Cajun French and the French spoken in other parts of the world do have some differences but they are not two distinct languages. I grew up speaking Cajun French, studied in Belgium, I majored in French and taught French in public schools and I am a Principal of a French Immersion school. There are various accents and dialects within Cajun French just there are in French spoken in other parts of the world; just as with English. (Someone from Mamou speaking English to someone from the Bronx would confuse someone else attempting to learn the English language because of accents, dialects, and the speed of the spoken word depending upon where they are from). Once you get a handle on the phonics of the language then things get easier. Father Daigle's dictionary is great but knowledge of French phonics is a must because when you see the words you would pronounce them in English. (An English A is pronounced "ah" in French; eaux, ot, er, ait are all pronounced like an English A. The H in French is not pronounce outside of the alphabet. Plurals are handled with "les"; in other words the adjective and noun must agree in number and gender. The verbs are the same but some of the conjugations are different. Some of the nouns used by Cajuns are also influenced by Spanish and Indian dialects. Examples: chaoui (raccoon) is Indian, taureau (bull) is Spanish. Other words used by Cajuns such as car (char) is or was used by the Europeans as a two-wheel ox cart and the Cajuns adapted it's use for car. In some parts of Europe char is used as tank but as a slang for an old beat up car. When the Cajuns arrived in S.W. La. the Hackberry tree was known as a bois inconnu (unknown wood or tree) b/c they didn't have any in Canada or Europe. A canvasback duck is a canard cheval (horse duck). The biggest difference in the spoken languages is this: Standard French..je parle (I speak, I am speaking), Cajun French...je parle (I speak), j'apres parler (I am speaking)...Cajuns use "après" as a linking verb. Apres is used as "also" in both dialects. The Cajun dialect was taught in schools in south Louisiana until around 1917. My maternal grandmother could read and write French. Her youngest brother was one of a group of Cajuns that went behind the lines in Europe during WWII, and worked with the Belgium underground. Both of my grandfathers could only speak French but their fathers could read and write it. My father-in-law's mother was literate in French and taught her children...my father-in-law wrote all his letters to her from Iwo Jima in French. I know I am being long winded and I do apologize but my advice is to learn the French language anyway you can, then get around Cajun speakers and before too long you will pick up on the accent and dialects. Practice, practice, practice. After a while you will begin to pick up the words of songs...but then again there are different dialects within the songs...just depends on where the singer was raised. If I can help you in any way please pm me...
Tim
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