissons!
• Alcide's always out rôder-ing somewhere.
• Aww what, tee? You said your poil itches?

[edit] Resources

• PBS American Accent series - Cajun

[edit] See also

• Acadia, former home of the Cajuns, located in what is now eastern Canada
• Acadiana, home of the Cajuns in Louisiana
• Acadian French, the dialect of French from which Cajun French derives
• American English
• Cajun
• Cajun French
• Dialects of the English Language
• Franglais, a term sometimes used to describe a mixed vernacular of French and English
• Louisiana Creole French, a French-based creole which has had some influence on Cajun French and English
• Yat, another Louisiana dialect of English