Louisiana French ( frc, français de la Louisiane; lou, françé la lwizyàn) is an umbrella term for the dialects and
varieties of the French language spoken traditionally by
French Louisianians
The French Louisianians (french: Louisianais), also known as Louisiana Frenchmen, are Latin Americans, Latin French people native to the U.S., states that were established out of Louisiana (New France), French Louisiana. They are commonly referr ...
in colonial
Lower Louisiana
Lower may refer to:
*Lower (surname)
*Lower Township, New Jersey
*Lower Receiver (firearms)
*Lower Wick Gloucestershire, England
See also
*Nizhny
Nizhny (russian: Ни́жний; masculine), Nizhnyaya (; feminine), or Nizhneye (russian: Ни́ ...
. As of today Louisiana French is primarily used in the
State of Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
, specifically in the southern
parishes
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
.
Over the centuries, the language has incorporated some words of African, Spanish, Native American and English origin, sometimes giving it linguistic features found only in Louisiana.
[Thomas A. Klingler, Michael Picone and Albert Valdman. "The Lexicon of Louisiana French." ''French and Creole in Louisiana''. Albert Valdman, ed. Springer, 1997. 145-170.][Thomas A. Klingler.]
Language labels and language use among Cajuns and Creoles in Louisiana
" Ed. T. Sanchez and U. Horesh. ''Working papers in linguistics'' 9(2), 2003. 77–90. Louisiana French differs to varying extents from French dialects spoken in other regions, but Louisiana French is mutually intelligible with other dialects and is most closely related to those of
Missouri
Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
(
Upper Louisiana French),
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
and northwestern France.
Historically, most works of media and literature produced in Louisiana—such as , a poetry anthology compiled by a group of , and
Creole-authored novels such as ''L'Habitation St-Ybars'' or —were written in standard French. It is a misconception that no one in Louisiana spoke or wrote Standard French.
The resemblance that Louisiana French bears to Standard French varies depending on the dialect and register, with formal and urban variants in Louisiana more closely resembling Standard French.
Figures from the
United States Census record that roughly 7% of Louisianans over the age of 5 report speaking French or a
French-based creole
A French creole, or French-based creole language, is a creole for which French is the lexifier. Most often this lexifier is not modern French but rather a 17th- or 18th-century koiné of French from Paris, the French Atlantic harbors, and the ...
at home. Distribution of these speakers is uneven, however, with the majority residing in the south-central region known as
Acadiana
Acadiana ( French and Louisiana French: ''L'Acadiane''), also known as the Cajun Country (Louisiana French: ''Le Pays Cadjin'', es, País Cajún), is the official name given to the French Louisiana region that has historically contained mu ...
. Some of the Acadiana parishes register francophone populations of 10% or more of the total, with a select few (such as Vermilion, Evangeline and St. Martin Parishes) exceeding 15%.
French is spoken across ethnic and racial lines by people who may identify as
Cajuns
The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the U.S. state of Louisiana.
While Cajuns are usually described as ...
,
Creoles as well as
Chitimacha
The Chitimacha ( ; or ) are a federally recognized tribe of Native Americans who live in the U.S. state of Louisiana, mainly on their reservation in St. Mary Parish near Charenton on Bayou Teche. They are the only Indigenous people in the s ...
,
Houma,
Biloxi
Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in and one of two county seats of Harrison County, Mississippi, United States (the other being the adjacent city of Gulfport). The 2010 United States Census recorded the population as 44,054 and in 2019 the estimated popu ...
,
Tunica,
Choctaw
The Choctaw (in the Choctaw language, Chahta) are a Native American people originally based in the Southeastern Woodlands, in what is now Alabama and Mississippi. Their Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choctaw people are ...
,
Acadian
The Acadians (french: Acadiens , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Most Acadians live in the region of Acadia, as it is the region where the de ...
s, and
French Indians among others.
For these reasons, as well as the relatively small influence
Acadian French
Acadian French (french: français acadien, acadjonne) is a variety of French spoken by Acadians, mostly in the region of Acadia, Canada. Acadian French has 7 regional accents, including chiac and brayon.
Phonology
Since there was relatively li ...
has had on the region, the label Louisiana French or Louisiana Regional French (french: français régional louisianais) is generally regarded as more accurate and inclusive than "Cajun French" and is the preferred term by
linguists
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...
and
anthropologists
An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and v ...
.
However, "Cajun French" is commonly used in
lay
Lay may refer to:
Places
*Lay Range, a subrange of mountains in British Columbia, Canada
*Lay, Loire, a French commune
*Lay (river), France
*Lay, Iran, a village
*Lay, Kansas, United States, an unincorporated community
People
* Lay (surname)
* ...
discourse by speakers of the language and other inhabitants of Louisiana.
Louisiana French should further not be confused with
Louisiana Creole
Louisiana Creole ( lou, Kréyòl Lalwizyàn, links=no) is a French-based creole language spoken by fewer than 10,000 people, mostly in the state of Louisiana. It is spoken today by people who may racially identify as White, Black, mixed, and N ...
, a distinct
French-based creole language indigenous to Louisiana and spoken across racial lines. In Louisiana, language labels are often conflated with ethnic labels, and Cajun-identified speakers might therefore call their language "Cajun French" even when linguists would identify it as
Louisiana Creole
Louisiana Creole ( lou, Kréyòl Lalwizyàn, links=no) is a French-based creole language spoken by fewer than 10,000 people, mostly in the state of Louisiana. It is spoken today by people who may racially identify as White, Black, mixed, and N ...
.
Likewise, many
Creoles of various backgrounds (including Cajuns) do not speak Louisiana Creole but rather Louisiana French.
Parishes in which the dialect is still found include but are not limited to
Acadia
Acadia (french: link=no, Acadie) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. During much of the 17th and early ...
,
Allen Allen, Allen's or Allens may refer to:
Buildings
* Allen Arena, an indoor arena at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee
* Allen Center, a skyscraper complex in downtown Houston, Texas
* Allen Fieldhouse, an indoor sports arena on the Unive ...
,
Ascension,
Assumption
Assumption, in Christianity, refers to the Assumption of Mary, a belief in the taking up of the Virgin Mary into heaven.
Assumption may also refer to:
Places
* Assumption, Alberta, Canada
* Assumption, Illinois, United States
** Assumption Tow ...
,
Avoyelles
Avoyelles (french: Paroisse des Avoyelles) is a parish (administrative division), parish located in central eastern Louisiana on the Red River of the South,
Red River where it effectively becomes the Atchafalaya River and meets the Mississippi ...
,
Cameron,
Evangeline
''Evangeline, A Tale of Acadie'' is an epic poem by the American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, written in English and published in 1847. The poem follows an Acadian girl named Evangeline and her search for her lost love Gabriel, set during t ...
,
Iberia
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
,
Jefferson Davis
Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives as a ...
,
Lafayette
Lafayette or La Fayette may refer to:
People
* Lafayette (name), a list of people with the surname Lafayette or La Fayette or the given name Lafayette
* House of La Fayette, a French noble family
** Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757 ...
,
Lafourche
Lafourche Parish (french: Paroisse de la Fourche) is a parish located in the south of the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Thibodaux. The parish was formed in 1807. It was originally the northern part of Lafourche Interior Parish, whi ...
,
St. Landry,
St. Martin,
St. Mary,
Terrebonne
Terrebonne, meaning ''good earth'' in French, is a name of several places in North America:
;Canada
*Terrebonne, Quebec, a suburb of Montreal
** Terrebonne station, a commuter railway station in Terrebonne, Quebec
**Terrebonne City Council, the go ...
,
Pointe Coupée
Pointe technique ( ) is the part of classical ballet technique that concerns ''pointe work'', in which a ballet dancer supports all body weight on the tips of fully extended feet within pointe shoes. A dancer is said to be ''en pointe'' () wh ...
,
Vermilion
Vermilion (sometimes vermillion) is a color, color family, and pigment most often made, since ancient history, antiquity until the 19th century, from the powdered mineral cinnabar (a form of mercury sulfide, which is toxic) and its correspondi ...
, and other parishes of southern Louisiana.
History
Colonial Louisiana
Starting in the second half of the 17th century, several trading posts were established in
Lower Louisiana
Lower may refer to:
*Lower (surname)
*Lower Township, New Jersey
*Lower Receiver (firearms)
*Lower Wick Gloucestershire, England
See also
*Nizhny
Nizhny (russian: Ни́жний; masculine), Nizhnyaya (; feminine), or Nizhneye (russian: Ни́ ...
(french: Basse-Louisiane) eventually giving way to greater French colonial aspirations with the turn of the century. French immigration was at its peak during the 17th and 18th centuries which firmly established the Creole culture and language there. One important distinction to make is that the term "créole" at the time was consistently used to signify native, or "locally-born" in contrast to "foreign-born". In general the core of the population was rather diverse, coming from all over the
French colonial empire
The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas colonies, protectorates and mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "First French Colonial Empire", that exist ...
namely
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, and the
French West Indies
The French West Indies or French Antilles (french: Antilles françaises, ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Antiy fwansez) are the parts of France located in the Antilles islands of the Caribbean:
* The two overseas departments of:
** Guadeloupe, ...
.
![Choctaw_Village_by_Francois_Bernard](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Choctaw_Village_by_Francois_Bernard.jpg)
Eventually, with the consistent relations built between the Native American tribes and francophones, new vocabulary was adopted into the colonial language. For example, something of a "French-Choctaw patois" is said to have developed primarily among Louisiana's Afro-French population and ''métis'' Creoles with a large portion of its vocabulary said to be of Native American origin.
[II, John LaFleur (2014-07-02). Louisiana's Creole French People: Our Language, Food & Culture: 500 Years Of Culture (Kindle Locations 359-363). Kindle Edition.]
Prior to the late arrival of the
Acadian
The Acadians (french: Acadiens , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Most Acadians live in the region of Acadia, as it is the region where the de ...
people in Louisiana, the French of Louisiana had already begun to undergo
changes
Changes may refer to:
Books
* ''Changes'', the 12th novel in Jim Butcher's ''The Dresden Files'' Series
* ''Changes'', a novel by Danielle Steel
* ''Changes'', a trilogy of novels on which the BBC TV series was based, written by Peter Dickinson ...
as noted by Captain Jean-Bernard Bossu who traveled with and witnessed
Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne
Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville (; ; February 23, 1680 – March 7, 1767), also known as Sieur de Bienville, was a French colonial administrator in New France. Born in Montreal, he was an early governor of French Louisiana, appointed four ...
speaking this "common language." This unusual blend of French was also noticed by Pierre-Clement de Laussat during a lunch visit with the Creole-French Canterelle family. Upon the arrival of their
Houma relatives, the family began conversing in "French and Choctaw." Additional witness to this variety of French comes from J.F.H. Claiborne, a cousin of Louisiana's first American Governor, who also noted the "unusual patois of provincial French and Choctaw."
Starting in 1755, large populations of the
French-speaking
French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Nor ...
Acadians began to arrive en masse along the Mississippi River as well as eventually arriving all the way to south to the modern-day state of Louisiana following the
Great Upheaval
The Expulsion of the Acadians, also known as the Great Upheaval, the Great Expulsion, the Great Deportation, and the Deportation of the Acadians (french: Le Grand Dérangement or ), was the forced removal, by the British, of the Acadian pe ...
. In 1762, France relinquished their territorial claims to Spain just as Acadians had begun to arrive; despite this, Spanish Governor
Bernardo de Gálvez
Bernardo Vicente de Gálvez y Madrid, 1st Count of Gálvez (23 July 1746 – 30 November 1786) was a Spanish military leader and government official who served as colonial governor of Spanish Louisiana and Cuba, and later as Viceroy of New Sp ...
, permitted the Acadians to continue to speak their language as well as observe their other cultural practices. The original Acadian community was composed mainly of farmers and fishermen who were able to provide their children with a reasonable amount of schooling.
However, the hardships after being exiled from
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native Eng ...
, along with the difficult process of resettlement in Louisiana and the ensuing poverty made it difficult to establish schools in the early stages of the community's development. Eventually schools were established, as private academies whose faculty had recently arrived in Louisiana from France or who had been educated in France. Children were usually able to attend the schools only long enough to learn counting and reading.
At the time, a standard part of a child's education in the Cajun community was also the
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
catechism
A catechism (; from grc, κατηχέω, "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adult c ...
, which was taught in French by an older member of the community.
The educational system did not allow for much contact with
Standard French
Standard French (in French: ''le français standard'', ''le français normé'', ''le français neutre'' eutral Frenchor ''le français international'' nternational French is an unofficial term for a standard variety of the French language. It ...
.
It has often been said that
Acadian French
Acadian French (french: français acadien, acadjonne) is a variety of French spoken by Acadians, mostly in the region of Acadia, Canada. Acadian French has 7 regional accents, including chiac and brayon.
Phonology
Since there was relatively li ...
has had a large impact on the development of Louisiana French but this has generally been over-estimated.
19th century
French immigration continued in the 19th century until the start of the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
, bringing large numbers of francophones speaking something more similar to today's Metropolitan French to Louisiana. Over time, through
contact
Contact may refer to:
Interaction Physical interaction
* Contact (geology), a common geological feature
* Contact lens or contact, a lens placed on the eye
* Contact sport, a sport in which players make contact with other players or objects
* ...
between different ethnic groups, the various dialects
converged to produce what we know as Louisiana French. The 1845 Louisiana constitution permitted any legislator to address the body in either English or French, and the 1845 and 1852 constitutions required all laws to be written in both English and French.
The 1864 Louisiana constitution abandoned the dual language requirement and directed public instruction to be conducted in English, although Article 128 prohibited the state from barring French speakers from public office. The post-Civil War constitution of 1868 further stated that "no laws shall require judicial process to be issued in any
anguageother than the English language". However, French was still the most spoken language in many parishes of Louisiana, and the constitution of 1879 adjusted the previous restrictions to require that laws "be promulgated and preserved in the English language; but the General Assembly may provide for the publication of the laws in the French Language, and prescribe that judicial advertisements in certain designated cities and parishes…be made in that language." It also allowed primary school to teach in French, a provision that was extended in the 1898 and 1913 constitutions to include secondary schools.
Decline in the early 20th century
In 1921, the new
Louisiana constitution
The Louisiana Constitution is legally named the Constitution of the State of Louisiana and commonly called the Louisiana Constitution of 1974, and the Constitution of 1974. The constitution is the cornerstone of the law of Louisiana ensuring the ...
reversed the previous language rights and banned the teaching of French in all public schools.
The constitution established English as the official language of Louisiana, which pushed French out of New Orleans to its current location in southwestern parts of the state.
The education and religious services of Louisiana eventually fell prey to English, and the eventual consequence of speaking French was that speaking French became a sign of cultural illegitimacy.
Parents viewed the practice of teaching their children English as the intrusion of a foreign culture, and many refused to send their children to school. When the government required them to do so, they selected private French
Catholic school
Catholic schools are pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered under the aegis or in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest religious, non-governmental school syste ...
s in which class was conducted in French. Derogatory terms and phrases were used by English speakers to put social pressure on French speakers ("Don't speak Cajun. Speak White!"), a sentiment later expressed in Michèle Lalonde's 1974 poem "
Speak White
"Speak White" is a French-language poem written by Canadian poet Michèle Lalonde in 1968, and condemns the linguistic, cultural, and economic exploitation and oppression of French-speaking Canadians, especially the Québécois, by the English ...
" ("Speak white... be civilized"). The French schools worked to emphasize Standard French, which they considered to be the
prestige dialect
Prestige refers to a good reputation or high esteem; in earlier usage, ''prestige'' meant "showiness". (19th c.)
Prestige may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Films
* ''Prestige'' (film), a 1932 American film directed by Tay Garnett ...
. When the government
required all schools, public and
parochial Parochial is an adjective which may refer to:
* Parishes, in religion
** Parish churches, also called parochial churches
* Parochial schools, primary or secondary schools affiliated to a religious organisation
* Parochialism
Parochialism is the ...
, to teach in English, new teachers, who could not speak French, were hired. Children could not understand their teachers and generally ignored them by continuing to speak French. Eventually, children were subjected to
corporal punishment for speaking French on school grounds.
The punishment system (which was not dissimilar to the manner in which children attempting to speak both immigrant and indigenous languages other than English were dealt with in schools elsewhere in North America) seems to have been responsible for much of the decay that Louisiana French experienced in the 20th century since, in turn, people who could not speak English were perceived as uneducated. Therefore, parents became hesitant to teach French to their children, hoping that the children would have a better life in an English-speaking nation.
As of 2011, there were an estimated 150,000 to 200,000 people in Louisiana who speak French. By comparison, there were an estimated one million native French-speakers in Louisiana in about 1968. The dialect is now at risk of extinction as children are no longer taught it formally in schools.
Many question whether the Louisiana French language will survive another generation.
Some residents of
Acadiana
Acadiana ( French and Louisiana French: ''L'Acadiane''), also known as the Cajun Country (Louisiana French: ''Le Pays Cadjin'', es, País Cajún), is the official name given to the French Louisiana region that has historically contained mu ...
are
bilingual
Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all E ...
though, having learned French at home and English in school. Currently, Louisiana French is considered an
endangered language
An endangered language or moribund language is a language that is at risk of disappearing as its speakers die out or shift to speaking other languages. Language loss occurs when the language has no more native speakers and becomes a "dead langu ...
.
Decline in World War II
The war compelled many Cajun people to leave their home state of Louisiana for the first time and serve in the military.
Cajun GIs most of whom could neither speak nor understand English encountered solely English-speaking Americans, but learned it in order to serve and survive in the military.
Back on the home front, many Cajun civilians united with other Anglo-Americans to support the war effort by volunteering as air raid wardens, plane spotters, firefighters, auxiliary policemen, nursing aides, as well as participating in bond, stamp, and scrap drives.
These activities which the Cajuns participated in promoted feelings of national unity, and drew the Cajuns closer to Mainstream America.
During this time period, emphasis on the 'American way of life' had a massive impact on Cajun children: census data shows that the use of Cajun French as a first language dropped 17 percent for Cajuns born during US involvement in WW2, the single largest decrease since the beginning of the 20th century, and also resulted in the practice of punishing Cajun students for speaking French at school.
Preservation efforts
Marilyn J. Conwell of Pennsylvania State University conducted a study of Louisiana French in 1959 and published in 1963 the book ''Louisiana French Grammar'', which has been regarded as "probably the first complete study of a Louisiana French dialect".
Conwell focused on the French spoken in
Lafayette, Louisiana
Lafayette (, ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the most populous city and parish seat of Lafayette Parish, located along the Vermilion River. It is Louisiana's fourth largest incorporated municipality by population and the 234th- ...
, and evaluated what was then its current status. She pointed out that the gradual decline of French made it "relatively common" to find "grand-parents who speak only French, parents who speak both French and English, children who speak English and understand French, and grand-children who speak and understand only English." The decision to teach French to children was well-received since grandparents hoped for better opportunities for communicating with their grandchildren.
![Louisiana French](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/Louisiana_French_2000.svg)
The
Council for the Development of French in Louisiana
The Council for the Development of French in Louisiana (CODOFIL; french: le Conseil pour le développement du français en Louisiane) is Louisiana's Office of Francophone Affairs (french: Agence des affaires francophones). It is a state agency wh ...
(CODOFIL) was established in 1968 to promote the preservation of French language and culture in Louisiana. The Louisiana state legislature has greatly shifted its stance on the status of French. Since the passage of Legislative Act No. 409 in 1968, the Louisiana governor is granted the authorization "to establish the Council for the Development of Louisiana-French" and that the agency is to consist of no more than fifty members, including a chairman. The name was soon changed to CODOFIL and was granted the power to "do anything possible and necessary to encourage the development, usage and preservation of French as it exists in Louisiana".
In 1984, Jules O. Daigle, a
Roman Catholic priest
The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...
, published ''A Dictionary of the Cajun Language'' the first dictionary devoted to "Cajun French". Once considered an authority on the language, it is however not exhaustive; it omits alternate spellings and synonyms that Father Daigle deemed "perversions" of the language but are nonetheless popular among so-called Louisiana French speakers and writers.
Though remaining useful today, Daigle's dictionary has been superseded by the ''Dictionary of Louisiana French'' (2010), edited by Albert Valdman and other authorities on the language.
Beginning in the 1990s, various signage, packaging, and documentation in French became present throughout the state. State and local tourism bureau commissions were influential in convincing city, parish and state officials to produce bilingual signage and documentation. French and English bilingual signage is, therefore, usually confined to the old districts of cities, like the
French Quarter in New Orleans, downtown
Lafayette
Lafayette or La Fayette may refer to:
People
* Lafayette (name), a list of people with the surname Lafayette or La Fayette or the given name Lafayette
* House of La Fayette, a French noble family
** Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757 ...
and
New Iberia
New Iberia (french: La Nouvelle-Ibérie; es, Nueva Iberia) is the largest city in and parish seat of Iberia Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The city of New Iberia is located approximately southeast of Lafayette, and forms part of the Laf ...
(trilingual with Spanish),
St. Martinville,
Breaux Bridge
Breaux Bridge (;Jack A. Reynolds. "Breaux Bridge" entry i"Louisiana Placenames of Romance Origin."LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses #7852. 1942. p. 77. french: Pont-Breaux; frc, Pont-(de)-Breaux ) is a small city in St. Martin Parish, Loui ...
, as well as several other cities. Locals continue to refer to the place names in English and for postal services, English is generally preferred. To meet the demands of a growing francophone tourist market, tourism bureaus and commissions throughout the state, particularly in southern Louisiana, have information on tourist sites in both French and English as well as in other major languages spoken by tourists.
File:Paul Breaux Middle School Bilingual Sign.jpg, Paul Breaux Middle School, Lafayette, Louisiana
File:Downtown New Iberia Trilingual French, English, Spanish signage.jpg, New Iberia, Louisiana
File:Mel's Diner Lafayette Louisiana.jpg, Mel's Diner, Lafayette, Louisiana
File:Lafayette Parish Courthouse Louisiana Bilingual Title.jpg, Lafayette Parish Courthouse, Lafayette, Louisiana
File:St. Martinville Louisiana Bilingual Street Signs.jpg, St. Martinville, Louisiana
File:Signalisation_routière_bilingue_à_l'entrée_de_la_Louisiane.jpg, alt=Panneau de Bienvenue dans l'état de Louisiane, Louisiana state welcome sign
Recent developments
Many young adults are learning enough French to understand French music lyrics. Also, there is now a trend to use French-language websites to learn the dialect. Culinary words and terms of endearment such as "cher" (dear) and "nonc" (uncle) are still heard among otherwise English-speaking Louisianians.
An article written online by the
Université Laval
Université Laval is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university was founded by royal charter issued by Queen Victoria in 1852, with roots in the founding of the Séminaire de Québec in 1663 by François de Montmo ...
argues that the state of Louisiana's shift, from an anti-French stance to one of soft promotion has been of great importance to the survival of the language. The article states that it is advantageous to invigorate the revival of the language, to better cherish the state's rich heritage, and to protect a francophone minority that has suffered greatly from negligence by political and religious leaders. Furthermore, the university's article claims that it is CODOFIL rather than the state itself which sets
language policy; the only political stance the state of Louisiana makes is that of noninterference. 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.
According to Jacques Henry, former executive director of CODOFIL, much progress has been made for francophones and that the future of French in Louisiana is not merely a symbolic one. According to statistics gathered by CODOFIL, the past twenty years has seen widespread acceptance of French-immersion programs. He goes further to write that the official recognition, appreciation by parents, and inclusion of French in schools reflects growing regard of the language. Ultimately the survival of French in Louisiana can only be guaranteed by Louisianan parents and politicians, but that there is still hope. Similarly, the state legislature passed the Louisiana French Language Services Act in 2011 with particular mention to cultural tourism, local culture, and heritage. The bill sets forth that each branch of the state government shall take necessary action to identify employees who are proficient in French. Each branch of the state government is to take necessary steps in producing services in the French language for both locals and visitors. This bill is, however, an unfunded state mandate. The legislative act was drafted and presented by francophone and
francophile
A Francophile, also known as Gallophile, is a person who has a strong affinity towards any or all of the French language, French history, French culture and/or French people. That affinity may include France itself or its history, language, cuisin ...
senators and representatives as it asserts that the French language is vital to the economy of the state.
In October 2018, through an initiative launched by Scott Tilton and Rudy Bazenet, Louisiana became the first U.S. state to join the
Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie
The (OIF; sometimes shortened to the Francophonie, french: La Francophonie , but also called International Organisation of in English-language context) is an international organization representing countries and regions where French is a ...
. Since Louisiana joined the Francophonie, new organizations have launched to help revitalize Louisiana French, including the Nous Foundation.
Grassroots initiatives remain popular among francophone subsections of Louisianian society, often organized through online platforms such as Facebook. French-language initiatives founded in the late 2010s and early 2020s include Télé-Louisiane, a multimedia platform; Charrer-Veiller, a podcast (defunct as of 2022); LaCréole, another podcast; and ''Le Bourdon de la Louisiane'', a web gazette. Poetry remains the most popular medium of literary expression, with poets such as Kirby Jambon and Ashlee Michot receiving international attention.
As with other cases of language revitalization (such as
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
), young Louisianians may speak a more standardized French than their forebears, having learned French both at school and via the greater community. Among such youths, the influence of vernacular Louisiana French on their speech patterns varies from speaker to speaker, depending on such factors as ethnic background, socioeconomic class, exposure to francophones of the elder generation, educational level, political beliefs and personal preference.
Given increased levels of education in Standard French and greater exposure to the international ''francophonie'', it is likely Louisiana French will continue to evolve in this manner, with some traditionally Louisianian words and linguistic features being retained while others slowly fade.
Population
Reliable counts of speakers of Louisiana French are difficult to obtain as distinct from other varieties of French. However, the vast majority of native residents of Louisiana and east and southeast Texas who speak French are likely speakers of Louisiana French.
In Louisiana, , the population of French speakers was approximately 115,183.
These populations were concentrated most heavily in the southern, coastal parishes.
In Texas, , the French-speaking population was 55,773, though many of these were likely immigrants from France and other locations, living in the urban areas.
Nevertheless, in the rural eastern/southeastern Texas counties of
Orange
Orange most often refers to:
*Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis''
** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower
*Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum
* ...
,
Jefferson Jefferson may refer to:
Names
* Jefferson (surname)
* Jefferson (given name)
People
* Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), third president of the United States
* Jefferson (footballer, born 1970), full name Jefferson Tomaz de Souza, Brazilian foo ...
,
Chambers
Chambers may refer to:
Places
Canada:
*Chambers Township, Ontario
United States:
*Chambers County, Alabama
* Chambers, Arizona, an unincorporated community in Apache County
* Chambers, Nebraska
* Chambers, West Virginia
* Chambers Township, Hol ...
,
Newton,
Jasper
Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases,Kostov, R. I. 2010. Review on the mineralogical systematics of jasper and related rocks. – Archaeometry Workshop, 7, 3, 209-213PDF/ref> ...
,
Tyler Tyler may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Tyler (name), an English name; with lists of people with the surname or given name
* Tyler, the Creator (born 1991), American rap artist and producer
* John Tyler, 10th president of the United ...
,
Liberty
Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom.
In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...
, and
Hardin alone—areas where it can be reasonably presumed that almost all French speakers are Louisiana French speakers—the total French-speaking population was composed of 3,400 individuals. It is likely a substantial portion of the 14,493 speakers in Houston's
Harris county are also Louisiana French speakers. With this in mind, a marked decline in the number of French speakers in Texas has been noticed in the last half of the twentieth century. For example, at one point the French-speaking population of Jefferson County was 24,049 as compared to the mere 1,922 today. Likewise, in Harris County the French-speaking population has shifted from 26,796 to 14,493 individuals.
Louisiana French-speaking populations can also be found in southern Mississippi and Alabama, as well as pockets in other parts of the United States.
Grammar
Despite ample time for Louisiana French to diverge, the basic grammatical core of the language remains similar or the same as Standard French.
Even so, it can be expected that the language would begin to diverge due to the various influences of neighboring languages, changing francophone demographics, and unstable opportunities for education. Furthermore, Louisiana French lacks any official regulating body unlike that of
Standard French
Standard French (in French: ''le français standard'', ''le français normé'', ''le français neutre'' eutral Frenchor ''le français international'' nternational French is an unofficial term for a standard variety of the French language. It ...
or
Québec French
Quebec French (french: français québécois ), also known as Québécois French, is the predominant variety of the French language spoken in Canada. It is the dominant language of the province of Quebec, used in everyday communication, in educa ...
to take part in standardizing the language.
Pronouns
1. the formal second-person singular form is rarely used
2. ''nous'' is only present in formal language
3. ''eusse/euse'' is confined to the southeastern parishes of Louisiana
Immediately some distinct characteristics of Louisiana French can be gleaned from its personal pronouns. For example, the traditional third-person singular feminine pronoun ''elle'' of Standard French is present but also there is the alternative of ''alle'' which is chosen by some authors since it more closely approximates speakers' pronunciation. Also, use of the pronoun ''ils'' has supplanted the third-person feminine pronoun ''elles'' as it is used to refer to both masculine and feminine subjects. Similarly, all of the other third-person plural pronouns are neutral. The usage of ''-autres'' with plural pronouns is widespread in the language.
Verbs
In order to demonstrate the use of some of the indicative verb tenses in Louisiana French, take the example of ''manger'' meaning to eat:
Some minor simplification of tenses is exhibited in the conjugation of the verb ''manger'', namely of the plural first and second person conjugations which are inflected identically to the third person singular. Not only this, but the inflection of the third person plural verb form has diverged between the form identical to Standard French and the use of ''-ont'' in for all verbs.
The
elision
In linguistics, an elision or deletion is the omission of one or more sounds (such as a vowel, a consonant, or a whole syllable) in a word or phrase. However, these terms are also used to refer more narrowly to cases where two words are run toget ...
that is common in many aspects of French is accelerated in Louisiana French with the
schwa
In linguistics, specifically phonetics and phonology, schwa (, rarely or ; sometimes spelled shwa) is a vowel sound denoted by the IPA symbol , placed in the central position of the vowel chart. In English and some other languages, it rep ...
in ''je'' often omitted regardless of the presence of a following vowel as well as the regular use of ''t'es (tu es) and t'as (tu as)'' as opposed to such avoidance in Standard French.
The present progressive tense of Louisiana French initially appears alien as compared to Standard French but ''après/apé'' possesses the same function signified by ''en train de''.
Contractions
Unlike Standard French, vernacular Louisiana French may avoid article-preposition contractions involving the prepositions ''de'' or ''des'':
*"I learned from the grandparents."
**Louisiana French: ''"J'ai appris de les grand-parents."''
**Standard French: ''"J'ai appris des grand-parents''."
*"the skylight"
**Louisiana French: ''"la lumière de le ciel"''
**Standard French: ''"la lumière du ciel"''
Such contraction avoidance is a purely oral phenomenon, and written registers in Louisiana do not highly differ from Standard French. In novels, newspapers, government documents, plays, letters, etc., written from the colonial era to the early twentieth century, it would be unusual to see ''de le'' used in place of ''du'', or ''de les'' in place of ''des.''
Proper names
Place names in Louisiana French may differ from those in Standard French. 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''. Likewise, the contraction ''aux'' (''à'' and ''les'') is used with such locations. This trend seems to vary by region since in
Pierre Part and
Lafayette
Lafayette or La Fayette may refer to:
People
* Lafayette (name), a list of people with the surname Lafayette or La Fayette or the given name Lafayette
* House of La Fayette, a French noble family
** Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757 ...
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
Code-switching
In linguistics, code-switching or language alternation occurs when a speaker alternates between two or more languages, or language varieties, in the context of a single conversation or situation. Code-switching is different from plurilingualism ...
occurs frequently in Louisiana French but this is typical for many language contact situations.
Code-switching was once viewed as a sign of poor education, but it is now understood to be an indication of proficiency in the two different languages that a speaker uses. Fluent Louisiana French speakers frequently alternate between French, English, and Creole, but less proficient speakers usually do not.
Vocabulary
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.
The Louisiana French expression is also used at times in
Canadian French
Canadian French (french: français canadien) is the French language as it is spoken in Canada. It includes Varieties of French#Canada, multiple varieties, the most prominent of which is Quebec French, Québécois (Quebec French). Formerly ''Can ...
, with "un soulier" used formally and other expressions used informally.
Native American influences
English influences
Creole influences
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.
[Albert Valdman, Kevin James Rottet, Margaret M. Marshall et al. The Dictionary of Louisiana French: As spoken in Cajun, Creole and American Indian communities. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2010.]
Varieties
Taxonomies for classing Louisiana French have changed over time. Until the 1960s and 1970s, Louisianans themselves, when speaking in French, referred to their language as ''français'' or ''créole''. In English, they referred to their language as "Creole French" and "French" simultaneously.
[Sylvie Dubois, William Gautreau, Howard Margot, Megan Melançon, Tracy Veler. "The Quality of French Spoken in Louisiana: Linguistic Attitudes toward the Varieties of French in Cajun Communities." SECOL Review 19, 1995: 126-150.]["Le problème de la démarcation des variétés de langues en Louisiane: étiquettes et usages linguistiques." Le français en Amérique du nord: état présent. Ed. Albert Valdman, Julie Auger, and Deborah Piston-Hatlen. Québec: Les Presses de l'Université de Laval, 2005. 349-367.][Michael D. Picone. "Enclave Dialect Contradiction: an external overview of Louisiana French." American Speech 72(2), Summer 1997. 117-153.]
In 1968, Lafayette native
James Domengeaux, a former US Representative, created the
Council for the Development of French in Louisiana
The Council for the Development of French in Louisiana (CODOFIL; french: le Conseil pour le développement du français en Louisiane) is Louisiana's Office of Francophone Affairs (french: Agence des affaires francophones). It is a state agency wh ...
(CODOFIL), whose mission was to oversee the promotion, visibility, and expansion of French language usage in Louisiana. His mission was clear: (re)create a European French bastion in Louisiana by making all Louisianans bilingual in International French and English. To accomplish his goals, he teamed up with political leaders in Canada and France, including former French President
Georges Pompidou
Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou ( , ; 5 July 19112 April 1974) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1969 until his death in 1974. He previously was Prime Minister of France of President Charles de Gaulle from 1962 to 196 ...
. 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: most Louisianans, if they were going to have French in Louisiana schools, wanted Louisiana French, not "Parisian French."
[Cécyle Trépanier and Dean Louder. "Fieldwork in French Louisiana. A Quebec perspective." Field Accounts from French Louisiana. Ed. Jacques Henry and Sara Le Ménéstrel. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2009: 141-168.]
Simultaneously, an ethnic movement took root in southern Louisiana led by Acadian-Creoles like James Donald Faulk,
Dudley Joseph Leblanc and Jules O. Daigle. Faulk, a French teacher in
Crowley, Louisiana
Crowley (Local pronunciation: ) is a city in, and the parish seat of, Acadia Parish, Louisiana, Acadia Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2020 United States census, Crowley had a population of 11,710. Crowley is the principal city of th ...
, 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 1977. Roman Catholic Priest Jules O. Daigle, who in 1984 published his ''Dictionary of the Cajun Language'', followed him. "Cajun French" is intended to imply the French spoken in Louisiana by descendants of Acadians, an ethnic qualifier rather than a linguistic relationship.
["Language labels and language use among Cajuns and Creoles in Louisiana." Ed. T. Sanchez and U. Horesh. Working papers in linguistics, 9(2), 2003. 77–90.]
In 2009, Iberia Parish native and activist Christophe Landry introduced three terms representing lexical differences based on Louisiana topography: Provincial Louisiana French (PLF), Fluvial Louisiana French (FLF), and Urban Louisiana French (ULF). That same year, the ''Dictionary of Louisiana French: As Spoken in Cajun, Creole, and American Indian Communities'', was published. 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 on ancestral varieties. As a result, it is not odd to hear the language referred to as Canadian French, Acadian French, Broken French, Old French, Creole French, Cajun French, and so on. Still other Louisiana francophones will simply refer to their language as French, without qualifiers. Internally, two broad distinctions will be made: ''informal Louisiana French'' and ''formal Louisiana French''.
Informal Louisiana French
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: ''Fluvial'', ''Provincial'', and ''Bayou Lafourche Louisiana French''.
The phonology of these varieties, apart from some minor distinctions, are rather similar and distinct in comparison to the international francophone community. A key feature of the dialect would likely be the pronunciation of the letter "r" as an
alveolar consonant
Alveolar (; UK also ) consonants are articulated with the tongue against or close to the superior alveolar ridge, which is called that because it contains the alveoli (the sockets) of the upper teeth. Alveolar consonants may be articulated with ...
rather than a
uvular consonant
Uvulars are consonants articulated with the back of the tongue against or near the uvula, that is, further back in the mouth than velar consonants. Uvulars may be stops, fricatives, nasals, trills, or approximants, though the IPA does not provi ...
like in Standard French. Vowels are commonly omitted from the beginning and end of for words: "''américain'' → méricain" or "''espérer → spérer''." Likewise, the letter "é" preceding "o" frequently erodes in the spoken informal varieties: "''léonide'' → ''lonide''" or "''cléophas'' → ''clophas''." The nasality and pitch of the language is akin to that associated with provincial speech in Québec. In terms of nasality, Louisiana French is similar to French spoken in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
and
Dakar, Senegal
Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from :wo:daqaar, daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar ...
. 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.
Bayou Lafourche
Particular mention should be made to the francophones of
Bayou Lafourche
Bayou Lafourche ( ), originally called Chetimachas River or La Fourche des Chetimaches, (the fork of the Chitimacha), is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 20, 2011 b ...
, who speak a linguistic feature that is absent everywhere else in Louisiana. Some francophones along Bayou Lafourche pronounce the letters "g" and "j" as a
voiceless glottal fricative
The voiceless glottal fricative, sometimes called voiceless glottal transition, and sometimes called the aspirate, is a type of sound used in some spoken languages that patterns like a fricative or approximant consonant '' phonologically'', b ...
, but others pronounce the two letters in the manner of most other francophones.
Two theories exist to explain the feature:
# Some activists and linguists attribute this feature to an inheritance of Acadian French spoken in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and other Canadian maritime provinces, a theory based entirely on observation of shared vocal features rather than the communities being linked by migration.
# On the other hand, it has been suggested that there may be a linguistic link to the Spanish-speaking
Isleños
Isleños (Spanish: ) are the inhabitants of the Canary Islands, and by extension the Kinship, descendants of Canarian people, Canarian settlers and immigrants to present-day Louisiana, Texas, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Puerto Rico ...
living at the Mississippi River and Bayou Lafourche junction.
The
Louisiana Creole
Louisiana Creole ( lou, Kréyòl Lalwizyàn, links=no) is a French-based creole language spoken by fewer than 10,000 people, mostly in the state of Louisiana. It is spoken today by people who may racially identify as White, Black, mixed, and N ...
spoken in Lafourche Parish in and around
Kraemer,
Choctaw
The Choctaw (in the Choctaw language, Chahta) are a Native American people originally based in the Southeastern Woodlands, in what is now Alabama and Mississippi. Their Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choctaw people are ...
, 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.
Formal Louisiana French
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 with French speakers from Europe, it is regarded as a more conservative variety of the language. Areas where this formal variety can be heard include
,
Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-sma ...
,
St. 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'' is far more prevalent in this register, whereas ''nous'' has been supplanted by ''on'' in the informal varieties.
File:Louisiana French 19th century document.png, 19th century Notarial document from St. Martinville.
File:Louisiana French 19th century document 2.png, 19th century Newspaper clipping from Thibodaux.
Phonology
Consonants
Louisiana French consonants do not show severe differences from Metropolitan French consonants, except that unlike most of French spoken varieties, which use uvular varieties of r ; Louisiana French uses the Classic alveolar trill or flap , just like in Spanish, Italian, and several other Romance languages; e.g. ''français'' 'French'.
Like in several colloquial varieties of French, some consonant clusters are reduced, especially the ones having the liquids and . E.g. ''arbre'' → 'tree', ''possible'' → 'possible', astre → → 'star', ''juste'' 'fair, just'.
Dental stops are usually affricated before high front vowels and semivowels: in other words, , , , , , , , are then pronounced , , , , , , , . The degree of palatalization depends on the speaker; e.g. ''petit'' 'small, little'.
The velar stops , , , are optionally affricated , , , , depending on the speaker; e.g. ''cuisine'' 'kitchen, cuisine'.
In some mesolects, just like in Haitian Creole, general pronunciation may become
non-rhotic
Rhoticity in English is the pronunciation of the historical rhotic consonant by English speakers. The presence or absence of rhoticity is one of the most prominent distinctions by which varieties of English can be classified. In rhotic variet ...
; e.g. ''parler'' → 'to speak'.
Vowels
The distinction seldom exists in Louisiana French. However, a is usually pronounced when making up the diphthong , before and when being the last open syllable; e.g. ''fois'' 'time' (frequence), ''mardi'' 'Tuesday', ''rat'' 'rat'.
The ''maître - mettre'' distinction does not exist.
Like other French varieties, can be omitted in fast speech, e.g. ''je peux'' → → 'I can'.
Like in Quebec French, may become laxed , depending on the speaker; e.g. ''musique'' 'music'.
The four nasal vowels have evolved according to their own pattern, similarly, but not the same way, to French spoken by Haitians: → , → , → , → .
Words pronounced in Classical French as and (using ''amm-'', ''ann-'', ''emm-'', ''enn-''), are pronounced and respectively, rather than and as in Modern French; e.g. ''femme'' 'woman', ''solennité'' 'solemnity', ''s'enamourer (de)'' 'to fall in love (with)'.
Community
Healing practices
Folk healers (french: traiteur/traiteuse), are still found throughout the state. 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.
Music
Louisiana French has been the traditional language for singing music now referred to as Cajun,
zydeco
Zydeco ( or , french: Zarico) is a music genre that evolved in southwest Louisiana by French Creole speakers which blends blues, rhythm and blues, and music indigenous to the Louisiana Creoles and the Native American people of Louisiana. Al ...
, 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.
[Michael Tisserand. The Kingdom of Zydeco. Arcade Publishers, 1998.]
Cultural Institutions
French-language events
* Festival International de Louisiane
* Festivals Acadiens Et Créoles
* Association louisianaise des clubs français des écoles secondaires
* Francophone Open Microphone, Houma, Louisiana
* Louisiana Creole Families/Bastille Day Celebration, Ville Platte, Louisiana
*Bastille Day Fête, New Orleans Art Museum, New Orleans Louisiana
* Louisiana State University Night of French Cinema, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
*Rendez-vous des Cajuns, Liberty Theater, Eunice, Louisiana
La table française
Today one can find many local groups dedicated to practicing Louisiana French regularly, usually over a meal with other interested parties. Many of said groups can be found through the online Cajun French Virtual Table Française:
*Vermilion Parish Library, Abbeville, Louisiana
*NuNu's, Arnaudville, Louisiana
*La Madeleine's, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
*City Cafe on O'Neal Lane, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
*LSU Community Education Building Room C117, Eunice, Louisiana
*Ascension Parish Library, Galvez, Louisiana
*St. James Parish, Gramercy, Louisiana
*Acadiana PoBoys & Cajun Cuisine, Lafayette, Louisiana
*Dwyer's Café, Lafayette, Louisiana
*Blue Moon Saloon, Lafayette, Louisiana
*Carpe Diem, Lafayette, Louisiana
*Chez Bi Bi's Patisserie, Lafayette, Louisiana
*Johnston Street Java, Lafayette, Louisiana
*Lafayette Public Library South, Lafayette, Louisiana
*Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum, Lafayette, Louisiana
*Restaurant Pamplona, Lafayette, Louisiana
*Nanny's Restaurant, Marksville, Louisiana
*Marrero Senior Center, Marrero, Louisiana
*Victor's Cafeteria, New Iberia, Louisiana
*Carrollton Table Francaise, New Orleans, Louisiana
*Keller Library, New Orleans, Louisiana
*Le Vieux Village, Opelousas, Louisiana
*Java Square Cafe, Opelousas, Louisiana
*Ascension Parish Library Galvez Branch, Prairieville, Louisiana
*The Lafourche Central Market, Raceland, Louisiana
*Frog City Travel Plaza, Rayne, Louisiana
*The Bernard House, Rayne, Louisiana
*Begnaud House Heritage Visitor Center, Scott, Louisiana
*La Lafourche Parish Library, Thibodaux, Louisiana
*Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center, Thibodaux, Louisiana
* French Quarter Cajun Seafood Restaurant, Houston, Texas
Media
Radio
*
KRVS
KRVS (88.7 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a public radio format. Licensed to Lafayette, Louisiana, United States, it is currently owned by the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and features programming from American Public Media, Nation ...
88.7:, Radio Acadie
*
KBON
KBON (101.1 FM broadcasting, FM) is a radio station broadcasting an Americana (music), Americana format, deeply rooted in the music of south Louisiana, including swamp pop, zydeco, and cajun-French music mixed in with some traditional oldies, coun ...
101.1 FM: Louisiana Proud
*
KLEB
KLEB (1600 AM "The Rajun' Cajun") is a radio station in Golden Meadow, Louisiana, broadcasting a mix of swamp pop and traditional cajun music. In September 2019, it began to simulcast on K274DE 102.7 MHz, which broadcasts from the KLRZ to ...
1600 AM: The Rajun' Cajun
*
KJEF 1290 AM: Cajun Radio
*
KVPI 1050 AM: The Legend
*
KVPI 92.5 FM: Acadiana's Greatest Hits
Periodicals, newspapers, & publications
*''Les éditions Tintamarre''
*''La Louisiane''
*''Le Bourdon de la Louisiane''
*''La revue de la Louisiane'' (defunct)
Cable networks
*TV5 Monde
*Louisiana Public Broadcasting (LPB)
*KLFY TV10
Podcasts
*Charrer-Veiller
*LACréole Show
Multimedia platforms
*New Niveau
*Télé-Louisiane
Education
French-language Public School Curriculum
![Louisiana French Immersion Parishes](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Louisiana_French_Immersion_Parishes.png)
As of autumn 2011, Louisiana has French-language total immersion or bilingual French and English immersion in ten parishes:
Calcasieu,
Acadia
Acadia (french: link=no, Acadie) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. During much of the 17th and early ...
,
St. Landry,
St. Martin,
Iberia
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
,
Lafayette
Lafayette or La Fayette may refer to:
People
* Lafayette (name), a list of people with the surname Lafayette or La Fayette or the given name Lafayette
* House of La Fayette, a French noble family
** Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757 ...
,
Assumption
Assumption, in Christianity, refers to the Assumption of Mary, a belief in the taking up of the Virgin Mary into heaven.
Assumption may also refer to:
Places
* Assumption, Alberta, Canada
* Assumption, Illinois, United States
** Assumption Tow ...
,
East Baton Rouge
East Baton Rouge Parish (french: Paroisse de Bâton Rouge Est) is the most populous parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2010 U.S. census, its population was 440,171, and 456,781 at the 2020 census. The parish seat is Baton Rouge, Lou ...
,
Jefferson Jefferson may refer to:
Names
* Jefferson (surname)
* Jefferson (given name)
People
* Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), third president of the United States
* Jefferson (footballer, born 1970), full name Jefferson Tomaz de Souza, Brazilian foo ...
and
Orleans. The curriculum in both the total French-language
immersion
Immersion may refer to:
The arts
* "Immersion", a 2012 story by Aliette de Bodard
* ''Immersion'', a French comic book series by Léo Quievreux#Immersion, Léo Quievreux
* Immersion (album), ''Immersion'' (album), the third album by Australian gro ...
as well as in the
bilingual
Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all E ...
program follows the same standards as all other schools in the parish and state.
The
Council for the Development of French in Louisiana
The Council for the Development of French in Louisiana (CODOFIL; french: le Conseil pour le développement du français en Louisiane) is Louisiana's Office of Francophone Affairs (french: Agence des affaires francophones). It is a state agency wh ...
(CODOFIL) recruits teachers locally and globally each year. Additionally
Les Amis de l'Immersion, Inc.is the parent-teacher organization for students in French immersion in the state which organizes
summer camp
A summer camp or sleepaway camp is a supervised program for children conducted during the summer months in some countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer camp are known as ''campers''. Summer school is usually a part of the academ ...
s, fundraisers and outreach for teachers, parents and students in the program.
CODOFIL Consortium of Louisiana Universities and Colleges
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:
*
Centenary College of Louisiana
*
Delgado Community College
Delgado Community College (DCC) is a public community college in Louisiana with campuses throughout the New Orleans metropolitan area. Its current campuses are in New Orleans (Orleans Parish) and in Jefferson Parish. The original main campus—Ci ...
*
Dillard University
Dillard University is a private, historically black university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded in 1930 and incorporating earlier institutions founded as early as 1869 after the American Civil War, it is affiliated with the United Church of Ch ...
*
Grambling State University
Grambling State University (GSU, Grambling, or Grambling State) is a public historically black university in Grambling, Louisiana. Grambling State is home of the Eddie G. Robinson Museum and is listed on the Louisiana African American Herita ...
*
Louisiana College
Louisiana Christian University (LCU) is a private Baptist university in Pineville, Louisiana. It enrolls 1,100 to 1,200 students. It is affiliated with the Louisiana Baptist Convention (Southern Baptist Convention).
Louisiana Christ ...
*
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...
*
Louisiana Tech University
Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Ruston, Louisiana. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activ ...
*
Loyola University
*
McNeese State University
McNeese State University is a public university in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Founded in 1939 as Lake Charles Junior College, it was renamed McNeese Junior College after John McNeese, an early local educator. The present name was adopted in 1970. ...
*
Nicholls State University
*
Northwestern State University
Northwestern State University of Louisiana (NSU) is a public university primarily situated in Natchitoches, Louisiana, with a nursing campus in Shreveport and general campuses in Leesville/Fort Polk and Alexandria. It is a part of the Univer ...
*
Our Lady of Holy Cross College
University of Holy Cross (UHC) is a private Catholic liberal arts college in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was founded by the Marianites of Holy Cross.
History
University of Holy Cross was founded in 1916 as a two-year women's normal school by ...
*
Southeastern Louisiana University
Southeastern Louisiana University (Southeastern) is a public university in Hammond, Louisiana. It was founded in 1925 by Linus A. Sims as Hammond Junior College. Sims succeeded in getting the campus moved to north Hammond in 1928, when it becam ...
*
Southern University at Baton Rouge
*
Southern University at New Orleans
Southern University at New Orleans (also known as SUNO) is a public historically black university in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is a member of the Southern University System and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.
History
Southern University ...
*
Tulane University
Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...
*
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
The University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette, University of Louisiana, ULL, or UL) is a public research university in Lafayette, Louisiana. It has the largest enrollment within the nine-campus University of Louisiana System and the s ...
*
University of Louisiana at Monroe
The University of Louisiana Monroe (ULM) is a public university in Monroe, Louisiana. It is part of the University of Louisiana System.
History
ULM opened in 1931 as Ouachita Parish Junior College. Three years later it became the Northeast Cen ...
*
University of New Orleans
The University of New Orleans (UNO) is a public research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is a member of the University of Louisiana System and the Urban 13 association. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High rese ...
*
Xavier University of Louisiana
Xavier University of Louisiana (also known as XULA) is a private, historically black, Catholic university in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the only Catholic HBCU and, upon the canonization of Katharine Drexel in 2000, became the first Cathol ...
Notable French-speaking people from Louisiana
*
Micaela Almonester, Baroness de Pontalba
Micaela Leonarda Antonia de Almonester Rojas y de la Ronde, Baroness de Pontalba (November 6, 1795"Jackson Square". ''Louisiana Historical Quarterly''. Henry Renshaw.- April 20, 1874) was a wealthy New Orleans-born Creole aristocrat, businesswoma ...
*
Barry Jean Ancelet
Barry Jean Ancelet (pseudonym Jean Arceneaux; born 1951) is a Cajun folklorist in Louisiana French and ethnomusicologist in Cajun music. He has written several books, and under his pseudonym Jean Arceneaux, including poetry and lyrics to songs.
...
*
Étienne de Boré
Jean Étienne de Boré (27 December 1741 – 1 February 1820) was a Creole French planter, born in Kaskaskia, Illinois Country, who was known for producing the first granulated sugar in Louisiana. At the time, the area was under Spanish rule. Hi ...
*
Calvin Borel
*
P.G.T. Beauregard
Pierre Gustave Toutant-Beauregard (May 28, 1818 - February 20, 1893) was a Confederate general officer of Louisiana Creole descent who started the American Civil War by leading the attack on Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861. Today, he is common ...
*
Boozoo Chavis
Wilson Anthony "Boozoo" Chavis (pronounced CHAY-viss) (October 23, 1930 – May 5, 2001) was an American accordion player, singer, songwriter and bandleader. He was one of the pioneers of zydeco, the fusion of Cajun and blues music develop ...
*
Clifton Chenier
Clifton Chenier (June 25, 1925 – December 12, 1987), was an American Creole musician known as a pioneer of zydeco, a style of music which arose from Creole music, with R&B, blues, and Cajun influences. He sang and played the accordion and w ...
*
Kate Chopin
Kate Chopin (, also ; born Katherine O'Flaherty; February 8, 1850 – August 22, 1904) was an American author of short stories and novels based in Louisiana. She is considered by scholars to have been a forerunner of American 20th-century femini ...
*
John Delafose
John Irvin Delafose (April 16, 1939 – September 18, 1994) was an American French-speaking Creole Zydeco accordionist from Louisiana.
Early life
Delafose was born in the unincorporated village of Duralde, Evangeline Parish, Louisiana, near Mamo ...
*
Rodolphe Desdunes
Rodolphe Lucien Desdunes (November 15, 1849 – August 14, 1928) was an African-American civil rights activist, poet, historian, journalist, and customs officer primarily active in New Orleans, Louisiana.
In Louisiana he served as a militiaman d ...
*
James R. Domengeaux
James R. Domengeaux, known as Jimmy Domengeaux (January 6, 1907 – April 11, 1988), was a lawyer from Lafayette, Louisiana, who served in the United States House of Representatives for Louisiana's 3rd congressional district from 1941 to 1949 ...
*
Michael Doucet
*
Edwin Edwards
Edwin Washington Edwards (August 7, 1927 – July 12, 2021) was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the U.S. representative for from 1965 to 1972 and as the 50th governor of Louisiana for four terms (1972– ...
*
Canray Fontenot
Canray Fontenot (October 16, 1922 – July 29, 1995) was an American Creole fiddle player, who has been described as "the greatest Creole Louisiana French fiddler of our time."
Early life
Canray Fontenot was born in L'Anse aux Vaches, ne ...
*
Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau
Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau (née Avegno; 29 January 1859 – 25 July 1915) was an American-born Parisian socialite, who gained notoriety as the subject of John Singer Sargent's painting '' Portrait of Madame X''. The suggestion of indisc ...
*
Richard Guidry
Richard Guidry (October 18, 1949 – July 27, 2008) was a Cajun cultural activist and educator who worked to save the French language in Louisiana.
Born in Gueydan, Louisiana, Gueyden, Louisiana, on October 18, 1949, Guidry (who referred to hims ...
*
Sidonie de la Houssaye
Sidonie de la Houssaye, born Hélène Perret, pen name Louise Raymond ( Edgard, Louisiana, August 17, 1820 – February 18, 1894) was an American-born French language writer of Louisiana Creole descent.
The daughter of Creoles Ursin Perret and Fra ...
*
Sybil Kein
Sybil Kein (also known as Consuela Provost, born 29 September 1939) is a Louisiana Creole poet, playwright, scholar, and musician.
Provost was born Consuela Marie Moore on 29 September 1939. She largely created the field of Creole Studies through ...
*John LaFleur II
*
Jean Lafitte
Jean Lafitte ( – ) was a French pirate and privateer who operated in the Gulf of Mexico in the early 19th century. He and his older brother Pierre spelled their last name Laffite, but English language documents of the time used "Lafitte". Th ...
*
Iry LeJeune
Ira "Iry" LeJeune (October 27, 1928 Cajun Music a Reflection of the People – October 8, 1955) was one of the best selling and most popular Cajun musicians in the mid to late 1940s into the early 1950s.
His recordings and repertoire remai ...
*Christophe Landry
*
Marie Laveau
Marie Catherine Laveau (September 10, 1801 – June 15, 1881)''Marie Laveau The Mysterious Voodoo Queen: A Study of Powerful Female Leadership in Nineteenth-Century New Orleans'' by Ina Johanna Fandrich was a Louisiana Creole practitioner of ...
*
Rosie Ledet
Rosie Ledet (born Mary Roszela Bellard; October 25, 1971) is an American Creole Zydeco accordion player and singer.
Her songs are known for their sultry and suggestive lyrics. She tours and records with her band, the Zydeco Playboys.
Biograph ...
*
Alfred Mercier
*
Alexandre Mouton
Alexandre Mouton (November 19, 1804 – February 12, 1885) was a United States senator and the 11th Governor of Louisiana.
Early life
He was born in Attakapas district (now Lafayette Parish) into a wealthy plantation-owning Acadian fam ...
*
Alfred Mouton
*
Stephen Ortego
Stephen Juan Ortego (born February 13, 1984) is a Democratic Party (United States), Democratic former member of the Louisiana State Legislature, Louisiana House of Representatives from Carencro, Louisiana, Carencro in Lafayette Parish. He was ...
*
Glen Pitre
Glen Anthony Pitre (born November 10, 1955) is an American screenwriter and film director. He has written nine films since 1986. His debut film ''Belizaire the Cajun'' was screened in the ''Un Certain Regard'' section at the 1986 Cannes Film Fest ...
*
Homère Plessy (of ''
Plessy v. Ferguson
''Plessy v. Ferguson'', 163 U.S. 537 (1896), was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in which the Court ruled that racial segregation laws did not violate the U.S. Constitution as long as the facilities for each race were equal in qualit ...
'')
*
Zachary Richard
Ralph Zachary Richard (born September 8, 1950) is an American singer-songwriter and poet. His music is a combination of Cajun and Zydeco musical styles.
Biography
Zachary Richard began his musical career at the age of 8, as soprano in the Bish ...
*Ambrose Sam
*
Mabel Sonnier Savoie
*
Ed Orgeron
Edward James Orgeron Jr. (; born July 27, 1961) is an American football coach. He was most recently the head football coach at Louisiana State University (LSU), a position he held from midway through the 2016 season until the 2021 season. Orge ...
See also
*
List of Louisiana parishes by French-speaking population
*
Louisiana Creole
Louisiana Creole ( lou, Kréyòl Lalwizyàn, links=no) is a French-based creole language spoken by fewer than 10,000 people, mostly in the state of Louisiana. It is spoken today by people who may racially identify as White, Black, mixed, and N ...
*
Acadian French
Acadian French (french: français acadien, acadjonne) is a variety of French spoken by Acadians, mostly in the region of Acadia, Canada. Acadian French has 7 regional accents, including chiac and brayon.
Phonology
Since there was relatively li ...
*
Missouri French
Missouri French (french: français du Missouri) or Illinois Country French (french: français du Pays des Illinois) also known as , and nicknamed " Paw-Paw French" often by individuals outside the community but not exclusively, is a variety of ...
*
New England French
*
American French
American French (french: le français d'Amérique, link=no) is a collective term used for the varieties of the French language that are spoken in North America, which include:
* Canadian French
** Quebec French
*** Joual
**Ontario French
**Métis ...
*
French language in the United States
The French language is spoken as a minority language in the United States. Roughly 2.1 million Americans over the age of five reported speaking the language at home in a federal 2010 estimate, making French the fourth most-spoken language in the ...
*
Council for the Development of French in Louisiana
The Council for the Development of French in Louisiana (CODOFIL; french: le Conseil pour le développement du français en Louisiane) is Louisiana's Office of Francophone Affairs (french: Agence des affaires francophones). It is a state agency wh ...
References
Further reading
*
*
*
*
*''Cajun French Dictionary and Phrasebook'' by Clint Bruce and Jennifer Gipson . Hippocrene Books Inc.
*''Tonnerre mes chiens! A glossary of Louisiana French figures of speech'' by Amanda LaFleur . Renouveau Publishing.
*''A Dictionary of the Cajun Language'' by Rev. Msgr. Jules O. Daigle, M.A., S.T.L. . Swallow Publications, Inc.
*''Cajun Self-Taught'' by Rev. Msgr. Jules O. Daigle, M.A., S.T.L. . Swallow Publications, Inc.
*''Language Shift in the Coastal Marshes of Louisiana'' by Kevin J. Rottet . Peter Lang Publishing, Inc.
*''Conversational Cajun French I'' by Harry Jannise and Randall P. Whatley . The Chicot Press.
*''Dictionary of Louisiana French as Spoken in Cajun, Creole, and American Indian Communities'', senior editor Albert Valdman. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2010.
*Parker, J. L. (2019). Second language learning and cultural identity: Reconceptualizing the French curriculum in Louisiana colleges and universities. ''Journal of Curriculum Studies Research'', 1(1), 33-42. https://curriculumstudies.org/index.php/CS/article/view/7/3
External links
Council for the Development of French in Louisiana (CODOFIL)Cajun French - Le français cajun, LSUCreole Poems*
ttps://www.youtube.com/c/T%C3%A9l%C3%A9-Louisiane Télé-Louisianebr>
The NOUS FoundationLe bijou sur le Bayou TecheLa Base de données lexicographiques de la LouisianeTerrebonne Parish French Online!Cajun French Virtual Table FrancaiseCajun French Virtual Table Française
{{Authority control
French language in the United States
Endangered Romance languages
Endangered diaspora languages
French dialects
French-American culture in Louisiana
Languages of Louisiana