Acadian French

The acadian French is a Dialecte French spoken by the Acadien S about the Seaboard provinces about the Canada, like in certain areas bordering on the Quebec (Baie of Heats, Low-Coast-North, Îles of the Madeleine) and on the American State of the Maine (valley of the river Midsummer's Day). Like the other dialects resulting from the French Colonization of America, it followed its own evolution compared to the language which the first colonists spoke. Certain features are thus antiquated (preserve an old state in fact), while others are more innovating. Among safeguardings, it, inter alia, is characterized by the vocabulary and certain features réminiscents of the language of Rabelais and Molière.

The linguists do not agree yet on its origins. The majority of the colonists being originating in the French areas Maine, Anjou and Saintonge, one find there the influence of the speeches of Oïl of the Grand West (the Gallo, the Angevin, the Saintongeais, the Poitevin, etc), different, at the XVIIe century, of Parisian French. One finds there inter alia the Alvéolaire R , and the pronunciation of the final syllable in the plural form of the verb to the third nobody. An acadian word like " écureau" (=écureuil) is poitevin, of the acadian words like " chancre" (=crabe), " drive out-galerie" (in the beginning, drives out fantastic legendary traversing the sky), " galipote" (= at the origin: werewolf)… are saintongeais. Although the rural areas of this area in France preserve common features with the acadian one (" r" rolled, certain words of vocabulary, palatalization, etc), the majority of the French-speaking people, including certain Canadians speaking about other dialects, include/understand with difficulty the acadian one with the first access.

One considers the Gaspésie, peninsula of the Quebec, like the only place apart from the island of Jersey where one found speakers of the Jèrriais. However one finds in the acadian French a remarkable resemblance to the Jèrriais, that is to say the conjugation with perfect of the 1st person of plural. Whereas somebody speaking the Jèrriais says " I have ieu" , Acadian will say " I had eu" (I A), like returned it celebrates the character of Sagouine, creates by Antonine Maillet.

Many speakers of other shapes of French, such as French of France and Québécois French, have difficulties in include/understand the acadian speech at the beginning, because one often does not hear it apart from the seaboard provinces.

Acadian French is one of the ancestors of the French cajun, a French dialect of Louisiana, where the Acadian ones took refuge several years after being off-set by the British colonial government during the War of conquest. The word " cajun" , derived from the word acadjein (acadian) is to some extent a anglicisation of the acadian pronunciation of the acadian word.

As for much of other dialects of French, one finds there several words resembling words English, but which are in fact of old French words having been included in the English language.

Phonology (phonetic aspects)

Palatalization of " k" and of " g"

/k/ and /tj/ are commonly marked /t ʃ/ in front of a vowel. For example, tail, spoon, somebody and bottom are marked tcheue, tchuillère, tchequ' a and tchu . Tiens decides tchin /t ʃɛ̃/ .

/g/ and /dj/ often become /d ʒ/ (sometimes /ʒ/ ) in front of a vowel. For example, good god and mouth become good djeu and djeule . This characteristic explains the formation of the word " Ca' I un" , evolution of the word " Aca' of ien".

Inversion of " re"

In the words, " re" becomes often " er". For example:

berloque for " breloque" , berouette for " brouette" , ferdaine for " fredaine" , guerlot for " grelot" , to entertenir for " entretenir".

Other characteristics

the sequence /ɛʁ/ followed by another consonant often becomes /a ʁ/ or /ɑʁ/ . For example, shit and to lose say mârde and pardre .

the R of the words finishing by bre is often elided. For example, free , tree , stamp becomes lib' , arb' and timb'

"oui" can mean " oué ". " OAU " is also used.

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