Talk:Cajun English

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This article is or was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Nsowers, Pkweilbaecher. Peer reviewers: Savidinaz.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 16:32, 16 January 2022 (UTC)

Some Possible Sources
Here are some possible new sources that I am thinking of using to help expand this article a bit, any thoughts? http://repositori.uji.es/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10234/76966/-serveis-scp-publ-jfi-xvii-filologia-1.pdf

https://www-cambridge-org.ezproxy4.library.arizona.edu/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0954394599113036

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED420881.pdf Nsowers (talk)

Untitled
Since there is CAJUN English, I'm curious as to whether or not there is ACADIAN English. Remember, Cajun French and Acadian French aren't the same dialect. Logically, the same would apply to English. Gringo300 02:55, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

What's your POINT?CharlesMartel 17:03, 17 March 2007 (UTC)CharlesMartel


 * I made my point exactly. Now do you have anything positive to contribute? Gringo300 19:40, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

As a Louisiana native, I can tell you that there's no such thing as Acadian English that I'm aware of. I really don't think that Cajun English is an official term for the slang/dialect that some people speak in south Louisiana, but it is starting to become one. Basically Cajun English could be described as being similar to Frananglais, except that Cajun French itself is somewhat different from proper French, in that Cajun French is a older French. It's kind of like speaking Shakesperean English. Cajun English mainly Southern American English with all of its slang terms and accents mixed with this older French and its slang and French accent. Sf46 (talk) 04:29, 28 November 2007 (UTC)


 * If I understand correctly, Cajun English would be considered a dialect of American English, and from what I can tell, Cajuns tend to be Americans, so someone thought it would be redundant to use the term "Cajun AMERICAN English". But from what I can tell, Americans of Acadian descent would be referred to as "Acadian Americans", because Acadians as an ethnic group originated outside of America. So perhaps the term "Acadian American English" would make more sense than the term "Cajun American English". I feel like I left something out... Gringo300 (talk) 19:05, 29 May 2009 (UTC)


 * If Cajuns tend to be Americans for the most part, as you say, then the term "Cajun American English" would be redundant. It's kind of like saying "American baseball".  "Cajun" is the term we use for descendants of Acadian exiles who live in Louisiana.  I hope that clears everything up. Thegryseone (talk) 21:20, 29 May 2009 (UTC)

Google Translate
'Typing in "to do the grocery shopping" or "make groceries" into Google Translate and translating to French will output "faire l'épicerie" for each phrase.' This is not really encyclopaedic but I don't know how to cyhange it. Maybe just by saying a direct translation is ...? Novalia (talk) 14:37, 6 April 2015 (UTC)

New book
Perhaps interesting for some related cultural articles: ''Good God But You Smart! Language Prejudice and Upwardly Mobile Cajuns'' by Nichole E. Stanford, 2016, Utah State University Press Jodi.a.schneider (talk) 19:04, 2 October 2016 (UTC)

Blatantly wrong facts in History secton
Someone has vandalized the History section throughout and it needs to be repaired. I looked in the page history to see if it could be easily reversed, but I did not find a quick solution. Perhaps someone more versed in using Wikipedia and who has more time can address this issue. --Eric LeGros

Actual Cajun trying to clean this up a bit
Born and raised in South Louisiana/Acadiana, here are my edits.

Absolutspacegirl (talk) 05:57, 24 November 2020 (UTC)"Cajun French is considered by many to be an endangered language, mostly used by elderly generations.[2] 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."

- Edited because Cajun French is not now frequently spoken by even the youngest Cajuns. French immersion is being taught more in schools, however. I think this person is confusing Cajun English with Cajun (Louisiana) French. It also appears as though they attempted to plagiarize their source (badly), who also seems to have no firsthand knowledge of Cajun culture.

"Cajun English is spoken throughout Louisiana and up through the gulf of Texas."

- There is no gulf of Texas.

"In 1803, however, the United States purchased Louisiana and, in 1812, declared English as the official language of the state."

- This is wrong. The Louisiana Purchase occurred when the United States purchased the territory of Louisiana from France. In 1812, the STATE of Louisiana declared English to be the official language of the state for promulgation and preservation of laws. Added citation.

Deleted some of the ridiculous stereotypes. Absolutspacegirl (talk) 05:57, 24 November 2020 (UTC)

pronunciation chart
I think the 2nd pronunciation chart in the phonology section should be deleted. Not only is it unsourced, it is just plain wrong on most of the Cajun pronunciations. I've never heard anyone in Acadiana pronounce pecan 'pecorn' or say 'fink' for think. The pronunciations that are correct are redundant, with "dat" and "dey" being explained immediately before the chart. It also doesn't make sense to include proper nouns like surnames as examples of alternate pronunciations, because most of these last names are not common in other regions of the US. A person unfamiliar with Cajun names would have no basis for a 'standard' pronunciation of Hebert (and will probably misread it as Herbert, anyway). At the very least, it would make more sense to use a last name like Richard, which has a distinct difference between the Cajun and Anglo pronunciations. Smerdyakov911 (talk) 13:36, 16 November 2021 (UTC)
 * I expect that "pecorn" was written by a non-rhotic dialect trying to demonstrate the "aw" sound (pee-KAHN) as opposed to the "ae" of "cat" (PEE-kan; I might be wrong on the stress). Also, would "think" be "tink" (and "thing" be "ting")?  I've been reading Lackadaisy lately and the Cajun accent there replaces all the TH's with stops, but I've no idea how accurate it is (although the creator does an awful lot of research, so I tend to trust her work on the finer points).  You're right about the surnames. Kilyle (talk) 21:32, 25 October 2023 (UTC)

Conflicting Pronunciation Info
One section says that "cher(e)" is pronounced as expected, with the "eh" sound (to rhyme with "there"); another section says that it should be pronounced with the "a" of "apple", which frankly I have trouble even manufacturing before an R (we shift that vowel in the Pacific Northwest dialect; compare "cat" and "car"), and I would like a source if that's actually the way it's meant to be pronounced.

Also, I don't see a consonant chart, and I think at minimum, for those not familiar with French, it should be mentioned that "ch" makes the "sh" sound like "chef" or "paper mache" (the least common version of that combo in English, after CH/TSH and K/KH); seems to me that that would be the more useful info on the pronunciation of "cher". Kilyle (talk) 21:32, 25 October 2023 (UTC)