Cajun English
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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 signifigantly influenced by the Cajun dialect of 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.
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[edit] Part of the Cajun identity
While Cajun French is considered by many to be a dying 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 the /th/ phenome, a feature used by both Cajun English speakers and speakers of Louisiana Creole French (Standard French speakers generally render the /th/ phenome as a /z/).
- Cajun English speakers generally do not aspirate air when pronouncing the consonants /p/ , /t// and /k/. As a result, the words "par" and "bar" are pronounced more or less the same.
- The inclusion of many loanwords, calques, and phrases from French, such as "nonc" (uncle, from the French oncle), "cher"(dear, pronounced /ʃɑ/, from the French chér), and "making groceries" (to shop for groceries, a calque of the French faire les courses)
[edit] Other Examples of Cajun Vocabulary
- alors pas: of course not
- fais do-do: go to sleep
- dit mon la verite! : Tell me the truth!
- co faire? : Why?
- magazin: store
- my eye! (also my foot!): no way!
[edit] Resources
[edit] See Also
- Acadiana, the land, other than France, to which the origins of the Cajuns can be traced
- 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
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