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My grandparents spoke French and almost no English. My daddy got his knuckles rapped at school for
speaking French on the playground, back when they did that, so when he had kids he spoke English to
us, to spare us the trouble. I understand a lot more than I speak, like most people my age down here.
But I never quit using the words, and on the boat I use them all day long.
The Cajuns came from Acadia, up in what's now Nova Scotia. The British threw them out in 1755, and a
good many of them made their way down here to south Louisiana over the next thirty years. Acadien got
worn down to Cajun. Our French isn't the French they teach in high school. It has old words from
France that France forgot, words from the Spanish and the Indians and the Africans, and some we made
up ourselves.
Here are the ones you'll hear on my boat. The "say it" column is how it sounds around here. A
Frenchman from Paris would say some of them different, and he'd be wrong, cher.
| ON THE BOAT |
| Word | Say it | What it means |
| cocodrie | CO-co-dree | Alligator. Holler it when you see the first one. |
| bayou | BY-you | A slow, quiet stream. You're on one. |
| pirogue | PEE-row | A little flat-bottomed boat you paddle. Don't sneeze in one. |
| ouaouaron | wah-wah-RON | Bullfrog. Sounds just like one. |
| maringouin | MAR-an-gwan | Mosquito. You'll need this one. |
| chaoui | sha-WEE | Raccoon. |
| bec-croche | beck-CROSH | White ibis. "Crooked beak." Look at the bill and you'll see why. |
| gros-bec | grow-BECK | Night heron. "Big beak." |
| poule d'eau | pool-DOO | The coot, the little black bird that swims like a duck. "Water hen." They come in for the winter. |
| sac-à-lait | SOCK-a-lay | White perch, what they call crappie up north. "Sack of milk," for the white meat. Best eating in the swamp. |
| choupique | SHOE-pick | Bowfin, an old-timey fish with a mouthful of teeth. |
| écrevisse | AY-cra-veese | Crawfish. |
| chevrette | shev-RET | Shrimp. Twenty years of my life. |
| bébête | bay-BET | A bug, or any little critter. What the kids call everything on the boat that moves. |
| TALKING |
| Word | Say it | What it means |
| cher | sha | Dear, darling. What I call everybody, men included. Don't take it personal. |
| mais | may | Well, or but. Starts about half the sentences down here. "Mais, look at that one." |
| mais yeah | may YEAH | Well, of course. |
| comment ça va? | co-mon sa VA | How's it going? |
| ça c'est bon | sa say BON | That's good. Use it after your first bite of boudin. |
| allons | ah-LON | Let's go. What I say when we pull away from the landing. |
| fais attention | fay ah-tahn-SYON | Watch out. Pay attention. |
| couillon | coo-YON | A silly fool. As in, "Don't be a couillon, keep your hand in the boat." |
| envie | ahn-VEE | A craving. "I got an envie for some fried catfish." |
| à la prochaine | ah la pro-SHEN | Till next time. |
| AT THE TABLE AND THE DANCE |
| Word | Say it | What it means |
| boudin | BOO-dan | Pork and rice sausage, spicy. Breakfast in a link, eaten in the truck. |
| lagniappe | LAN-yap | A little something extra, thrown in free. The sunset on the four-thirty tour is lagniappe. |
| fais do-do | fay DOE-doe | A country dance. It means "go to sleep," which is what the mamas told the babies in the back room while the grown folks danced. |
| FAMILY |
| Word | Say it | What it means |
| Mamère, Pépère | mom-MARE, pay-PARE | Grandma and Grandpa. |
| Nonc, Tante | nonk, tont | Uncle and Aunt. Everybody down here has a Nonc somebody. |
| parrain, nainaine | pa-RAN, nan-NAN | Godfather and godmother. Important people around here. |
Your homework: learn three words before you come. When we see the first gator, holler
"Cocodrie!" and the kids on the boat will think you were born here. When we get back to the landing,
tell me "Ça c'est bon," and I'll know you had a good time.
Questions? Call (555) 555-0182 or write
[email protected].
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