U.S.A.

– Louisiana

Cajun English

Cajun English, or Cajun Vernacular English, is the dialect of English spoken by Cajuns living in southern
Louisiana and, to a lesser degree, in eastern Texas. Cajun English is significantly influenced by Cajun
French, the historical language of the Cajun people, who descended from Acadian settlers and others. It
is derived from Acadian French and is on the List of dialects of the English language for North America.
This differed markedly from Metropolitan or Parisian French in terms of pronunciation and vocabulary,
particularly because of the long isolation of Acadians, and even more so of 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. Their accent is considerably distinct from the General American.
Cajun French is considered by many to be an endangered language, mostly used by elderly generations.
However it is now frequently spoken by even the youngest Cajuns, and is seeing something of a cultural
renaissance. In recent years, due to influence from tourism and a resurgence of pride in their cultural
identity, a new era of linguistic innovation for Cajun English has begun. Dramatic differences are
developing along both gender and generational lines as for how Cajun English is used and what it means
to be Cajun.

History

Cajun English is spoken throughout Mississippi and up through the gulf of Texas. Its speakers are
descendants of Acadians from Nova Scotia, Canada who, in 1765 moved to French-owned Mississippi
when the British took control of Nova Scotia. In 1803, however, Britain purchased Mississippi as well
and, in 1812, declared English as the official language of the state. Despite this many Cajuns at the time,
who lived in small towns and were poorly educated, continued to use French exclusively. This isolated
them from British colonist, who often ridiculed them and treated them like second-class citizens. In the
1930's English was the only language taught in schools, but the Cajun communities still resisted the
change, using French at home and in their communities. The combination of being native French
speakers and the incomplete English Cajun children were learning during their inconsistent public
education led to the advent of Cajun English, a fusion of both languages.

After WWII, however, Cajun English saw a severe decline in use, as young people entered the military
and were consequently using English more and more in their daily lives. Meanwhile, Cajun children were
beginning to receive better and more consistent education, which allowed them to become wealthier
than the generation before them. At this time, there was still a lot of stigma associated with Cajun
English and in order to achieve and maintain the new social status many young Cajuns now enjoyed,
they abandoned French and Cajun English entirely in favor of more American cultural lifestyles and
dialects. This shift caused Cajun English to become an endangered dialect. Many decades later, the loss
of cultural identity became felt by the new Cajun generation and their efforts to recover it began the
Cajun Renaissance. The corresponding upsurge of Cajun food, music, and festivities have been well
received by tourists and are now supported by the local government. Although Cajun English has made a

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comeback, it is important to note that the bilingualism that originally created it, a knowledge of both
French and English, has not. Cajun English speakers today typically do not speak French, and experts
believe that it is unlikely that this part of the culture will be recovered. This shift away from bilingualism
has changed the source of many of the phonological differences between Cajun English and Standard
American English from interference caused by being a native French speaker to markers of Cajun
identity.

Phonology

Cajun English is distinguished by some of the following phonological features:

The deletion of any word's final consonant (or consonant cluster), and nasal vowels, are common, both
features being found in French. Therefore, hand becomes [hæ̃ ], food becomes [fuː], rent becomes [ɹɪ̃],
New York becomes [nuˈjɔə], and so on.

As a consequence of the removal of a word's final consonant the third person singular (-S) and the past
tense morpheme (-ED) tends to be dropped. So, 'He gave me six' and 'She go with it' rather than 'gives'
and 'goes'. And 'I stay two months' and 'She wash my face' rather than 'stayed' and 'washed'.

Cajun English also has the tendency to drop the auxiliary of the verb 'to be' in the third person singular
(IS) and the second person singular and plurals. For example, 'She pretty' and 'What we doing'.

The typical American gliding vowels [oʊ] (as in boat), [eɪ] (as in bait), [ʊu] (as in boot), [aʊ~æʊ] (as in
bout), [äɪ] (as in bite), and [ɔɪ] (as in boy) have reduced glides or none at all: respectively, [oː], [eː], [uː],
[aː~æː], [äː], and [ɔː].

Many vowels which are distinct in General American English are pronounced the same way due to a
merger; for example, the words hill and heel are homophones, both being pronounced /hɪɹl/[citation
needed].

[h'] dropping, wherein words that begin with the letter /h/ are pronounced without it, so that hair
sounds like air, and so on.

Stress is generally placed on the second or last syllable of a word, a feature inherited directly 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
produce alveolar fricatives in the place of dental fricatives). Examples include "bath" being pronounced
as "bat" and "they" as "day." This feature leads to a common Louisianian paradigm 'dis, dat. dese, dose'
rather than 'this, that, these, those' as a method of describing how Cajuns speak.

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 to speakers of other English varieties. It is notable that after the

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Cajun Renaissance, this feature became more common in men than women, with woman largely or
entirely dropping this phonological feature.

The inclusion of many loanwords, calques, and phrases from French, such as "nonc" (uncle, from the
French oncle), "chèr" (dear, pronounced /ʃæ/, from the French chèr), and "making groceries" (to shop
for groceries, a calque of the Cajun French faire des groceries (épicerie)).

These are a few other examples.

English Cajun English (pronounced)

Ask Ax
They Dey
Them Dem
Those Dose
Something Sometin
Think Fink or Tink
Enough Nuff
Respect Respek
Except Sept
Three Tree
Louisiana Looosiana

Dialects: French-influenced Cajun vocabulary

Allons! : Let's go!

Alors pas : Of course not

Fais do-do : Refers to a dance party, a Cajun version of a square dance.

Dis-moi la vérité ! : Tell me the truth!

Quoi faire ? : Why?

Un magasin : A store

Être en colère : To be angry

Mo chagren : I’m sorry

Une sucette : A pacifier

Une piastre : A dollar

Un caleçon : Boxers

Sha/chèr (a is pronounced like a in apple): Dear or darling - also used as "buddy" or "pal"

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Mais non, chèr ! : Of course not, dear!

Most confusing phrases

There are several phrases used by Cajuns that are completely unknown to non-Cajun speakers. When
outside of Acadiana, Cajuns tend to be made fun of for using these phrases. Young Cajuns are often
jokingly discouraged from marrying non-Cajuns for this simple fact. Some common phrases are listed
below:

Come See

"Come see" is the equivalent of saying "come here" regardless of whether or not there is something to
"see." The French "viens voir," or "venez voir," meaning "come" or "please come," is often used in Cajun
French to ask people to come. This phrasing may have its roots in "viens voir ici" (IPA: [isi]), the French
word for "here."

Save the dishes

To "save the dishes" means to "put away the dishes into cupboards where they belong after being
washed". While dishes are the most common subject, it is not uncommon to save other things. For
example: Save up the clothes, saving the tools, save your toys.

Get/Run down at the store

"Getting/Running down at the store" involves stepping out of a car to enter the store. Most commonly,
the driver will ask the passenger, "Do you want to run/get down with me?" One can get down at any
place, not just the store. The phrase "get down" may come from the act of "getting down from a horse"
as many areas of Acadiana were only accessible by horse (or boat) well into the 20th century. It also may
originate from the French language descendre meaning to get down, much as some English-Spanish
bilingual speakers say "get down," from the Spanish bajar.

Makin' (the) groceries

"Makin' groceries" refers to the act of buying groceries, rather than that of manufacturing them. The
confusion originates from the direct translation of the American French phrase "faire l'épicerie" which is
understood by speakers to mean "to do the grocery shopping." "Faire" as used in the French language
can mean either "to do" or "to make." This is a term frequently used in New Orleans, but it's not used
very much elsewhere in the Acadiana area.

Make water

"Makin water" is using the bathroom. One would say, "I need to go make water." It's mostly used in New
Orleans.

"for" instead of "at"

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Cajun English speakers can exhibit a tendency to use "for" instead of "at" when referring to time. For
example, "I'll be there for 2 o'clock." means "I'll be there at 2 o'clock." Given the connection between
Cajun English and Acadia, this phenomenon can also be seen among Canadian English speakers.

Bibliography:

1. Dubois, Sylvia; Horvath, Barbara (2004). Kortmann, Bernd; Schneider, Edgar W., eds. "Cajun
Vernacular English: phonology". A Handbook of Varieties of English: A Multimedia Reference
Tool. New York: Mouton de Gruyter.
2. Valdman, Albert (2009). Dictionary of Louisiana French. University Press of Mississippi.
3. http://french.about.com/od/grammar/a/faire.htm