Louisiannais

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Louisiannais is the dialect of Francien spoken in Louisianne. While there is some variation throughout the country the dialect is more or less homogenous and is no different from Francien than Australesian English is from that spoken in London; words and phrases change, but the two are the same language for all intents and purposes.

Some philologists would categorize Louisiannais as a Langue d'Oil, some as a Langue d'Oua, but the common consensus is that Louisiannais is a Langue d'Oil with strong Langue d'Oua and Langue d'Oc lexical borrowings.

Phonology

Louisiannais has resisted the assimilation of the [r] to [ʀ] due to the large influx of Burgundians who favored that pronunciation, themselves, but also due to the strengthening influence of their Castilian neighbors.

Vowels

  Front Central Back
unrounded rounded
Close i y   u
Close-mid e ø ə o
Open-mid oral ɛ (ɛː) œ ɔ
nasal ɛ̃ (œ̃)   ɔ̃
Open   ɑ̃
oral a (ɑ)

Vowels in Louisiannan French tend to sound a bit off, due to the fronting of the vowels as they assimilate to the alveolar trilled [r] instead of Francien's uvular trilled [ʀ], [ʁ] (both the fricative and the approximant), [ɾ], and [χ].

Consonants

The following table shows the typical sociolect of "mainstream" Louisiannan French. Dialects more heavily influenced by the Francien of Les Plaines are showing more usage of the uvular trilled [ʀ]and [ʁ]. These are limited to border towns, predominantly. Paris-sur-Mizouri is not showing this trend however. This is likely due to the influx of Louisiannans from the South and West that converge upon the capital, bringing their overpowering trilled [r]

Table of consonants of Louisiannan French
Bilabial Labio-
dental
Dental/
Alveolar
Palato-
Alveolar
Palatal Velar
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ
Stop p   b t   d k   ɡ
Fricative  f   v  s   z  ʃ   ʒ
Trill r
Approximant j ɥ w
Lateral l ʎ











Vocabulary

Due to the different waves of immigration and native speakers, Louisiannais has developed a particular vocabulary that has had some bleed-through back into Francien, although this bleed-through is mostly with plants and animals that are native to North America. Some of the dialectical changes that have persisted still exist in France, but are deemed largely moribund by philologists.

Animals

Day-to-Day

  • cornet = sac, sac en plastique, sack
  • binettes = toilettes, bathroom, toilet

Greetings

While these are commonly heard, they are treated as slang, and it is mostly the under 30 crowd that uses them.

  • Servus! = Hello, directly borrowed from Dalmatian
  • Ciao! = Goodbye, directly from Castilian.

Plants

  • teva = pignon, Pine-nut. Teva has come to refer to nuts from any of 8 species of North American Pine trees. The flavor is different from that of the Stone Pine.

People

  • tapette = bavard, blow-hard, long-winded.
  • galfretier/galfretière = sans-abri, clochard, SDF, homeless person.

Body Parts

  • pirail = estomac, stomach. This is usually in reference to a fat man or pregnant woman. When used with a man it's often found to be pejorative, while with pregnant women it's a term of endearment.

Weather

  • rabasse = averse soudaine, sudden downpour

Household

  • cheni = poussière, la terre, la boue, dust, dirt, mud
  • pellotte = ramasse-poussière, dust-pan.