Academic French

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Acadian-French language area

The Acadian French (or: the Acadian , French français acadien ) is a Regiolekt the French language , which in the eastern Canadian Maritime Provinces (Fr .: provinces maritimes ) as well as regions of Québec (Baie des Chaleurs, Basse-Côte-Nord , Magdalen Islands ) and the US state of Maine (especially in the Saint-John river valley ) is spoken by the Francophone population, the Acadians , who live there.

Origins

Like other French varieties that came to America with French colonization, Acadian French shows a development that is autonomous from the French spoken in Europe. It shows partly archaic (ancient), partly innovative and partly from English language features. Some of the vocabulary and other characteristics are reminiscent of the French that was in use in Rabelais ' and Molière's times. Akadian is not a uniform dialect, but has regional differences due to the extensive settlement area of ​​the speakers. Furthermore, as in all languages, there are linguistic differences among speakers of different generations or social groups.

Linguists disagree about the origins of the academic. Most of the settlers came from the Loudun area in western France . This also explains the significant influence of the western Oïl languages (e.g. Angevin , Manceau and Tourangeau ) in contrast to the Parisian French, which was predominant in the 17th century . Typically, the Zungenspitzen- this are r and the pronunciation of the mute become European French suffix -ent [ɑ] and [ɔ] in the first or third person plural of verbs ending in -er .

The dialect of the Gaspésie Peninsula, which belongs to the province of Québec, is strongly reminiscent of Jèrriais , the dialect of the Channel Island of Jersey . While the Jerseye says j'avons ieu in Jèrriais , an Acadian expresses that with j'avons eu , what is rendered in high French with nous avons eu . There are also close relationships with Angevin, since Loudun, the place of origin of most of the settlers, belonged to the Angevin language area. An example of this is the peculiarity of reproducing the 1st person plural with je : j'allons, je sons, j'avons (high French: nous allons, nous sommes, nous avons ). This peculiarity of the Acadian language became known in Francophonie through the fictional character Sagouine in the novel of the same name La Sagouine , which was created by the Acadian novelist and playwright Antonine Maillot. The personal pronoun je is also used for the 1st person singular, as in High French , whereby in Arcadian eche (or e'je, ej ) is more common, the et je ( et je, est-ce quand, etc. ) that precedes the sentence .) goes back. This language trait is also known from the Louisian Cajun .

Since the Angevin Seneschallate of Loudun was attached to Vienne (in what is now the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region ) during the revolution , it was long assumed that the Acadian settlers from Loudun came from the province of Poitou and that their language was originally Poitevin . Wittmann (1995, 1996) has shown that the Seneschallate of Loudun belonged to the province of Anjou until 1789 and that the dialect of Loudun belongs to the Angevin language area. The main focus here is on the comparison of Akadian / Angevin j'avons, ils avont (1st and 3rd person plural of avoir 'have') with Poitevinian y'avons, l'avont (from i + V, lè + V) .

Many native speakers from other French-speaking regions, such as France , Belgium , Switzerland or Québec, initially have difficulties understanding Academic because it is seldom heard outside the maritime provinces.

In Acadian, as in other French dialects, one often comes across words that appear to be of English origin, but are in fact outdated French words long ago adopted by the English themselves from French or Anglo-Norman.

Phonetics and Phonology

  1. A characteristic of the Acadian that is striking in the entire Francophonie is the preservation of the pronunciation of the h aspiré, the mute [h] in standard French . For example, haut, heurter, hurler are not pronounced as in standard French ['o] , [' œʀte] , ['yʀle] , but [ho] , [hœrte] , [hɔrle] .
  2. The plosives [t, d] and [k, g] are palatalized in front of closed vowels and semi-vowels . For example: cuire (high French : [kɥiʀ] ) is pronounced [tʲɥir] , qui (high French : [ki] ) [tʲi] etc. Furthermore, c and qu become tch [tʃ] before vowels .
    1. When [k] , [kɥ] , [kʏ] , in some cases also [t], come before a front tongue vowel , they are pronounced [tʃ] . For example: cœur [kœʀ] , queue [ko] , aucun [OKö] , cuillère [kɥijɛʀ] , quelque [kɛlkə] , coquiner [kɔkine] , quelqu'un [kɛlkœ] , cul [kʏ] and tas [tɑ] are [tʃœr] tchœur [tʃø] tcheue [otʃɛ̃w] autchun [tʃɥijer] tchuillére [tʃœt] tcheute [kɔtʃine] cotchiner [tʃœtʃɛ̃w] tcheutche'un [tʃʏ] tchu and [tʃɑ] tchâ also pronounced phonetic and in colloquial language.
    2. [g] becomes [dʒ] or [j] before a front tongue vowel, depending on the region. For example:gueule(high French : [gœl] ) is pronounced [dʒœl] or [jœl] ; baguette(high French : [bagɛt] ) becomes phonetically to [bajɛt] .
    3. [dj] also becomes [dʒ] or [j] before a front tongue vowel, depending on the region. For example:bon dieu(high French : [bɔ̃djø] ) is pronounced [b a ɔ̃dʒø] or [b a ɔ̃jø] ; diable(high French : [djɑbl] ) is pronounced [dʒɑb (l)] or [jɑb (l)] ; diamond(high French : [djamɑ̃] ) is pronounced [dʒamɑ̃] or [jamɑ̃] ; also in the interior of the word:acadien(highFrench: [akadjɛ̃] ) is pronounced [akadʒɛ̃w] or [akajɛ̃w] .
    4. [tj] or, more rarely, [t] usually become [kj] or [k] or [tʃ] . The wordamitié(high French : [amitje] ) is pronounced [amikje] or [amitʃe] , depending on the region,and is also sometimes spelled phonetically accordingly in colloquial texts (amiquié, amitché).
  3. Acadian French also differs from standard French in phonology; so e [ɛ] becomes a [a] or [ɑ] if it comes before r, l or s . For example: gouvernement (hochfrz .: [guvɛʀnəmɑ] ) is therefore [guvarnəmɔw] very well in colloquial texts gouvarnement orthographiert.
    1. If [ɛʀ] comes before a consonant , it often becomes [a (r)] or [ɑ (r)] . For example: chercher (high French : [ʃɛʀʃe] ), vert (high French : [vɛʀ] ), perdre (high French : [pɛʀdʀ] ), verre (high French : [vɛʀ] ), terre (high French : [tɛʀ ] ), merveilleux (high French : [mɛʀvɛjø] ) are pronounced [ʃarʃe] , [vart] , [pɑrd (r)] , [vɑr] , [tɑr] , [ma (r) vɛju] .
    2. There is always a closed é [e] in front of r . For example: derrière (high French : [dɛʀjɛʀ] ) or prière (high French : [pʀijɛʀ] ) are pronounced [dɑrjer] derriére, dârriére and [prijer] priére and also spelled accordingly phonetically in colloquial texts.
    3. Furthermore, Acadian French has an unstable r, which means that the r at the end of an infinitive is not spoken. This is an archaism from the 17th century. In particular, the [ʀ] in the endings -bre and -dre falls silent , so that words like libre (high French : [libʀ (ə)] ), arbre (high French : [aʀbʀ (ə)] ), vendre (high French. : [vɑ̃dʀ (ə)] ) - [lib] , [ɑ (r) b] , [wɛ̃wd] .
  4. Furthermore, ch- [ʃ] , when it is at the beginning of a word, pronounced [x] . ( e.g .: champ [xaɔ̃w (p)] as opposed to high frz . : [ʃɑ̃] .)
  5. Due to the strong linguistic influence of Portuguese at the beginning of colonization and in some southern regions of France, the pronunciation of -in-, -ein-, -im-, -eim-, -ain-, -aim-, (after e, i or y ) -en-, em- (high French : [ɛ̃] ); -an-, -am-, -en-, -em- (high French : [ɑ̃] ); -on- (high French : [ɔ̃] ) in Acadian French together like this: [ a ɔ̃] , [ɔ̃w] or [ɛ̃w] . (e.g .: pont [p a ɔ̃] as opposed to high frz .: [pɔ̃] .)
  6. The graphem -oi- or -oy- is pronounced [o] , [oe] , [ue] , [wɛ] . ( e.g .: oiseau [wɛzo] as opposed to high French : [wazo] , voyage [wɛjɑʒ] (mostly when it is used in the sense of "travel") or [wujɑʒ] (mostly when it is used in the acadian sense from "Fuhre", "Charge" is used) as opposed to Hochfrz .: [vwajaʒ] .)
  7. The [ɔ] , when placed in front of a duplication, becomes a [u] . For example, in words that contain -onne- (high French : [ɔn] ), -omme- [ɔm] , -osse- [ɔs] etc., the pronunciation becomes [un] , [um] , [us ] . ( e.g .: adonner [adune] as opposed to high French : [adɔne] ); homme [(h) um] as opposed to high frz .: [ɔm] ; bonne [bun] in contrast to Hochfrz .: [bɔn] ; communauté [kumʏnokje] in contrast to Hochfrz .: [kɔmʏnote] .)
  8. Preservation of the pronunciation of the silent standard [t] in standard French . For example: bout (high French: [bu] ), lit (high French: [li:] ), vert (high French : [vɛʀ] ) etc., are [but] , [li: t] , [vart] etc., pronounced.
    1. It is also common to add a phonetic [t] to words that are not present in standard French; For example: ici pronounces itself [isit] , aussi becomes phonetically to [osit] , -ci becomes [sit] etc. The pronunciation of the phonetic [t] is also spelled out in colloquial texts ( e.g. icitte, aussite, -citte etc.).

morphology

Archaisms also exist in morphology .

The verb ending in -ont in the 3rd person plural and its pronunciation is archaic . For example: ils travaillont [i'travɑjɑ̃] or [i'travɑjɔ̃] in contrast to the standard French ils travaillent [il'tʀavaj] .

The use of the verb ending on -ons in the 1st person plural in connection with je is just as archaic . For example: j'avons, je sons etc. as opposed to the standard French nous avons, nous sommes etc.

Avoir is generalized as an auxiliary verb , for example: il a revenu as opposed to the standard French il est revenu . Some linguists see this as a morphological Anglicism .

Irregular verbs are often conjugated regularly . For example: ils faisont, vous disez, ils avont etc., as opposed to the standard French ils font, vous dites, ils ont etc.

There are also many Anglicisms in morphology. For example: Je vous phonérai back as opposed to the standard French Je vous rappelerai .

There are also loan translations from English for syntagms . For example, the English verbal idiom (to) apply for sth. “Sth. apply ”taken from Acadian French in the form of appliquer pour qqch , replacing the standard French verbal expression faire la demande de qqch .

There are also archaisms from 17th century French, for example when using prepositions , for example: aider à qqn for the standard French aider qqn . Accordingly, Il faut leur aider is formulated instead of the standard French Il faut les aider .

vocabulary

Archaisms can also be found in the vocabulary , for example menterie “lie” as opposed to the standard French mensonge, bailler “to give” as opposed to the standard French thunder; as well as many anglicisms such as E.g .: watcher for the standard French regarder .

There are also some Acadian dialectisms. For example, the window is not referred to as fenêtre , as in standard French , but as châssis . In standard French, on the other hand, châssis only has the meaning “window frame” in this context.

Academic as a literary language

The upswing in Acadian cultural life from the 1960s and the legal strengthening of the Canadian minority languages ​​(amendment to the Official Language Act , 1987) led to the more frequent use of Acadian French in the literature of the region. The Chiac, an amalgam of Acadian and English spoken in the southeast of the province of Nouveau-Brunswick , stands out in particular.

Antonine Maillet ( La Sagouine , 1971), Gérald Leblanc ( Cri de terre: Poemes, 1972), Herménégilde Chiasson and Paul Bossé ( Empreintes, 2002) use the academic in their work. France Daigle , who initially only used it in dialogues, presented Pour Sûr (2011), a novel entirely written in Chiac .

Example from Gérald Leblanc's Jazz Break (1975):

"Rush de mots sans bon sens arc-en-ciel de musique me jazzent .... toune de violon complainte cantique de Louisiane me bluesent .... ta chair chaude et tes cheveux et tes mains et tes jambes et ton ventre jazzent la nuit ta parlure d'acadie rock mes season .... les chiac jazz dans les gris des trottoirs "

See also

literature

  • Nicole Barrieau, Maurice Basque, Stéphanie Côté (eds.): L'Acadie de l'Atlantique . Center d'études acadiennes, Moncton 1999.
  • Enphrem Boudreau: Glossaire du vieux parler acadien - mots et expressions recueillis à la Rivière-Bourgeois, Cap-Breton . Éditions du Fleuve, Montréal 1988
  • Yves Cormier: Dictionnaire du français acadien. Éditions Fides, Montréal 1999
  • Pierre A. Coulombe: Language Rights in French Canada . Peter Lang, Bern 1995
  • Jean Daigle (ed.): L'Acadie des Maritimes, Etudes thématiques des débuts à nos jours . Université de Moncton, Moncton 1993
  • Alphonse Deveau, Sally Ross (Eds.): The Acadians of Nova Scotia: Past and Present . Nimbus Publishing, Halifax 1992
  • Robert Fournier, Henri Wittmann: Le français des Amériques . Presses universitaires de Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières 1995
  • Stefanie Fritzenkötter: Acadian French at the Baie Sainte-Marie. Selected sociolinguistic, morphosyntactic and lexical aspects in a corpus for young people. Erich Schmidt, Berlin 2015. Zugl. Diss. Phil., University of Trier
  • John Hewson : The French Language in Canada . Lincom Europe, Munich 2000
  • Ingo Kolboom u. a. (Ed.): Acadia, a French dream in America. Four centuries of academic history and literature. Synchron, Heidelberg 2005 ISBN 978-3-935025-54-6
  • André Magord: Une minorité francophone hors Québec: Les franco-terreneuviens . Max Niemeyer, Tübingen 1995
  • Marguerite Maillet: Histoire de la littérature acadienne. De rêve en rêve. Editions d'Acadie, Moncton 1983
  • Genevieve Massignon: Les Parlers Francais D'acadie, in: "The French Review", 21, no. 1, October 1947, pp. 45-53.
  • Bernhard Pöll: French outside France; History, status and profile of regional and national varieties . Max Niemeyer, Tübingen 1998
  • Pascal Poirier: Le Glossaire acadien. Edition critique ét. by M. Gérin. Center d'études acadiennes. Editions d'Acadie, Moncton 1993.
  • Sinclair Robinson, Donald Smith: Practical Handbook of Québéc and Acadian French . Anansi, Ontario 1984
  • Joseph Y. Thériault (Ed.): Francophonies minoritaires au Canada . Editions d'Acadie, Moncton 1999
  • Félix Thibodeau: Le parler de la Baie Sainte-Marie, Nouvelle-Écosse . Lescarbot, Nouvelle-Écosse, Yarmouth 1988
  • Henri Wittmann : Grammaire comparée des variétés coloniales du français populaire de Paris du 17th siècle et origines du français québécois. In: Fournier & Wittmann (eds.), 1995 online ( Memento from August 19, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) pp. 281–334
  • Henri Wittmann: L'Ouest français dans le français des Amériques: le jeu des isoglosses morphologiques et la genèse du dialecte acadien. in: L'Ouest français et la francophonie nord-américaine: actes du Colloque international de la francophonie tenu à Angers du May 26th, 1994. Edited by Georges Cesbron. Presses de l'Université d'Angers. Angers 1996, pp. 127-136 online

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Department of French Studies: Subject Pronouns ( Memento December 15, 2006 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ^ Department of French Studies: L'interrogatif en français cadien ( Memento of December 18, 2006 in the Internet Archive )
  3. ↑ Louise Péronnet: Le parler acadien du Sud-Est du Nouveau-Brunswick. Eléments grammaticaux et lexicaux. ( Memento from September 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  4. ^ Pierre Delattre: Studies in French and comparative phonetics, La Haye: Mouton, 1966.
  5. ^ David Lonergan, Paroles d'Acadie: Anthologie de la littérature acadienne (1958–2009) . Prize de parole, 2010 ISBN 978-2-89423-256-9 pp. 37-40.
  6. ↑ Yves Bolduc and Nicolas Niçaise, Littérature acadienne at: encyclopediecanadienne.ca, accessed on September 17, 2015 (French, English ).
  7. ↑ quoted from: Hans R. Runte, Writing Acadia: The Emergence of Acadian Literature 1970–1990 . Rodopi Bv Editions, 1997 ISBN 978-90-420-0237-1 p. 130.
  8. ^ At the Center for Canadian Studies ZKS. She received the dissertation award from the International Council for Canadian Studies.