Alice Chauvin Brad shaw,SWAMPQUEEN;
2006-02-17 15:12:05 UTC
Le Coin Cadien Cajun Corner June 1998
written by Earl Comeaux
We're a little bit amused when we see outsiders and "Americans" laugh at
our Cajun French with its blend of English words. As we have pointed out
in before, many things were unknown to the world or to the Cajuns when
our ancestors left France, and as a result, Cajuns have adopted the
English word for some things, like the telephone and the airplane. Some
outsiders mimic Cajuns for this supposed flaw in their language, and
have the impression that Cajuns are speaking a pidgin language, part
French and part English.
These same folks would half die of shame if someone was to point
correctly out to them that the King's English is, by the same logic,
really pidgin French.
You don't believe it? Then listen to this: The original language spoken
in England was a combination of the German tongues spoken by the
invading tribes of Angles, Saxons and Jutes. This language has not
survived, but it became the basis of the English language.
In 1066 William the Conqueror, a Norman (from the Northern coast of
France) defeated Harold at the famous Battle of Hastings, and with the
Norman conquest, French became the official language of England. For
over 220 years French remained the official language and it so
influenced the English language that today nearly 40% of the words in
the English dictionary are of French origin. The French words which came
into the English were for the most part prestige or learned words. The
everyday words of Anglo-Saxon origin remained. For example, we speak
today of cows, sheep, calves and hogs, all Anglo-Saxon words. But when
they are prepared for the table they become beef (boeuf - bull), mutton
(mouton - sheep) and veal (veau - calf) from the French. We speak of a
lunar eclipse (from the French "la lune" -moon) and not of a moony (from
the Anglo-Saxon) eclipse, and we refer to a solar system (from the
French soleil - sun) and not of a sunny system.
Since no other foreign invader ever again set foot on English soil, the
Norman invasion of the language was the last violent change in the
English language. Since then the language has become more stable through
the invention of printing and the advent of the dictionary. English
today is a Germanic language in structure and basic words, but almost
80% of its vocabulary comes from other languages. Besides the French
there are contributions from the Hindu (khaki), Arabic (alcohol), Greek
(gym), Latin (optic), Indian (opposum), Japanese (kowtow), Yiddish
(kibitzer), Gaelic (clan), Norwegian (ski) and Spanish (ranch). The
English, like the Cajuns, have simply taken into their language whatever
foreign words they find serve a useful purpose. Since almost half of the
English words are of French origin, learning French is easier for
someone who speaks English. Many words are identical in spelling but
differ only in pronunciation. Examples are table (pronounced in French
as tahb), agriculture (ah-gree-cul-tour), baton - bah-ton*), court
(coor) and pardon (par-dohn*). This similarity led one well-known
Englishman to exclaim when studying French that French was just "English
mispronounced."
Not all words which are similar in spelling mean the same thing in both
languages, and this has caused some embarrassment to neophyte French or
English speakers. But we'll go into that some other time. You should get
the point by now; no one who speaks English as a basic tongue has any
right or reason to laugh at anyone who speaks Cajun French.
* the "n" is not pronounced, but nasalized You can see a copy of my
bilingual (English/Cajun) comic strip, entitled, "Bec Doux et Ses Amis"
and hear the dialog by clicking here.This changes weekly.
Copyright by Earl J. Comeaux
307 Abshire Drive
Kaplan, LA 70548
Tel: (318)643-7086
Email: ***@kaplantel.net
ALLONS EN LOUISIANE!
LAISSEZ LES BON TEMPS ROULLER!
ALLONS EN LOUISIANE!
CHER YOU GOT'A DANCE LIKE NOBODY'S WATCHIN' & LOVE LIKE IT AIN'T EVER
GONNA HURT!
LAISSEZ LES BON TEMPS ROULLER!
MOJO & The Bayou Gypsies' Official Website!
http://www.redhotmojo.com/
written by Earl Comeaux
We're a little bit amused when we see outsiders and "Americans" laugh at
our Cajun French with its blend of English words. As we have pointed out
in before, many things were unknown to the world or to the Cajuns when
our ancestors left France, and as a result, Cajuns have adopted the
English word for some things, like the telephone and the airplane. Some
outsiders mimic Cajuns for this supposed flaw in their language, and
have the impression that Cajuns are speaking a pidgin language, part
French and part English.
These same folks would half die of shame if someone was to point
correctly out to them that the King's English is, by the same logic,
really pidgin French.
You don't believe it? Then listen to this: The original language spoken
in England was a combination of the German tongues spoken by the
invading tribes of Angles, Saxons and Jutes. This language has not
survived, but it became the basis of the English language.
In 1066 William the Conqueror, a Norman (from the Northern coast of
France) defeated Harold at the famous Battle of Hastings, and with the
Norman conquest, French became the official language of England. For
over 220 years French remained the official language and it so
influenced the English language that today nearly 40% of the words in
the English dictionary are of French origin. The French words which came
into the English were for the most part prestige or learned words. The
everyday words of Anglo-Saxon origin remained. For example, we speak
today of cows, sheep, calves and hogs, all Anglo-Saxon words. But when
they are prepared for the table they become beef (boeuf - bull), mutton
(mouton - sheep) and veal (veau - calf) from the French. We speak of a
lunar eclipse (from the French "la lune" -moon) and not of a moony (from
the Anglo-Saxon) eclipse, and we refer to a solar system (from the
French soleil - sun) and not of a sunny system.
Since no other foreign invader ever again set foot on English soil, the
Norman invasion of the language was the last violent change in the
English language. Since then the language has become more stable through
the invention of printing and the advent of the dictionary. English
today is a Germanic language in structure and basic words, but almost
80% of its vocabulary comes from other languages. Besides the French
there are contributions from the Hindu (khaki), Arabic (alcohol), Greek
(gym), Latin (optic), Indian (opposum), Japanese (kowtow), Yiddish
(kibitzer), Gaelic (clan), Norwegian (ski) and Spanish (ranch). The
English, like the Cajuns, have simply taken into their language whatever
foreign words they find serve a useful purpose. Since almost half of the
English words are of French origin, learning French is easier for
someone who speaks English. Many words are identical in spelling but
differ only in pronunciation. Examples are table (pronounced in French
as tahb), agriculture (ah-gree-cul-tour), baton - bah-ton*), court
(coor) and pardon (par-dohn*). This similarity led one well-known
Englishman to exclaim when studying French that French was just "English
mispronounced."
Not all words which are similar in spelling mean the same thing in both
languages, and this has caused some embarrassment to neophyte French or
English speakers. But we'll go into that some other time. You should get
the point by now; no one who speaks English as a basic tongue has any
right or reason to laugh at anyone who speaks Cajun French.
* the "n" is not pronounced, but nasalized You can see a copy of my
bilingual (English/Cajun) comic strip, entitled, "Bec Doux et Ses Amis"
and hear the dialog by clicking here.This changes weekly.
Copyright by Earl J. Comeaux
307 Abshire Drive
Kaplan, LA 70548
Tel: (318)643-7086
Email: ***@kaplantel.net
ALLONS EN LOUISIANE!
LAISSEZ LES BON TEMPS ROULLER!
ALLONS EN LOUISIANE!
CHER YOU GOT'A DANCE LIKE NOBODY'S WATCHIN' & LOVE LIKE IT AIN'T EVER
GONNA HURT!
LAISSEZ LES BON TEMPS ROULLER!
MOJO & The Bayou Gypsies' Official Website!
http://www.redhotmojo.com/