The origin of the term Cajun is the same as the origin of Cajuns themselves. Generally, Cajun is a term for people who live mainly in southern Louisiana and far southeast Texas who are descendants of Acadians (Cajuns) who moved to the area around 1763. They were French-speaking exiles from southeast coastal Canada, forced out of their homes by the wars of that period, relocating largely in the French-owned Louisiana region. Used to coastal living, they settled near New Orleans and also made their way further west along the Gulf of Mexico. Even as they moved into Louisiana, they learned the region was being taken over by Spain, which further displaced them.
French was long the primary language, but decades of repression and school-mandated English (and punishment for speaking French) has shifted it significantly, as has the change in the residents’ long isolation in the swampier regions of coastal Louisiana. French-speaking Cajuns no longer live in such insular communities—which also means that some of the current generation speak no French, just as some of the older Cajuns still speak little or no English.
(“Creole” is not the same as “Cajun,” though the precise definition of Creole is difficult to pin down. Generally, it refers to descendants of people who settled the area before Cajuns came to Louisiana. There has been much inter-marriage that has blurred that distinction in many families.)
This dialect/accent can vary a great deal depending upon the degree of their French language usage. This outline will focus on a Cajun accent with a lighter influence of French, though the recordings include samples all the way from Cajuns who are non-French speakers to one woman who speaks limited English—and it’s rather difficult to tell the difference when she switches from French to English!
2. Sound Placement
Where the sound “lives” in the mouth.
Placement for a Cajun accent is slightly back on the roof of the mouth with a roundness both in the back of the mouth and in the lips. It has qualities that are much like a cross between a French and a New Orleans accent. It may be helpful to round or pucker your lips forward, even though the placement is further back. There is a flatter quality to a New Orleans accent, though the roundness in the lips and of the soft palate reduces this in Cajun. Both French and New Orleans can have a very nasal quality to them. Cajun may have a bit of a nasal quality, but it’s usually nowhere near the nasality that is often present in the other two.
3. Intonation Pattern
Musicality, lilt, inflection, and stress.
The pitch may jump around more than many other American accents, but the main form of stressing words involves elongating sounds and “flattening” vowels. Pitch may change a lot during the elongation of a sound, too. This usually manifests itself in an arcing change in pitch – this can happen on a single word, or it can extend over entire phrases. There may also be a “mumbling” quality to the speech of some of the individuals in the recordings accompanying this. Take care this doesn’t make your speech indecipherable.
4. Helpful Hints
Your jaw may need to drop open more than it may be used to doing. It may be useful to imagine almost chewing during speech, which helps to open the jaw further and get it moving very actively while talking. In order to keep your speech clear, you will likely have to activate your lips more as you speak. (Again, actual speakers may not open their jaws or activate their lips as much, but they are probably not as clearly understood as you will need to be.)
To experience the roundness or lift of the soft palate and the lips, it may be helpful to imagine you are gently placing an egg far back in your mouth, or trying to swallow a peeled banana whole.
You will have to make some decisions about how French-Cajun your character is, as this will certainly alter some elements of your accent.
It is crucial that you listen to the accompanying recordings and repeat phrases from the native speakers featured there. Some of the accents are much stronger and more distinctly the stereotype of Cajun, but all contain the basic qualities. It will serve you best to focus on these samples, finding the changes strongly before letting the dialect become reduced to the point you might be using it in your work later. Start with the extreme.
Consonants
*Some operating systems and browsers may have issues displaying some phonetic symbols, but they are all described in the audio.
5. Consonants
1. The /r/ may not change at all at the beginning of a word, when following a consonant sound or between two vowel sounds, but the heavier the Cajun French influence, the more likely it will become like the French [ʁ]. After a vowel sound, the /ɚ/ is usually dropped (elongating the vowel before) or is replaced by /ə/, /jə/ or /wə/ when it comes after a vowel sound and is followed by a consonant sound, or ends a word. This /ə/ may become a syllable all to itself, almost as long as the vowel before it:
7. Many consonants are dropped, especially at the ends of words:
walk, felt, stink, most, worst, sound, hurried, fast
Practice: I wanted to ask you why she said that.
Vowels
*Some operating systems and browsers may have issues displaying some phonetic symbols, but they are all described in the audio.
6. Vowels
Any vowels before a nasal consonant, such as the M, N or NG sounds, will tend to be very nasalized, often sounding more French-influenced. Vowels overall may move towards an indistinct /ə/ sound as in above.
1. Words like FATHER, LOT, CLOTH, THOUGHT, and STRUT move toward [a̹] (with lip rounding):
father, swan, llama, want, spa;
farm, garden, market, start, apart, card;
cop, not, God, mob, bottle, operation, lot;
form, Gordon, more, storage, cord, born/barn;
up, supper, love, under, shut, club, above
Practice: Not a lot is much more important than Mardi Gras.
2. The vowel sound in words like DRESS may become /ɪ/, especially when followed by /m/ or /n/:
when, men, memory, any, twenty, entertain, generous, get
Practice: Didn't I mention they condemned speaking French?
3. In strong Cajun French accents, /ɜ˞/ and /ə˞/ become [œʁ]:
*Some operating systems and browsers may have issues displaying some phonetic symbols, but they are all described in the audio.
7. Diphthongs
1. Diphthongs in words like PRICE become [ɒɪ] or [ɒ]:
my, surprise, aisle, smile, rhyme, high
Practice: The fried shrimp were spiced just right.
2. MOUTH words change to [əʊ]:
out, power, plow, shower, how, amount, ground
Practice: That loud sound of thunder came from those black clouds.
3. GOAT words tend to become [a̹] (with lip rounding):
oh, go, shown, obey, poem, glow, stove
Practice: I was only four when I first went boating alone.
Alternate Pronunciations
Alternate Pronunciations
andouille
ask
boudin
cher
doesn't matter
do-do
etoufee
fais do-do
gout
jambalaya
Lafayette
"make groceries"
Mardis Gras
parish
pecan - pacane
pirogue
police
roux
T.
[a̹n.duˈwi]
[æks]
[ˈbu.dæn]
[ʃɛə]
[ˌda̹d.n̩ ˈmæ.ɾə]
[da̹.da̹] sleep
[ˌe.tuˈfeː]
[ˈfeɪ.da̹.da̹] Cajun dance party
[ɡu] a taste of something
[ˌdʒa̹m.bəˈlɒɪ.ə]
[ˌlæ.fɪˈjɛt]
go grocery shopping; also “making groceries”
[ˈma̹.ɾɪ ˌɡɹa̹]
Louisiana is divided into parishes rather than counties
[pa̹ˈka̹n]
[ˈpi.ɹa̹] swamp canoe with flat bottom
[ˈpa̹.lis]
[ɹu]
[ti] nickname = little, so T. Ray = little Ray
Practice Sentences
Practice Sentences
C1. I was fairly sure they cleared out by four. Bring that red car back here and I’ll check the brakes.
C2. He was saying something about going along.
C3. Both of those things spilt on that man’s clothing.
C4. Whatever - It isn’t as late as I thought it was.
C5. I couldn’t have just taken a couple of pounds of crawfish.
C6. The whole thing filled up real fast.
C7. I wanted to ask you why she said that.
V1. Not a lot is much more important than Mardi Gras.
V2. Didn’t I mention they condemned speaking French?
V3. He hurt her feelings on purpose.
D1. The fried shrimp were spiced just right.
D2. That loud sound of thunder came from those black clouds.
D3. I was only four when I first went boating alone.
Practice Monologue
Practice Monologue:
Why would you go and spoil the surprise? I told you not to say anything to Tom or any of his family about these plans, but you had to go and shoot your mouth off and ruin the whole thing. We’ve got people coming from all over the parish to celebrate with us, and we all kept it a secret for nearly three months, but now you’ve gone and messed it up. Are you going to call folks and tell them what happened? Because I sure ain’t. Your aunt Janet, she’s just going to cry when she finds out. Aw, Cheramie, you really went and done it this time. I don’t think the Thibodeauxs are ever going to forgive our family for this.
These materials developed for Accent Help by Jim Johnson. These materials may not be duplicated or distributed without consent. To distribute these materials to a larger group or for information on coaching accents for actors, please contact Accent Help at admin@accenthelp.com.
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