How many people speak Cajun French in La

[pirate_lafitte]

I don't know how many people speak Cajun French in Louisiana, but I do know one man from Louisiana who does speak French. As for myself, I have family roots in Louisiana. On my mother's side of the family I have some Louisiana Creole in my heritage. I can speak French moderately,a product of learning it in school. Living in metro Atlanta, I almost never get to use it. I don't speak Cajun French, but I do know one phrase in Cajun French..."Lache pas la patate", meaning don't let go of the potato, which means "hang in there". I learned it from a quote from Cajun humorist Dave Petitjean.

[spanko75]

This is a really interesting thread to me. I work in Lafayette from time to time and I always enjoy hearing the language and learning the culture. I hope to move there in the future. I hate NO, but love Baton Rouge and Lafayette.

[Shizzles]

Interesting topic. Does Cajun French still have any relation to Modern French as spoken in France/Quebec? Can you read French media from France, pour example?

[Innotech]

Originally Posted by Shizzles

Interesting topic. Does Cajun French still have any relation to Modern French as spoken in France/Quebec? Can you read French media from France, pour example?

There are French names on roads and for example, the auto park sign downtown is written in French, and I would say overall that while Cajun French is a bit more slang and unique than traditional modern French, it is similar enough to understand normal French. Traditional French is taught in schools here, and Cajun French books can be read pretty easily if you know some regular French.

[3ad_cajun]

well now...the news dramaized alot of katrina...and most people who live in New Orleans and surrounding areas dont speak French....the most populated french speaking area is Lacasine, La, Abbyville, Cameron, and most people around the Achaffalya Basin

[jguillot]

My parents who were both born in Avoyelles Parish, both learned to speak Cajun French before they learned English. I have 2 cousins left in that area that do speak some Cajun French, but I believe the number of people in that area that still speak the language is on the decline. I have not been exposed to Cajun French since 1976, but I can still understand some of it.

[pandorafan5687]

It's still out there, however, most of it is in the east part. Like an earlier post said, there used to be a heavy amount of it in the Lafayette and N.O. areas. However, Some of it is in the country towns like New Iberia, opelousas. And the fact that it kind of started fading after WWII

I think the islaneos(a group of spanish speakers who trace their ancestry to the canary islands) have that same problem. W/ so many of them, leaving st. benard parish and then katrina did not do much to help them.