The spice of life is a Cajun-French accent!

The LSU Department of French studies has a glossary.

We transcribe oral histories for the National World War II Museum in New Orleans. A lot of the veterans they have interviewed over the years were residents of Louisiana. Those of you from Louisiana might not have noticed that your English isn’t the same as the English the rest of us in the U.S. of A. use! Especially when it comes to gentlemen who grew up in Lousiana in the early 1900s! So we’re very grateful to LSU Department of French Studies for publishing this Cajun French-English Glossary.

This question in particular is rather hilarious!

The veteran says he is talking to his aunt who only speaks French. For some reason, she thinks Pearl Harbor is a man’s name! People were much more isolated back then, y’all, and people in Louisiana tend to treasure their isolation!

Hey, folks! I have a Cajun here, and I can't quite catch what he's saying.  He's talking about his aunt, who only speaks French, reacting to Pearl Harbor and wondering if "...that man, that [??? s/l soboog 00:05:14], Pearl Harbor..." had been caught. She thought Pearl Harbor was a man.

A Cajun French-English Glossary

Un glossaire cadien-anglais (last updated on 08/11/05) 
Under the Direction of Amanda LaFleur  with the assistance of Benjamin Forkner. 

Questions/Comments: lafleur@lsu.edu

Aller directement au glossaire: Go directly to Glossary 

It looks like the Glossary isn’t being maintained. The site says it was last updated on 8/11/05. Here’s a link in case you’re struggling with Cajun accents like we are.

If you have audio files with a Cajun accent, SEND THEM ON! We love to listen to it.