[philly4458]

Hello,


I'd just to like ask if there are anyone knowledgeable about the cajun culture. I understand the next generation of cajuns will possible loose their language since the elderly people are dying out.

I think this unique american heritage deserves to be preserved.




Sincerely,

Philly

[Lowtax4eva]

Well what exactly is your question? Cajun french is basically a dialect of French as it is spoken in Quebec, Canada

[philly4458]

Hello Lowtax4eva,

Is the cajun language in danger of being lost since most cajuns today who speak cajun are elderly. I am specifilly referring to the descendants of the exiled cajuns from Acadia now known as Nova Scotia Canada and Quebec area etc; of 1755 who live in south Louisiana Bayou country.

I do know that the late father Jules O. Daigle published the first dictionary in cajun french at 92 years old and said that cajun french is not a dialect but a langauge different than standard french or Canadian french. There were many words that were mispronounced due to iliteracy and taught to children by their parents and that is why in LA. Cajun is spoken differently by each local.

Philly

[darkvision]

You say culture and language as both a question, the language could already be considered a "dead" language, however the culture that is truly what marks a cajun(in 25%, mom 50 ofc, and her dad 100%) is still alive and well. And not just in Louisiana, Mardi Gras(Fat Tuesday, just happened, but is now celebrated by mant that are not cajun) is merely a festival to some, but to us cajuns a true historic and cultural icon. So are our foods, and the portions they come in. if you ever look at a true cajun recipe its meant for many familys not just one, the reason being is that cajun familys(shall we say 50 years back) took turns cooking for the ENTIRE street. And the next day would be another familys turn, etc so forth. So what portion of our culture/heritage/language are you really looking for? I can say for a fact that we are in some ways like the italians(very close family ties) so close that my immediate relatives in LA live all on one street(in my moms time) and as the family grew larger, moved to the next street(my time). By that I mean that if you knocked on any door on the two ajoining streets it would be a relative of mine in some way.

I will be checking back for more input from you. Also the only cajun I know I couldn't post here as it's all cussing. And as stated the language it self is becoming scarcer, though even 30 years ago it would be considered as latin is, a dead language.

[philly4458]

Hello darkvision,

I appreciate your comments, I just purchased Cds and books by the late Father Jules O. Daigle tiltiled cajun self taught.

I find the cajun language and cultuire interesting. I live in California and work for a major airline and love to travel and learn about people. Cajun history is an american heritage many people know very little about. I just found out that hundreds of cajuns served as french interpreters and agents in WWII for the U.S. Army. The Navajo code talkers finally gained recognition for their bravery in WWII yet still little is known about the cajuns service in France, Belgium and the French colonies of north africa.

Man, I just can't tell you how much I enjoy this subject.

To tell you a little about myself I am a fifty year old black christain man born in California served a short time in the Marine Corp. and have corresponded with a tutor online to learn cajun french. I think if I can learn spanish I can learn cajun. This gentlemans name is Jim Leger from LA very interesting fellow. He said that their were black creoles in his area as a child who spoke cajun very well.

About the cajun mardi gras there is a number of videos of cajun hand fishing the Bayou, Mardi gra, zydeco and cajun blues by The DEWEY brothers and lots more on folkstreams.net

It is a pleasure please email me anytime if you'd like my email address let me know.


P.S.

By the way I don't use curse words and don't like it either.


Philly

To tell

[darkvision]

Ell I'm prior US Navy, so that should give you some idea of how much I do like to cuss(not that I have to). I will tell you be careful of things marketed as "cajun" by stores as most of them have NO clue. While I was in bootcamp they had a gumbo and I was thinking "all right gumbo! i can't belive they have this!" another part simeltanously thought "you know its going to be terrible", but I got some anyway because this was the first time in 7 weeks I had anything that even had a chance to resemble food from home... it was tomato soup. I wanted to explode! Tomatoes arnt even USED in a gumbo, let alone as the base. If you ever get a chance to go to LA,not just new orleans (pronounced by us more like na'wlens) I would definitely try the food. I know some of the background some of our best known dish's that you may find interesting, though this is not to say its all of it or even a complete tale as this isn't from a history book, but from mouth to mouth.

Two of the big items used in cajun food is rice, flour and seafood. The rice because it's a cheap ingredient that can make a meal have many more servings, so you see it used in most dish's(Gumbo, Jambalaya, red beans, things of that nature) Flour being an all important ingreadient because its what's used to make a rue, which is again used in many cajun dishes.

Now some interesting background for yah on the po' boy. Its two halfs of french bread stuffed with well, watever(generaly roast beef or something else with a lot of juices) the reason they were/are made with a lot of juices is because of the history of the sandwich. They came about because bakers would have week old bread that had hardened, so shops would take the bread, hollow out both sides of the french bread and fry both sides of the bread with whatever meat, this let the juices soak into the bread to soften it up, and was sold as a very cheap meal/lunch for the working class(in other words for poor people) hence its name "poor boy" which got shortened to po' boy. In this day and age however they are no longer made with stale bread, though they are still hollowed, and fried. If its made right it should be a very sloppy sandwich, but will taste great :).

Gumbo is another thing, it started as basically a pot luck, you took the leftovers from the rest of the week from the other familys, and cooked it in with a rue, though it evolved as well to where it no longer uses leftovers as its ingredients but whatever you want to add to it. Because of that this is probably one of the most varied dish's now made, you have sweet gumbos, spicy, dark(as any cajun will tell you is how it should be), light, seafood, no seafood, sausage no sausage, different kinds of sausage, different kinds of seafood. So from restaurant to restaurant, or person to person no two people will make a gumbo the same. Because it all depends on personal taste. So if you get to try one and don't like it, don't think you dislike all gumbos, because their will be one out their for you :).

Now if you will excuse me, my knees are killing me, and I have to check on a few other posts and look up some info on my car. So will check back later.

[philly4458]

Thanks darkvision for sharing your cajun roots and crusine it has been interesting.

Did you grow up speeking cajun? And have you tasted alligator tail if so what is that like.


Philly

[darkvision]

Alligator is not something I have eaten, and no I was actually born in IL! Lol. Now living in MS. though from what I hear it "gasp" tastes like chicken. Though I have heard it can be difficult to cook as its easy to get it to come out gummy. (I suppose like eel)

Some interesting cajun dishes would be (and forgive me if I'm spelling these wrong, I've never seen them written out)

Budan(pronounced buhdan)-its rice, spices, left over pig parts(like a hotdog) in pig intestine. Good cooked just in a microwave or stove top but AMAZING off the grill(though this is one of those dishes you have to know a good shop, its easy to get the bad stuff)

Cracklin-(think of the sea creature for pronunciation)-its fried pig skin, again an easy one to mess up and its best fresh(after a few hours it will be rock hard). But its VERY tasty.

Craw fish(aka craw dads)- these nest/reproduce/grow in the mud of the swamps, some seasons it's a bunker crop, the next it will be very dry. They are very good, and hard to mess up, though like everything cajun they tend to be spicy.

Crab is also one of those things that cajuns/the south does well that having it any where else is just a disgrace. (alaskan king crab is way to bland, I recommend the blue crab from down here)

There are many more but these are some of our best in my opinion.(along with the other ones stated above)

[philly4458]

I will take vacation and visit Acadiana (cajun country) to try out their foods and festivities like the crawfish festival or rice festival in Crowley LA, that way I can get the true flavor of cajun crusine and here the cajun accent.

It amazes me how your ancestors learned to live off the land down in the bayou swamps with the houma indians and french creole people of color.

Sounds like you have a lot of good eating down their in MS since its next door to LA. Are you in contact with your relatives and are your folks still living in LA.

Take care.


Philly

[pattisue]

Hello Lowtax4eva,

Is the cajun language in danger of being lost since most cajuns today who speak cajun are elderly. I am specifilly referring to the decendants of the exiled cajuns from Acadia now known as Nova Scotia Canada and Quebec area etc; of 1755 who live in south Louisiana Bayou country.

I do know that the late father Jules O. Daigle published the first dictionary in cajun french at 92 years old and said that cajun french is not a dialect but a langauge different than standard french or Canadian french. There were many words that were mispronounced due to iliteracy and taught to children by their parents and that is why in LA. cajun is spoken differently by each local.

Philly

Cajun French is different from standard French in that it is more like the archaic French that was spoken when the original Acadians left France and moved to Acadie (Acadia), which is now known as Nova Scotia. The Acadians kept to themselves, except for interactions with the Mic Mac Indians. They borrowed some words from the Mic Macs, and later from the tribes that were here in Louisiana when they arrived. (Chitimacha, Coushatta, Houma, to name a few.) The language was passed down orally, as you mentioned, so it was not a written language for many years.

There are a few things keeping the Cajun language alive. One is the music. Cajun music has had a big resurgence in popularity and young people are playing the music and singing the songs. While some of them only learn the words to the songs phonetically, many are also learning the language. Zydeco music is extremely popular, but not all of the songs are in French. Some zydeco groups sing the songs in both French and English.

French Immersion schools are available in many school districts here, with all subjects being taught in French (except for English), and while most of the instruction is in standard French, many programs include and/or touch on Cajun French. Having a knowledge of standard French does help one understand Cajun French, although it might take time and the ability to really tune in to the dialect.

The Council for the Development of French in Louisiana (CODOFIL) has also done a lot for the promotion of the local French dialect. Also, Cajun French classes are taught at UL Lafayette, both as credit and non-credit courses. In addition, there is something called, "The French Table" where locals in different Cajun towns gather together once a week for lunch or breakfast and speak only French. Experienced Cajun French speakers are joined by novices and they interact with each other.

No, Cajun French is not dead in Louisiana.

[philly4458]

Hello Pittsue.

Are you cajun?




Philly

[pattisue]

Depends on who you ask. My maiden name is Spanish, but my paternal grandparents' first language was Cajun French, as it was for their parents. I married a Cajun and grew up in Cajun country, so I think I am culturally Cajun, if not a descendant of Acadian exiles.

[grossebabine]

Hello,

I would like to recommend reading "The Cajuns: Americanization of a People" written by Shane K. Bernard. I am of Cajun heritage and I found that I could not put this book down!
Also "The Cajun Country Guide" by Macon Fry and Julie Posner. I am not certain if there is an updated edition of this book - my copy is from 1998. There are places listed in this book that I didn't even know existed!

A la prochaine

[philly4458]

Hello,

No. I am not cajun, just a man who loves a great american story and cajun history is one of them.

I was born and raised in northern Ca, I'm fifty years old, both of my parents are from the south Texas and Alabama. After reading and researching cajun history it inspired me to someday visit cajun country and listen to their music and taste the foods.

Anyone have advice were I can go and here cajun french and just have a great time please send me your info.

Cajuns who served in WWll played a great part in France and french speaking colonies in Africa. They were interpreters although cajun french is diffrerent than standard french.

I am so glad to hear from you and keep in touch your responses are appreciated.


Thank you,

Philly

[Reneda]

How do you spell in "Cajun French"
"Way back there"?

[N0help4u]

There are several cajun sites on the internet
This is one I usually use.

Home Page - Cajun and Louisiana Website Directory