Cajun French
Bayou linguistic heritage
Cajun French is the variety of French spoken by descendants of Acadian settlers in Louisiana, particularly in the bayou country and prairies of the southern part of the state.
It developed in isolation from standard French after the Acadians were expelled from Nova Scotia in the 1750s, absorbing vocabulary from English, Spanish, and Native American languages.
Once discouraged in schools, it now enjoys preservation efforts: My grandmother still speaks Cajun French at home.
- zydecoCreole roots music
- gumboSpiced Louisiana stew
- lagniappeUnexpected extra from seller
- jambalayaSpicy Louisiana rice dish
- traiteurPurveyor of prepared dishes
heritage language · boudin · language preservation · syntax · loanword · phonology · code-switching · patois · endangered language · crawfish · fiddle · accordion · pirogue · bilingualism · moss · Evangeline · roux · prairie
Cajun FrenchHaitian Creole
Caribbean nation's primary language
French, Creole, Cajuns, francophone, Acadiana, Cajun, Acadian, French Creole