Why do Louisiana speak French?

Louisiana's history is closely tied to Canada's. In the 17th century, Louisiana was colonized by French Canadians in the name of the King of France. In the years that followed, additional waves of settlers came from French Canada to Louisiana, notably the Acadians, after their deportation by British troops in 1755.


Why is French still spoken in Louisiana?

Louisiana French is the legacy of early settlers and later arrivals, among them the Acadians, 18th-century exiles from eastern Canada who became known as Cajuns. But the language was nearly smothered in the 20th century by laws and customs that encouraged assimilation with the Anglophone world.

Why do Cajuns speak French?

The Acadians were descendants of the French Canadians who were settling in southern Louisiana and the Lafayette region of the state. They spoke a form of the French language and today, the Cajun language is still prevalent.


When did Louisiana start speaking French?

Well, if one had to believe the innumerable magazine articles, tourist guides, and official (and non-official) websites, the history of Francophone (French-speaking) Louisiana began with the deportation of the Acadians by the British from their homeland in Nova Scotia around 1753.

Is Louisiana still owned by France?

Strained by obligations in Europe and the Caribbean, Napoleon Bonaparte sold the territory to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, ending France's presence in Louisiana. The United States ceded part of the Louisiana Purchase to the United Kingdom in the Treaty of 1818.


French around the world: Keeping the language alive in Louisiana



Can French people understand Cajun?

The vast majority of words, structures and pronunciations used in Cajun French would be recognized and understood by fluent French speakers from other countries even though some of those them are not current anymore in Standard French.

What language did slaves in Louisiana speak?

Enslaved Africans in New Netherlands, later New York, developed a Dutch-based creole, Negerhollands Creole Dutch, in Haiti and later in Louisiana people spoke a French-based creole, today called Haitian Creole French.

Why is the Louisiana accent so different?

The combination of being native French speakers, and the incomplete English that the Cajun children were learning during their inconsistent public education, led to the advent of Cajun English, a fusion of both languages.


Is Cajun French still spoken?

Louisiana French is still a vernacular language. But it is estimated that between 150,000 and 200,000 people can speak it in Louisiana.

Why did Spain give Louisiana back to France?

The treaty also stipulated Spain's cession of Louisiana to be a "restoration", not a retrocession. Napoleon wanted Louisiana as the hub of a new French empire in North America, to replace that lost after the 1763 Treaty of Paris.

Are Cajuns from Haiti?

Cajuns are French colonists who settled far, far from Louisiana and the Caribbean – all the way up into Canada!


How did Louisiana become French?

In the 17th century, Louisiana was colonized by French Canadians in the name of the King of France. In the years that followed, additional waves of settlers came from French Canada to Louisiana, notably the Acadians, after their deportation by British troops in 1755.

Why didnt France sell Louisiana to Spain?

The cession of Louisiana was kept secret for over a year. France feared that Louisiana would become British. As a result, France sought to preempt any actions that Britain would undertake if it became known that Louisiana no longer enjoyed French protection before the Spanish were able to occupy and defend it.

Why is New Orleans so French?

The Founding French Fathers

Louisiana was claimed for France in 1682, and two brothers of the surname Le Moyne, formally known as Sieur d'Iberville and Sieur de Bienville, founded New Orleans 17 years later.


Why did France get rid of Louisiana?

It is believed that the failure of France to put down a slave revolution in Haiti, the impending war with Great Britain and probable Royal Navy blockade of France, and financial difficulties may all have prompted Napoleon to offer Louisiana for sale to the United States.

Are Louisiana Creoles white?

Today, common understanding holds that Cajuns are white and Creoles are Black or mixed race; Creoles are from New Orleans, while Cajuns populate the rural parts of South Louisiana.

What states have the strongest Southern accent?

Specifically, the Atlas definitively documents a Southern accent in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina (though not Charleston), Georgia (though Atlanta is inconsistent), Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas, and Louisiana (co-occurring with Cajun and New Orleans accents), as well as almost all of ...


How do you say water in New Orleans?

' Water, W-A-T-E-R, would be water (pronounced watah), quarter (pronounced quatah), oughtta. Those three words would rhyme for us. The sound `er' for what in other parts of the country might be said as `oy,' so that B-O-I-L, like `you must boil your water,' could be, in New Orleans, `berl yer watah.

What is the Louisiana accent called?

All of these ingredients have flavored the speech of French Louisiana, yielding a unique dialect called Cajun English. The dialect is spoken mainly in southern Louisiana, although emigrations to southern Texas and southern Mississippi have resulted in pockets of Cajuns living in those areas.

Does slavery still exist in Louisiana?

Louisiana's current constitution allows slavery and indentured servitude as punishment for a crime.


What is a Creole girl?

In present Louisiana, Creole generally means a person or people of mixed colonial French, African American and Native American ancestry.

What race is Cajun?

Cajuns include people with Irish and Spanish ancestry, and to a lesser extent of Germans and Italians; Many also have Native American, African and Afro-Latin Creole admixture.

What religion do Cajuns follow?

Unofficial religious customs and traditions are certainly a part of Roman Catholicism as it is practiced by Cajuns, Creoles, and other groups in southern Louisiana who also practice the official, organized religion.