Cajun English - wikipedia Cajun English This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( February 2011 ) Acadiana, the traditional Cajun homeland and the stronghold of both the Cajun French and Cajun English dialects. 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. Contents 1 History 2 Phonology 3 French - influenced Cajun vocabulary 4 Most confusing phrases 4.1 Come See 4.2 Save the dishes 4.3 Get / Run down at the store 4.4 Makin ' ( the ) groceries 4.5 Make water 4.6 `` for '' instead of `` at '' 5 In popular culture 5.1 Television 5.2 Film 5.3 Video games 6 Resources 7 References 8 Bibliography 9 See also 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 1930s 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 latter, 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 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 All vowels of Cajun English show English diaphoneme Cajun phoneme Example words Pure vowels ( Monophthongs ) / æ / ( æ ) act, pal, trap, ham, pass / ɑː / ( ɑ ) blah, bother, father, lot, top, wasp / ɒ / ( a ) all, dog, bought, loss, saw, taught / ɔː / / ɛ / ( ɛ ~ æ ) dress, met, bread ( ɪ ) hem, pen ( i ) length / ə / ( ə ) about, syrup, arena ( ɪ ) island, gamut, wasted / ɪ / ( ɪ ) hit, skim, tip / iː / ( iː ) beam, chic, fleet ( / i / ) ( ɪ ~ i ) happy, very / ʌ / ( ʌ ) bus, flood, what / ʊ / ( ʊ ) book, put, should / uː / ( uː ) food, glue, new Diphthongs / aɪ / ( ɑɪ ~ aː ) ride, shine, try, bright, dice, pike / aʊ / ( aʊ ~ aː ) now, ouch, scout / eɪ / ( eː ) lake, paid, rein / ɔɪ / ( ɔɪ ) boy, choice, moist / oʊ / ( oː ) goat, oh, show R - colored vowels / ɑːr / ( ɑ ~ a ) barn, car, park / ɛər / ( ɛ ~ æ ) bare, bear, there / ɜːr / ( ʌə ~ ʌɹ ) burn, doctor, first / ər / ( əɹ ) herd, learn, murder / ɪr / ( i ~ ɪ ) fear, peer, tier / ɪər / / ɔːr / ( ɔə ~ ɔɹ ) hoarse, horse, war / ɒr / ( ɑ ~ ɔ ) orange, tomorrow / ʊər / ( uə ~ ʊə ) poor, score, tour / jʊər / cure, Europe, pure 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 /. ( 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 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 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 '' Mais non, chèr ! : Of course not, dear ! Most confusing phrases This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( June 2015 ) 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 '' 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. In popular culture Television In the television series Treme, Cajun English is often used by most of the characters. In the television series True Blood, the character René Lernier was introduced with a Cajun accent. In X-Men : The Animated Series, the character Gambit was introduced as from Louisiana and is known to speak in a thick `` Cajun '' accent. However, his accent sounds more like the African American vernacular instead of a Cajun accent. In the television miniseries Band of Brothers, the company 's medic Eugene Roe is half - Cajun and speaks with a distinct accent. Likewise, Merriell `` Snafu '' Shelton from a companion miniseries The Pacific. In the television series Swamp People, Troy Landry speaks with a strong accent. Chef and humorist Justin Wilson spoke Cajun English on his cooking shows for PBS and his comedy albums. In the Heat of the Night : Season 2, Episode 12 ; `` A.K.A. Kelly Kay '' ; Jude Thibodeaux ( Kevin Conway ) comes to Sparta in search of a former prostitute he controlled in New Orleans. Cajun accent is prominent. Adam Ruins Everything features a recurring bit - character who speaks in a Cajun dialect, with subtitles. Film In the movie The Big Easy, Cajun English is often used by most of the characters. In the movie The Green Mile, Eduard Delacroix played by Michael Jeter spoke with a heavily influenced Cajun english accent in the movie. Video games Several characters of Gabriel Knight : Sins of the Fathers, particularly the narrator, have Cajun accents. Some characters even use Cajun French phrases. Resources PBS American Accent series - Cajun References Jump up ^ Do You Speak American. Sea to Shining Sea. American Varieties : Cajun PBS ^ Jump up to : Ramos, Raúl Pérez ( 2012 ). `` Cajun Vernacular English A Study Over A Reborn Dialect '' ( PDF ). Fòrum de Recerca. 17 : 623 -- 632. ^ Jump up to : Dubois, Sylvie ( 2000 ). `` When the music change, you change too : Gender and language change in Cajun English ''. Language Variation and Change. 11 : 287 -- 313. ^ Jump up to : Dubois & Horvath 2004, pp. 409 -- 410. Jump up ^ Valdman 2009, p. 655. Jump up ^ http://french.about.com/od/grammar/a/faire.htm Jump up ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0610572/?ref_=ttep_ep12 Bibliography 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. Valdman, Albert ( 2009 ). Dictionary of Louisiana French. University Press of Mississippi. ISBN 9781604734034. See also Acadia, former home of the Cajuns, located in what is now eastern Canada Acadiana, A 22 - parish region in southern Louisiana Acadian French, the dialect of French from which Cajun French derives American English Cajun Cajun French Dialects of the English Language Franglais, a term sometimes used to describe a mixed vernacular of French and English Louisiana Creole French, a French - based creole which has had some influence on Cajun French and English Yat, another Louisiana dialect of English Dialects and accents of Modern English by continent Europe United Kingdom England Varieties by common name Barrovian Black Country Brummie Bristolian Cheshire Cockney `` Mockney '' Cornish Cumbrian East Anglian East Midlands Essex Estuary Geordie Kentish Lancastrian Mackem Mancunian Multicultural London Norfolk Northern Pitmatic Potteries Received Pronunciation Scouse Southern Suffolk Sussex West Country `` Mummerset '' West Midlands Yorkshire Varieties by geographic location East of England Essex Norfolk Suffolk East Midlands North Cheshire Cumbria Barrow Lancashire Manchester Merseyside Northumbria Sunderland Tyneside Pitmatic Yorkshire South Kent London Cockney Multicultural London Sussex Thames Estuary West Country Bristol Cornwall Dorset West Midlands Black Country Birmingham Stoke - on - Trent Northern Ireland Mid Ulster Ulster Scots Scotland Glasgow Highlands Wales Cardiff Gower Port Talbot Ireland Dublin D4 South - West Cork Supraregional Ulster Channel Islands Alderney Guernsey Jersey Elsewhere Gibraltar Isle of Man Malta North and South America United States Varieties by common name African American Appalachian Boston Cajun California Chicago ; Detroit ; Great Lakes Chicano Mid-Atlantic Philadelphia ; South Jersey Baltimorese General American High Tider Maine Miami Midland Midwestern New England New Mexican New York Old Southern Pacific Northwest Pennsylvania Dutch Pittsburghese Rhode Island Southern Texan Upper Midwestern Western Vermont Yat Yeshivish Yooper Varieties by geographic location Delaware Valley ; Mid-Atlantic Pennsylvania Dutch Philadelphia ; South Jersey Baltimore Midland Midwest Great Lakes ; Inland North Upper Midwest Upper Peninsula of Michigan New England Boston Maine Rhode Island Vermont New York City ; Northeastern New Jersey New York Latino North South Acadiana Appalachia Chesapeake ; Pamlico Miami New Orleans Tangier Texas West California New Mexico Pacific Northwest Western Pennsylvania Canada Aboriginal Atlantic Cape Breton Newfoundland Lunenburg Standard Ottawa Valley Pacific Northwest Quebec Caribbean Bahamas Barbados Dominican Republic Jamaica Puerto Rico Trinidad Elsewhere Bermuda Falkland Islands Guyana Oceania Australia Aboriginal Broad ; Strine General South Australian Torres Strait West Australian Elsewhere Fiji New Zealand Palau Solomon Islands Other continents Africa Cameroon Ghana Kenya Liberia Malawi Namibia Nigeria Sierra Leone South Africa White Cultivated General Broad Cape Flats Black Indian Uganda Asia Bangladesh Brunei Burma or Myanmar Hong Kong India Malaysia Nepal Pakistan Philippines Singapore Sri Lanka Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cajun_English&oldid=842453132 '' Categories : American English Cajun language Hidden categories : Articles needing additional references from February 2011 All articles needing additional references All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from September 2009 Articles needing additional references from June 2015 Articles with unsourced statements from March 2016 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Français Edit links This page was last edited on 22 May 2018, at 15 : 20. 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Question: what is renee's accent in true blood
Answer: Cajun