French in the U.S.A.
Posted on 16. May, 2012 by Sean Young in Culture, Geography, News, People
French is the fourth most-spoken language in the United States, after English, Spanish and Chinese. According to year 2010 census figures, almost 2 million Americans over the age of five speak the language at home. Three major varieties of French developed in what is now the United States: Louisiana French, spoken in Louisiana; New England French (which is a variant of Canadian French), and Cajun French (spoken in the state of Louisiana). Missouri French, historically spoken in Missouri and Illinois, is nearly extinct.
Louisiana
Louisiana is home to Cajun French with the largest number of speakers, mostly living in Acadiana. According to the 2010 United States Census, there are over 194,000 people in Louisiana who speak French at home, the most of any state if Creole French is excluded.
Louisiana French is itself traditionally divided into three dialects, Colonial, Louisiana Creole, and Cajun French. Colonial French is traditionally said to have been the form of French spoken in the early days of settlement in the lower Mississippi River valley, and was once the language of the educated land-owning classes. Cajun French was introduced with the arrival of Acadian immigrants in the 17th century, while Louisiana Creole French developed as the language of the African-American community. Today, most linguists regard Colonial French to have largely merged with Cajun, while Louisiana Creole remains a distinct variety.
Here’s a video of a group speaking Creole French with some English mixed in:
Missouri French
Missouri French is one of the three major forms of French that originated in the United States spoken by the descendants of 17th-century French settlers in east central Missouri (then called Haute- Lousiane (Upper Louisiana)). By the late 20th century the dialect is highly endangered, with only a few elderly local residents able to speak it.
New England French
New England French, essentially a variant of Canadian French, is spoken in parts of the New England states due to the significant immigration from Canada, especially during the 19th and the early 20th centuries.
French in American Education
French has traditionally been the foreign language of choice for English-speakers across the globe and is currently the second-most studied foreign language in the US, behind Spanish and ahead of German. The French taught in American classrooms is that of France, which can cause confusion when U.S. students attempt to speak or understand French in either Louisiana or Canada. Fortunately, if formal French is used, then succesfully understanding conversations can be possible.
A Short Cajun French Vocabulary
From Quizlet.com
“a force que” – “by force, dint, power or intensity”
a force qu’il a mangé – because he ate so much
capoté – fell over
attrapé un point – caught a pain
la flùte – the champagne glass
la chanteuse – the female opera singer
s’a mouillé – it rained
j’souhaite – I hope or wish
déboulée – tumbled down
décacheter – to open secretly
miauler - to meow
très privée – very private
dégobillés – gobbled down (with plural noun)
les carencros – the carrion birds
la carcasse – the carcass
la charogne – the dead and putrid animal
les chevals, chevaux – the horses (Cajuns use both)
engager – to hire
dompter, adoucir – to tame (make sweeter)
la rosée – the dew
retifs – balky (with plural noun)
épais(e) – thick (mas., fem.)
au matin – at the morning
le linge – the clothes
la corde à linge – the clothes line
pendant la nuit – during the night
le pilleur – the looter
le pillard – the looter (mas.)
au blanc – in exposing
tremper, humecter – to dampen
mouiller – to rain
le constable – the constable, police
le jeun homme – the young man
à jeun (pas à jeun) – sober (not sober)
bambocher – to dissipate
sa veuve - his widow
voulait bâtir (3rd person present indicative) – wanted to build
une coverture – a roof
des merrains – the long wooden shingles
des bardeaux – some shingles
des gros boeufs – oxen
pour haler – to pull, haul
les wagons (w is pronounced as w, not v) – the wagons
de grands prairies – of big prairies
les mulets – the mules
il est l’heure – it is time
fermer, fremer – to close
vous-autres – you
se dégoûter – to disgust oneself
cette charade – this small talk
la chatte – the feline
About Sean Young
Learning languages since 1978 and studying over 50 (achieving fluency in 10). Sean L. Young loves giving tips, advice and the secrets you need to learn a language successfully no matter what language you're learning. Currently studying Hindi and blogging his progress right here at Transparent Language - http://blogs.transparent.com/language-news.