Cajun English, or Cajun Vernacular English, is a dialect of American English derived from Cajuns living in Southern Louisiana. Cajun English is significantly influenced by Louisiana French, the historical language of the Cajun people, themselves descended from the French-speaking Acadian people. While French remains mostly only used by the elderly, it is seeing something of a cultural renaissance. Still, Cajun English is not merely a transitional dialect between French and English, and most of its speakers today are monolingual anglophones. Cajun English is considerably distinct from General American English, with several features of French origin remaining strong, including intonation, vocabulary, and certain accent features. The Cajun accent is frequently described as flat within Cajun Country.

History

Cajun English is spoken throughout Acadiana. Its speakers are often descendants of Acadians from Nova Scotia, Canada, who in 1755, migrated to French-owned Louisiana after the British took control of Nova Scotia and expelled them from their land. In 1803 however, the United States purchased the territory of Louisiana and, in 1812, when Louisiana drafted their first state Constitution in order to be granted statehood, the English language received official sanction as the language of promulgation and preservation of laws. Despite this change, many Cajuns at the time who lived in small towns and were poorly educated, continued to use French exclusively. This isolated them, subjecting them to ridicule and treatment as second-class citizens. In the 1930s, English was the only language taught in schools and students who spoke French were punished and humiliated in front of their class. The Cajuns still continued to use Cajun French at home and in their communities, but this led to a stigma being associated with the language, and, as a result, parents stopped teaching it to their children. The combination of being native French speakers, and the incomplete English that the Cajun children were learning during their inconsistent public education, led to the advent of Cajun English, a fusion of both languages. Many decades later, new generations of Cajuns perceived a loss of cultural identity, and their efforts to recover it started the Cajun Renaissance. The corresponding popularity of Cajun food, music, and festivities have been well received by tourists and some programs are now supported by the state government. Although Cajun English has made a comeback, 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

Consonants

Consonant phonemes in Cajun English are largely the same as they are in other major dialects.

Rhoticity

Cajun English is traditionally non-rhotic and today variably non-rhotic. A comparison of rhoticity rules between Cajun English, New Orleans English, and Southern American English showed that all three dialects follow different rhoticity rules, and the origin of non-rhoticity in Cajun English, whether it originated from French, English, or an independent process, is uncertain.

French-influenced consonants

Some unique features certainly influenced by French-language phonology exist in Cajun English:

Other consonant features

Vowels

Cajun English is not subject to the Southern Vowel Shift. Louisiana has a high concentration of people who have a Mary-merry merger, but not a Mary–marry–merry merger. (Notably, is realized more like in Louisiana French.) Adoption of the cot–caught merger is uncommon in Louisiana, and studies suggest the same for Cajun English, though at least one study considers the merger possible. Most pure vowels and diphthongs in English can be nasalized according to nasalization rules. Additionally, loanwords from Louisiana French may include nasalized versions of vowels not found in English.

Vowel features

Changes over time

Some features of Cajun English have changed significantly since the initial adoption of English by Cajuns:

Vocabulary

The inclusion of many loanwords, calques, and phrases from French is typical in Cajun English. French words and phrases are frequently borrowed without changing meaning, but some words have become distinct to Cajun English as opposed to Louisiana French, while others are used frequently enough in English that they don't register as specifically French. Notable and distinctive words used in English include:

Grammar

There are several phrases used by Cajuns that are not used by non-Cajun speakers. Some common phrases are listed below:

Zero copula

Cajun English also has the tendency to drop the auxiliary verb to be in the third person singular (is) and the second person singular and plurals. For example, She pretty and What we doing?.

When you went?

Instead of "When did you go?"

Bare-root verb forms

-s and -ed word endings for the third person singular and the past tense morpheme tend to be dropped. Native Francophone men among the earliest Cajun English speakers had a strong tendency to drop -s and -ed endings. These men dropped -s endings at a rate (65%) similar to AAVE, and dropped -ed endings at an even higher rate (81%) than with AAVE. Younger speakers continue to drop -s and -ed at lower rates, but still more often than Southern American English, even when they spoke English natively. This has been attributed to morphological influences from French, but may be a consequence of final consonant dropping instead. Examples: He stay two months. She go with it.

Duplication

Adjectives can be reduplicated as an intensifier. ''Kyaw! That car was fast, fast!'' Pronoun duplication is used to emphasize the personal aspect of a phrase. This is based in Louisiana French, and is less common with younger speakers. When you want to leave, you?

and no as intensifiers

and no can serve as intensifiers to a declarative statement when added to the end, a feature taken from French. The final word in the statement is stressed, while yeah/no are given a falling intonation. ''I told you not to. You gonna regret it, yeah!''

"at" with "where"

At can be added to where questions as an intensifier, a trait held in common with New Orleans English. Where my shoes at, baw?

"to" instead of "at"

Cajun English speakers may use to instead of at when referring to locations. I was to the store when I saw her.

"for" instead of "at"

Cajun English speakers exhibit a tendency to use for instead of at when referring to time. I'll be there for 2 o'clock. Given the connection between Cajun English and Acadia, this is also seen among Canadian English speakers.

Colloquial Constructions

"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", the French word for "here." 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. "Getting/Running down at the store" involves stepping out of a car to enter the store. Most commonly, the driver will ask the passenger, "Are you getting/running down (also)?" 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 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' groceries" is a calque from French to mean 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."

In popular culture

Louisiana accents (including Cajun English) are notoriously difficult for actors to replicate, so portrayals in media vary widely in credibility.

Television

Film

Video games

Resources