Cajun English

Overview:

Cajun English is a dialect of English mainly spoken in southern Louisiana. The Cajun dialect is influenced by languages like French, Canary Island Spanish, German and English (Melancon, 2005).

Origin:

Cajun English is a dialect of English mainly spoken in southern Louisiana. The Cajun dialect is influenced by languages like French, Canary Island Spanish, German and English (Melancon, 2005). This dialect is primarily spoken by Cajuns, an ethnic group mainly residing in the United States and Canada. Cajuns are descendants of French settlers who colonized Acadia in the early 1600s (Melancon, 2005). The land was fought over between France and England and eventually became controlled by the British. Once taken over the British, every Acadian with French ancestry was forced to “pledge allegiance to the British government” and those who resisted were deported to American colonies, at which time were under the possession of the British.

Feared by their English-speaking counterparts, Acadians moved to isolated communities which to some extent led them to preserve the French spoken 18th century (Ramos, 2012). For survive and economic purposes, Acadians (eventually referred to as Cajuns) adopted English but it was heavily influenced and mixed with their native French language as well as other languages once the culture was adopted by other ethnic groups (Melancon, 2005). Eventually, fewer and fewer people spoke French due to forced English schooling in Louisiana and intrusion by media leading to the rise of English use and the dialect.

Basic Vocabulary and Phrases:

• Alors pas à = of course not
• Cahbin à = bathroom
• Fais do-do à = go to sleep
• Magazine à = store
• Speed up the TV à = turn up the volume
• Une piastre à = a dollar

Grammar Rules and Example Sentences:

• Deletion of final consonant
  • EX: hand = han; food = foo; wide = wie
• Vowel pronunciation ([i], [e], [o], and [u])
  • The vowel [i] is pronounced in words such as me, street, over read
  • The vowel [e] is pronounces in words such as make or take
  • The vowel [o] is pronounced in words such as know, both, or over
  • The vowel [u] is pronounced in words such as food, school, and two
• Non-aspiration of /p/, /t/, and /k/
  • Pat is pronounced like bat or par is pronounced like bar à sound similar to other people who are not aware of the language  
• Absence of auxiliary of the verb
  • EX: “she pretty” or “what we doing?”

Perception of the language in greater society:

As seen through its history, Cajun English was stigmatized and considered to be a mark of ignorance. In fact, the dialect started out as a form of French dialect and transitioned into English due to laws passed by the Louisiana Constitution in the 1920s that forced English schooling. Eventually, as the children of this community began to attend English speaking schools, French was used less and less due to the negative stereotypes associated (Ramos, 2012). Although now the dialect is making a comeback, there is still a loss of identity felt by the younger generation and most of the dialect speakers do not speak French.

The xenophobia combined with classism the Cajun community felt by “standard” English speakers and the government of Louisiana has created this devastating effect of cultural loss. The imbalance of power structure between the Cajun community and Louisiana government allowed for this devastation of the French language and endangerment of the dialect. Language is integral to any culture and although the community is still thriving and has elements of its French origin, it has still suffered a large loss. If it was for the younger generation of Cajun English speakers, the dialect would have been extinct.

In order to continue maintaining this dialect, the Louisiana government has to make an objective to protect and document the language as part of the state’s history and culture. In his journal article, Cajun Vernacular English. A Study Over A Reborn Dialect, Raúl Pérez Ramos states that it is important the linguists need to have a proactive approach when studying endangered dialects. Therefore, Cajun English should be documented properly and studied/discussed in schools, workplaces, etc. This way the negative stigmatization of the dialect could be redacted and speakers of this dialect are not forced to code-switch or seen as less than. Lastly, the importance or worth of the dialect should not be closely tied to its monetary value. Right now, the Cajun culture is closely tied with the tourism it brings to the state. This is dangerous because it means that once the dialect loses its monetary value, it will probably become more endangered than it is. Instead, it should be seen as part of Louisiana’s rich multicultural and multilingual history.

Video:

Citation:

Melancon, M. E. (2005). Cajun English. PBS. Retrieved from https://www.pbs.org/speak/seatosea/americanvarieties/cajun/

Ramos, R. P. (2012). Cajun Vernacular English: A study over a reborn dialect. Fòrum de Recerca, 17, 623-632.