I wrote this for an in-house newsletter at work. It gives a brief description about me learning French and resources to go to if one is interested. I added more and had to stop because there are actually many more sites to go and learn the language. I might slow down writing here and post maybe once a week. This is because I’m busy with work and “looking for extra money.” This takes time to do.
I hope the Saints win today!
Bonjour, comment ca va?
I moved back to Evangeline Parish (I lived briefly in Alexandria) a couple of years ago and I'm learning French along with my area’s culture and history. I took Standard French in High School and some in college so it's not too hard for me. It still is a challenge though and trying to learn a language outside of a classroom with no French spoken where I work, what I watch on TV, in local and national newspapers that I read, etc makes it very challenging.
My family speaks French and so that helps out a great deal. My family's French though is Cajun, and that is different from Standard or Parisian French. Cajun French is a combination of Acadian, Quebecois, and from regions of France outside of the Paris area. The language "came to Louisiana" in the late 17th and 18th centuries; it developed with the interaction between the different French groups in colonial Louisiana. Other Louisiana groups also added to the language.
The word culotte (key lawt), for example, is a word for pants and jeans for men and women in Evangeline Parish but culotte or culottes in modern day France means women's underwear. Evangeline Parish uses a slight variation of the old definition when culottes (pants for men that came just to the knee) were fashionable in France. Evangeline Parish Cajun is also different from other areas of Louisiana so you'll hear different words in places like Lafourche, Terrebonne, and Vermilion parishes. One simple example is the word for star. Etoile in Evangeline is pronounced A-twel and in other areas it is pronounced A-twal. There are also a lot of phrases that differ but overall all the Louisiana French regions are more similar to each other compared to France.
Again, I'm having bon temp learning because I call my Mom or Dad and ask them how to say this or what does this mean. My Maw Maw and Paw Paw are also great to learn from. Both of my great grandmothers (memere or mere mere) spoke "broken English" and were much more comfortable speaking French. I hear French every day in Ville Platte. I usually go to Mr. Weelo Fontenot's boutique (boo tick - meaning store) in the matin (morning) and ask him questions concerning the language. He also has the best boudin and gratons (cracklins) in town except maybe for Mr. Ortego, who also tells me how to say different things in French. The L’Anse Grise message board is a great place for learning how to write French and also how to pronounce words. I’ve learned a lot from the people who write there. It’s a very Cajun educational message board for language, culture, and history – lansegrise.org
There are, however, several other websites and books to learn from if you're interested in the language. Amanda Lafleur, from Ville Platte, is a LSU professor who teaches Cajun. She wrote Tonnerre mes chiens! : glossary of Louisiana French figures of speech. One of the phrases is "making boudin" when a person, usually a kid, is pouting. For example: "Why you making boudin!" - "Because my big sister slapped me in the face!"
LSU's website has a lot of information and some audio files: http://appl003.lsu.edu/artsci/frenchweb.nsf/$Content/Cajun+French?OpenDocument
Try couillon (a fool or crazy person) for fun.
KVPI (Keeping Ville Platte Informed) has a great program (La Tasse De Café) every Wednesday and Friday morning. You can listen live via their website or listen to archived programs:
http://oldies925.com/
http://oldies925.com/la%20tasse.html
Here is a list of more material and sites:
Cajun self-taught [cassette] / Jules O. Daigle.
Dictionary of the Cajun language / by Jules O. Daigle.
The Acadian dictionary / Rita Claudet ; Gabrielle Claudet.
The Cajun French language : volume 1 / by Raymond Lee Landreneau
You can speak Cajun French [cassette] : conversational basics.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cajun_French
www.tabloidcadien.com/
myspace.com/labrisedubayou
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrebonne_Parish_French
www.cajunlanguage.net/