User:Jeffa96/Louisiana French

Louisiana Constitution of 1921
The Louisiana Constitution of 1921 was a damaging state legislation for Francophones, and was one of the factors which led to the linguistic shift. The constitution established English as the official language of Louisiana, which pushed French out of New Orleans to its current location in southwestern part of the state. The education and religious services of Louisiana eventually fell prey to English, and the eventual consequence of speaking French was that speaking French became a sign of cultural illegitimacy, and it was illegal for students to speak French on school grounds, and students were punished for doing so.

French Decline During WW2
On December 7th, 1941, Cajun GIs witnessed the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor which marked the beginning of the US involvement in the second world war, as well as the beginning of several events which immersed the Cajuns in mainstream culture. The war compelled many Cajun people to leave their some state of Louisiana for the first time and serve in the military. Cajun GIs most of whom could neither speak nor understand English encountered solely English-speaking Americans, but learned it in order to serve and survive in the military.

Back on the home front, many Cajun civilians united with other Anglo-Americans to support the war effort by volunteering as air raid wardens, plane spotters, firefighters, auxiliary policemen, nursing aides, as well as participating in bond, stamp, and scrap drives. These activities which the Cajuns participated in promoted feelings of national unity, and drew the Cajuns closer to Mainstream America. During this time period, emphasis on the 'American way of life' had a massive impact on Cajun children: census data shows that the use of Cajun French as a first language dropped 17 percent for Cajuns born during US involvement in WW2, the single largest decrease since the beginning of the 20th century, and also resulted in the practice of punishing Cajun students for speaking French at school.

Decline in the Early 20th Century (Continuation)
During the Cajun Americanization during World War II, as Cajun culture became more integrated in mainstream American culture, there was a 17 percent decrease for use of French as a first language for Cajuns born during WW2. Cajun children would be punished in school for speaking their native language, French, and this was referenced in a 1978 poem by Cajun folklorist Jean Arceneaux called Linguistic Schizophrenia (Schizophrénie Linquistique).