Christopher Livingston4/11/17 My Home Dialect: (Cajun) “Les bon temps roulez!” Let the good times roll! Where are my good times now? You may not know that I am not from around here (Tennessee). I was born and raised for eight years in Lake Charles Louisiana, home of some of the most Cajun speaking people. Living so long outside of the state I have lost my Cajun dialect. Being from southern Louisiana I remember what it was like to hear my brothers and cousins still speak in natural conversation, but I have forgotten how truly unique it was until I revisited last year. The language there is almost so thick you could cut it with a knife. Some things you wouldn’t even understand if it was not for the fact they were, really, speaking the same language as you. So, in this paper I will discuss what makes Cajun dialect so special, to me, and what sets it apart from anything else in our English-speaking country. To begin we need to understand that Louisiana, including a lot of other states, were controlled by the French early in our American history. From this sprouts many euphemisms, tone, and pronunciations differences that lasted until to today. “The Cajuns spoke French almost exclusively until the 20th century.” (Daigle 1-II) The main reason for the change to a more of an American version of speaking was due to the face of the Red Scare and the United States gathering around to become a more unified nation. Anyone that sounded different or, looked remotely communist were thrown away. Even in 1912 some schools banned French to teach the purer form of American English. Even with all these troubles Cajuns kept their heritage and formed what we now know as their form of Cajun dialect. When you listen to a Cajun speak you can hear resemblances to many other dialects including; French (most prominently behind English) Appalachian, Deep Southern, French, and even (surprisingly) Jamaican! Some rules you need to know when pronouncing certain words are From this. will spell out every word the way a Cajun would speak it. (Taken from “A Cajun French-English Glossary” in the LSU Department of French Studies) Though things most sounds are still the same as ours. One of my favorite books my mother would read me every year was “The Cajun Night Before Christmas. Take for example the line “Like Tante Flo's cat T'ru de treetop he fly W'en de . Christopher Livingston 4/11/17 shown in the chart below. made for outside audiences that do not live in Louisiana. many books.” When I was a child I could read it with no problem. but now when I get to certain spots I do not even understand what they are talking about. many are also reversed and used in place of another. unlike many. Many things said in daily speech is French. but when adding in a voice. they do almost the same thing. “Les bon temps roulez!” We use this whenever something good is going on. Christopher Livingston 4/11/17 big ole houn' dorg Come a run hisse'f by” (Trosclair 9) Reading is hard enough to understand. We want to “let the good times roll.” There are many other examples. to the way they drop their consonants. From the way a Cajun pronounces things. it is even harder. and even the way they mix French with their everyday English are only a few reasons why it is so unique to our country. When thinking of someone from around the Appalachian area and how they speak. is a Cajun with a monotone voice. Take for example what I used earlier. and d (s) they might as well be speaking French. as I mentioned earlier is a huge part of Cajun culture. I hope I gave you a little bit of a taste of something that I could write pages and pages over. So let us all “Les bon temps roulez!” Word Count: 714 Work Cited: . Cajun is a mess of everything French and English has to offer. In conclusion. One thing I have never heard. but too many to give. or even at parties. To some this comes as a surprise. Trying to understand a man who drops their t. p. with the inflections they add. (Which some do!) French. like to over-exaggerate their pitch when speaking. Cajun’s. "From Accent to Marker in Cajun English: A Study of Dialect Formation in Progress. 4. Web. "History of the Cajuns: Encyclopedia of Cajun Life: LANGUAGE. N. 5. Ed. N.: Springer Science & Business Media. Jules O. Albert. LA: Pelican Pub.: Swallow Publications. Web.d. Valdman. N." English World-Wide English World-Wide A Journal of Varieties of English 19. Tim. Vol. S. and Barbara M. 2017.p.2 (1998): n. n. Cajun night before Christmas. Web. pag. Print. Dubois. James Rice.. 10 Apr.3 (2002): n. Co.. Web. 7. Horvath. 1984. Dictionary of the Cajun Language. Daigle. Web. "Sounding Cajun: The Rhetorical Use Of Dialect In Speech And Writing. 1." Louisiana State University. pag." ACADIAN-CAJUN Genealogy & History: Cajun French Language. 6. "A Cajun French-English Glossary. n. 3.. Sylvie. 2017. (LSU). Christopher Livingston 4/11/17 1. Incorporated. 2017. French and Creole in Louisiana.p. 10 Apr. N. Gretna. and Howard Jacobs.p. Hebert.p. Dubois. . 2." American Speech 77. Trosclair. 2013.d. 2007. 10 Apr.