How many people speak Cajun French in La (New Orleans, Lafayette: high school, internship)

[lsualum77]

There is a Cajun-English Dictionary written by Jules Daigle that was published in 1993. Very interesting book written by someone who lived in Welsh, LA and was the Catholic priest there for many years.

[mdmagana]

While visiting on vacation I heard French at the WalMart in Breaux Bridge! I was shocked! Having grown up in Southern California it was not unusual to hear Spanish or even Vietnamese... but I had never heard French spoken outside of a classroom or a movie before. (Not even form my french-speaking grandma.) It was surprising, but cool... that and the humidity in the parking lot reminded me I was in Louisiana!

It's unfortunate native languages aren't passed down anymore. I could have had Spanish from my Dad's parents and French from my Mom's... but no one thought it was important. =(

[thedisciple]

This is an old thread but very interesting and worthy of revival.

Ok here is my story - I have no cajun connection, I am a northerner who took french from 6th grade through college and lived in Paris for a year. Always been fascinated by Cajun culture. Finally made it down to Cajun country and I could understand what the old timers where saying and had some neat conversations.

The differences between "proper" french and Cajun french are exagerated to make cajun seem more exotic. Any French person can have a conversation with any Cajun if they both make a minimal effort, just like any redneck from georgia can communicate with someone from rural scotland if they both try. Sorry to burst your bubble.

[rclvb]

mod snip - English only per the Terms of Service
my cajun friends, i am not from louisiana, but i am from a franco-decendant family my mom didnt speak any french (yet she is franco decendent) while my father is from the south of louisiana. I had studied french at school and i try to return this language to my family before it disappears forever! I think that all the real cajuns and acadiens need to return the language, its our heritage, life, culture, its everything for being a true Louisianne! lets do our best to make it like it should be
bonne chance
good luck

[Roberto Tejada]

I would love to learn this language Cajun French. I am wondering what resources I can turn to. I already learned spanish but I was told that most spanish decedent i Louisiana speak a different dialect than standard spanish but its interchangeable. I am wondering if cajun french is the same?

[annie_himself]

Cajun French and Parisian French are different dialects. In fact, I think it's a pretty significant difference.

[RichardKoo]

This is ironic, I was on a greyhound bus in 2010 in Saint Louis, Missouri and started talking to a woman as we waited in line. She was a blonde, beautiful, so bubbly about in her 40's. We started speaking and at the same time I asked what country she was from, she asked me the same thing. I smiled, and told her I'm actually an American with a Slavic accent because my native language is Bosnian. She told me she's from Louisiana but her grand parents were from France and she spoke French as a native language. I thought it was cool to meet someone similar to me, that had grand parents that were immigrants but maintained passing the language down the family tree, that was the beginning of my research into the Cajun culture.

About a year later, in 2011, I was sitting on my sofa flipping through channels and stopped at People' Court and noticed the SAME Cajun lady on TV with her adorable accent.

She was so positive, uplifting and shared tons of advice.

So I assume there are still a lot of French speaking people in Louisiana, but I could be wrong.

[texdav]

Originally Posted by mdmagana

While visiting on vacation I heard French at the WalMart in Breaux Bridge! I was shocked! Having grown up in Southern California it was not unusual to hear Spanish or even Vietnamese... but I had never heard French spoken outside of a classroom or a movie before. (Not even form my french-speaking grandma.) It was surprising, but cool... that and the humidity in the parking lot reminded me I was in Louisiana!

It's unfortunate native languages aren't passed down anymore. I could have had Spanish from my Dad's parents and French from my Mom's... but no one thought it was important. =(

Its commonly spoken around Breaux Bridge; afterall you were in heartland of Cajun culture. All my wife relative speak it same has her mother and father did. My wife understand it when listening but does not fluently speak it being born/raised in Texas.to her and her parents listening to a French person in France on TV was like us listening to a English program where they understood most but the native words used. My wife has Father Daigle's book titled Cajun Self Taught. mentioned. Love the people in Breaux Bridge ;great culture of fun people.

[puginabug]

There are plenty in Lafayette. It's a little frustrating to me. I'm a cashier at a pharmacy, and many of the older customers will play around and speak Cajun French at me.

Which, btw, sounds pretty similar to the Canadian French that I heard growing up, my childhood best friend's family was from Canada. Not sure where, but somewhere in Canada.

[figbush1]

Originally Posted by Doug Hebert

My friends,

The problem is that no one has taught our beloved language to the younger generation. It's not being spoken in the home anymore, and that is a crying shame...A sin in my book. My father was from New Iberia and my mother is from France...We always had French in our home and still do to this day, thank God.
My father was fiercely proud of his heritage and was the opposite of ashamed...Yes, he was also whipped in school for speaking French in the '30s, had to write "I will not speak French on the school grounds" hundreds of times over...But he never gave up his heritage! When he got older, he would dare anyone to put down what flows through his veins, and that's what it is going to take if our precious language is going to survive. He carefully taught us the language BECAUSE he was told not to...He knew even then, that no one...NO ONE is going to tell him his heritage and culture is worthless...That he should be ashamed of it....REDICULOUS!! It's got to mean more to you than just a surname, or a type of food that's only been recently popular, don't you see?...You have to go out and learn from the older ones...Get active! Put together a Cajun French meeting group with a knowledgeable French speaker, and meet a day or more per week...Get it going, bring it back, teach it to your children and never let anyone tell you that you should be ashamed of it again!...Tell them to go to hell! Do this before your link to the language is forever lost as the older generation passes on.
Someone posted earlier that Spanish is more prominent in their part of La and that's the way it should be...WTF?? That person is NOT Cajun...Who gives a damn if there are immigrants in your town?!....They're everywhere, and rest assured THEY are not ashamed of their language...But we, the Cajun people, were the FIRST immigrants to our area....My Cajun friends...Don't let it die. You can do it, but it will take effort...Effort that is well worth your time, for you and your children's sake. It's that important...and anyone who claims to be a Cajun and cannot see that, is the farthest thing from being Cajun than anything I can think of. It's up to you....

Doug

Tres bien dit Doug!