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Originally Posted by keakar
very true, I learned French and NOTHING spoken in Cajun is the same so I didn't know and still don't know what the heck they were sayin. I worry because I love the music but if I knew what they were singin I might not like it as much anymore lol.
its like a language to itself
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There are lots of differences between Cajun French, and what's spoken in France. But I just want to mention, it's not completely different. In fact, a lot of it is the same. Basically Cajun French is similar to what was spoken in France like, about 300 years ago. That is, except for the English, Spanish, and Native American words and phrases we've added to the mix. A lot has changed and "modernized" with the French language in Europe, same as English here. But the basics of it are still the same. I once read an article about Cajun GI's serving in Europe during WW2. They were initially sort of "looked down" on by some people in the Army for their thick accents and limited English skills. However, they turned out to be very useful in France. It probably took some trial and error, but they were indeed able to effectively communicate with the locals. I imagine it came in pretty handy when, say, the squad was pinned down under fire at some farm house, and the Cajun soldier was able to ask the French farmer to help locate the German sniper. Of course that's a hypothetical scenario, but it probably happened lots of times in reality. They likely asked the locals if they'd seen the Germans around, how many, things like that. I'd bet they probably also sweet talked some cute French farmer's daughters into sneaking out to the barn, and not just to barter for some fresh eggs... Lol! Anyway, the Army brass soon realized they had a valuable resource with their south Louisiana Cajun soldiers, a readily available pool of interpreters. Many of them were "officially" trained for the job, but lots of the others could improvise and "make do" when necessary, officially trained or not. Just saying.