Acadian French from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Maine

Southwest Nova Scotia
Northern Nova Scotia

New Brunswick:
Caraquet
Dieppe

Maine/Madawaska region

Maps of Acadian Villages

Interesting maps here under the title "Cartes de l'ancienne Acadie" on the right side of the page.

Words and Phrases 5: Location

around  otohr / awtohr
Ah vah ahlih otohr la mayzon
We will go around the house.


next to   a cotih duh
Ah vah sahseer a cotih duh luh tsee garso[n]
We will sit next to the little boy.

on the side soo cohtih / soo luh bard
Ah vah sahseer soo cohtih duhl cabeenet
We will sit on the side of the cabinets.

Mo[n] cohtih fih mal.
My side hurts.

above   ah hoh
below  o[n] bah
Ah see twah a hoh eh lawt vah sahseer o[n] bah.
You sit above, and he will sit below.

beneath/bottom  soo
Shih la gawm o[n] soo mo[n] sooyih.
I have a gum on the bottom of my shoe.

in front of    on ahvo[n]
Luh shar ih on avo[n] lah mayzo[n]
The car is in front of the house.

behind    on areeyahr
Uhrgard on areeyahr twah
Look behind you.


close ohrah
Plont pah twah ohrahd mo[n]
Don't stand close to me.

far lwan
Ee res lwan lah bah
He lives far over there.

Ee res
He lives

there   lah
Eel ih lah
He is there.

over there
Sih lwan lah bah
It's way over there.

here eeseet
Ee vahvneer eeseet tuh jwan.
He will come here to meet you.

Against the Tide: The Story of the Acadian People

Available on-line for a limited time here.

Verbs: Être = to be

Être (eht) to be

J'suis (Shuh) I am

J'suis asteur (Shuh ah stər) I am now 

J'étais (Shti) I was--J'étais aprés faire quelque chose (Shti ahprih fair kih shawz) I was doing something

J'vas été (Ʒvah eht) I will be 

je pourrais être (Shpurih et) I could be

T'es (ti) You are 

T'es asteur (ti ah stər) You are now

Tu  étais (Tsee ti) You were

Tu vas être (Tsee vah et) You will be

Tu pourras être (Tsee purih et) You could be

Il est (ee-lih) He is

Il est asteur (ee-lih ah stər) He is now

Il était (ee ti) He was

Il vas être (ee vah et) He will be

Il pourrait être (Ee purih et) He could be

Elle est (Ahl-ih) She is 

Elle est asteur (Ahl-ih ah stər) She is now

El était (Ah ti) She was

Elle vas être (Ah vah et) She will be 

Elle pourrait être (El purih et) (El, ah purih et) She could be

On est (On ih) We are

On est asteur (On ih ah stər) We are now

On étais (O[n] ti) We were

On vas être (O[n] vah et) We will be

Nous-autres pourrais être (Neezawt ah purih et)

Vous-autres est (Voozawt ih) Y'all are

Vous-autres est asteur (Voozawt ih ah stər) Y'all are now

Vous-autres étais (Voozawt ti) Y'all were

Vous-autres vas être (Voozawt vah et) Y'all will be  

Vous-autres pourrais être (Voozawt purih et) Y'all could be

Ils sont (ee so[n]) They are

Ils sont asteur (ee so[n] ah stər) They are now

Ils étaient (ee sto[n]) They were

Ça va être (sah vah et) They will be

Eux-autres pourrais être (Ozawt purih et) They could be

 

Cajun, American, or both?

As a result of living on land (the Acadians saw the land as belonging to no one, just as their Mi'kmaq neighbors did) that became British territory, and then in Louisiana, land that was Spanish, French, the United States, the Confederacy, and the United States again, the Cajuns did not see themselves as "Americans" until the rise in nationalism during World War II. Until WWII, Cajuns identified as Cajun--they had been in what would become South Louisiana before there was such a thing as an "American." (American as in citizen of the United States of America) "Les Americains" were people who lived north of Alexandria.

Words and Phrases 2.

Animals:

un chat tigre (a[n] shah teeg) a bobcat
un chat (a[n] shah) a cat
un hibou (a[n] ēboo)  an owl  
un cabri (a[n] kah bree) a goat        
un cocodrie (a[n] kō kō dree) an alligator   
un taureau (tō rō) a bull
un ouaouaron (a[n] wah wah ro[n]) a bullfrog
un z-oiseau (a[n] zwah zō) a bird
une vache (an vahsh) a cow
une poule (an pool) a hen
une chouette (an shwet)  a screech owl  
une aigrette (an ēgreht) an egret
une z-oie (an zwah) a goose

Places:
(lah shom / lah salle) a room
(lah mayzo[n] / lah shahtō) house
(a[n] garaƷ) carport
(a[n] gahlree) porch
(lah shom ah sahsir / a[n] pahlwahr) living room
(lah shom ah cooshih / la shom ah dormih) bedroom
(lah keezin) kitchen
(lah shom a mo[n]Ʒih / la shom poo deenih) dining room (Cajuns didn't have dining rooms--the table was in the kitchen
(a[n] coreedawr) hall
(lah batsees) bathroom
(Vah lah cahmawd) Go to the toilet.
(lah clōzet) closet
(dih yawr) outside
(lah cor) yard
un parc (a[n] parc) park
(luh clō) field
(lih bwah) woods
(lih gra[n] bwah) forest
(lih bwah foorlih) thick woods
(a[n] lok) lake
(a[n] veevyeh / plahtan) pond
(a[n] reevyahr) river
(a[n] cahnahl) canal
(a[n] ree goe lih) stream / ditch
(an bootseek) store
(luh gran veelaj) city
(lah vihl) town
(luh veelaj) village
(lehcohl) school
(lah gran ehcohl) highschool
(lihgliz) church
(an mee ting) meeting
(loovraj) work

(Shoo gawn a... / Uhj vah ahlih...) I am going to...
(Ee lo[n] ihtih a...)They went to...
(Ah lih idvuhnoo d'lehcohl) She came back from school.
(Ee vah pihteht d'la ehcohl) He might go to school.