| Also Known As: Cajun,Cajan,Acadian,Cadien,Français Acadien
Description:
Cajun French (sometimes called Louisiana Regional French) is one of three varieties or dialects of the French language spoken primarily in the U.S. state of Louisiana, specifically in the southern parishes. Other Louisiana French dialects include Napoleonic French and Colonial or Plantation Society French, spoken primarily in Orleans, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. John the Baptiste, Jefferson, West Bâton-Rouge, Pointe-Coupée, Avoyelles, St. Mary, Iberia, Assumption, and St. Landry parishes. Cajun French is not the same as Louisiana Creole.
It is usually presumed that Cajun French is almost solely derived from Acadian French as it was spoken in the French colony of Acadia (located in what is now the Maritime provinces of Canada and in Maine).
Cajun differs from Metropolitan French in pronunciation, vocabulary and intonation.
The French began sending colonists to Louisiana around the turn of the 18th century. The majority were residents of a small band of French provinces, most notably Île de France.
In 1755 (during the French and Indian War), about 75% of the Acadian population living in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia was deported in what is often known as the Great Expulsion..... full article at Wikipedia |