Louisiana French (LF) (French: français de la Louisiane, Louisiana Creole: Françé La Lwizyann) refers to the group of French dialects spoken in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and formerly elsewhere in colonial Lower Louisiana. It comprises several distinct varieties. Figures from the United States Census report that roughly 3.5% of Louisianans over the age of 5 were claimed to speak French or a French-based creole in their homes.
The most widely spoken form of Louisiana French is Cajun French, sometimes known as Louisiana Regional French. It developed after the arrival of Acadian migrants during the Great Upheaval of the 18th century. A prestige dialect known as Colonial or Plantation Society French was formerly prominent, but has now largely been subsumed into the Cajun dialect. Additionally, Louisiana Creole French is a related creole language.
Speakers of Louisiana French identify ethno-racially as Creole, French Creole, Spanish Creole, Mississippi Creole, Alabama Creole, Texas Creole, California Creole, African-American, Black, Chitimacha, Houma, Biloxi, Tunica, Choctaw, White, Cajun, Acadian, French, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Syrian, Lebanese, Irish and others. Individuals and groups of individuals, through innovation, adaptation and contact, continually enrich the French language spoken in Louisiana, seasoning it with linguistic features sometimes only found in Louisiana.
Read more about Louisiana French: See Also
Famous quotes containing the words louisiana and/or french:
“The recent attempt to secure a charter from the State of North Dakota for a lottery company, the pending effort to obtain from the State of Louisiana a renewal of the charter of the Louisiana State Lottery, and the establishment of one or more lottery companies at Mexican towns near our border, have served the good purpose of calling public attention to an evil of vast proportions.”
—Benjamin Harrison (1833–1901)
“But as some silly young men returning from France affect a broken English, to be thought perfect in the French language; so his Lordship, I think, to seem a perfect understander of the unintelligible language of the Schoolmen, pretends an ignorance of his mother-tongue. He talks here of command and counsel as if he were no Englishman, nor knew any difference between their significations.”
—Thomas Hobbes (1579–1688)