View source for Acadian French

{{Short description|Variety of French spoken in eastern Canada}}
{{distinguish|Akkadian language|Louisiana French}}
{{Infobox language
| name          = Acadian French
| altname       = French of Acadia
| nativename    = {{native name|fr|français acadien}}
| image         = File:Flag of Acadia.svg
| imagecaption  = The modern flag of [[Acadia]].
| pronunciation = 
| states        = Canada, United States
| region        = [[New Brunswick]], [[Nova Scotia]], [[Prince Edward Island]], [[Quebec]], [[Maine]], [[Vermont]], [[New Hampshire]]
| speakers      = {{sigfig|372,000|2}}
| date          = 1996, 2006
| ref           = <ref>{{Cite web |title=Ethnic Origin (232), Sex (3) and Single and Multiple Responses (3) for Population, for Canada, Provinces, Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas 1 and Census Agglomerations, 2001 Census - 20% Sample Data |url=http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/products/standard/themes/RetrieveProductTable.cfm?Temporal=2001&PID=62911&APATH=3&GID=431515&METH=1&PTYPE=55440&THEME=44&FOCUS=0&AID=0&PLACENAME=0&PROVINCE=0&SEARCH=0&GC=0&GK=0&VID=0&FL=0&RL=0&FREE=0 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090725075428/http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/products/standard/themes/RetrieveProductTable.cfm?Temporal=2001&PID=62911&APATH=3&GID=431515&METH=1&PTYPE=55440&THEME=44&FOCUS=0&AID=0&PLACENAME=0&PROVINCE=0&SEARCH=0&GC=0&GK=0&VID=0&FL=0&RL=0&FREE=0 |archive-date=Jul 25, 2009 |website=Statistics Canada}}</ref>
| familycolor   = Indo-European
| fam2          = [[Italic languages|Italic]]
| fam3          = [[Latino-Faliscan languages|Latino-Faliscan]]
| fam4          = [[Latin]]ic
| fam5          = [[Romance languages|Romance]]
| fam6          = [[Italo-Western languages|Italo-Western]]
| fam7          = [[Western Romance languages|Western]]
| fam8          = [[Gallo-Romance languages|Gallo]]-[[Iberian Romance languages|Iberian]]<ref name="glottoGI">{{Cite web |url=https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/shif1234 |title=Glottolog 4.8 - Shifted Western Romance |date=2022-05-24 |access-date=2023-11-11 |website=[[Glottolog]] |last1=Hammarström |first1=Harald |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231127113834/https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/shif1234 |archive-date=2023-11-27 |url-status=live |publisher=[[Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology]] |last2=Forkel |first2=Robert |last3=Haspelmath |first3=Martin |last4=Bank |first4=Sebastian}}</ref>
| fam9          = [[Gallo-Romance languages|Gallo-Romance]]
| fam10         = Gallo-Rhaetian?<ref name="glottoGI"/>
| fam11         = [[Franco-Provençal|Arpitan]]–[[Langues d'oïl|Oïl]]
| fam12         = [[Langues d'oïl|Oïl]]
| fam13         = [[Langues d'oïl#Francien zone (zone francienne)|Francien zone]]
| fam14         = [[French language|French]]
<!---- Note: Do not add [[Canadian French]] as a fourteenth language family. Canadian French is a catch-all term that refers to all types of French spoken in the geographic region of Canada. It is not a language family. ---->
| script        = [[Latin script|Latin]] ([[French alphabet]])<br />[[French Braille]]
| ancestor      = [[Old Latin]]
| ancestor2     = [[Vulgar Latin]]
| ancestor3     = [[Old Gallo-Romance language|Old Gallo-Romance]]
| ancestor4     = [[Old French]]
| ancestor5     = [[Middle French]]
| nation        = {{NB}}
| minority      = {{NS}}<br />{{PE}}<br />{{QC}}
| agency        = 
| glotto        = acad1238
| glottorefname = Acadian
| lingua        = 51-AAA-ho
| isoexception  = dialect
| map           = Acadian French.png
| mapcaption    = Acadian French-speaking areas
| notice        = IPA
| ietf          = fr-u-sd-canb
}}
{{Infobox ethnonym|root=|person=Acadien / Acadienne|people=[[Acadians]]|language=Acadien|country=[[Acadia]]}}

'''Acadian French''' ({{langx|fr|français acadien, acadjonne}}) is a variety of French spoken by [[Acadians]], mostly in the region of [[Acadia (region)|Acadia]], Canada. Acadian French has seven regional accents, including [[Chiac]] and [[Brayon]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Blog 101 |first1=Quebec Culture |title="Our 32 accents" Series: QUÉBEC x 8 – Post 3 of 7 (#88) |url=https://quebeccultureblog.com/2014/11/14/our-32-accents-series-post-3-88/ |website=Quebec Culture Blog |language=en |date=14 November 2014}}</ref>

==Phonology==
Since there was relatively little linguistic contact with France from the late 18th century to the 20th century, Acadian French retained features that died out during the French [[standardization]] efforts of the 19th century such as these:

* The {{IPA|/ʁ/}} phoneme, Acadian French has retained an [[alveolar trill]] or an [[alveolar flap]], but modern speakers pronounce it as in Parisian French: {{lang|fr|rouge}} (red) can be pronounced {{IPA|[ruːʒ]}}, {{IPA|[ɾuːʒ]}} or {{IPA|[ʁuːʒ]}}.
* In nonstandard Acadian French, the third-person plural ending of [[verb]]s ‹{{lang|fr|-ont}}›, such as {{lang|fr|ils mangeont}} {{IPA|fr|i(l) mɑ̃ˈʒɔ̃|}} (they eat), is still pronounced, unlike standard French (France and Quebec) {{lang|fr|ils mangent}} ({{IPA|[i(l) ˈmɒ̃ːʒ(ə)]}} (France)/{{IPA|[i ˈmãːʒ(ə)]}} or (Quebec)/{{IPA|[ɪl ˈmãːʒ(ə)]}} ), the ‹e› can be pronounced or not, but ‹-nt› is always silent.{{Citation needed|date=October 2013}}

According to Wiesmath (2006),<ref>{{cite book |last=Wiesmath |first=Raphaële |title=Le français acadien: analyse syntaxique d'un corpus oral recueilli au Nouveau-Brunswick, Canada |publisher=l'Hamalthan |year=2006}}[https://archive.org/details/lefrancaisacadie0000wies]. ''Accessed 5 May 2011''.</ref> some characteristics of Acadian are:
*The verbal ending -ont in the third person plural
*Palatalization of {{IPA|/k/}} and {{IPA|/ɡ/}} to {{IPA|[tʃ]}} and {{IPA|[dʒ]}}, respectively
*A feature called {{Lang|fr|l'ouisme}} where {{Lang|fr|bonne}} is pronounced {{IPA|[bʊn]}}
These features typically occur in the speech of older people.

Many aspects of Acadian French (vocabulary and "trill r", etc.) are still common in rural areas in the South West of France. Speakers of [[Metropolitan French]] and even of other Canadian varieties of French sometimes have difficulty understanding Acadian French. Within North America, its closest relative is [[Louisiana French]] spoken in Southern Louisiana since both were born out of the same population that were affected during the [[Expulsion of the Acadians]].

See also [[Chiac]], a variety with strong [[English language|English]] influence, and [[St. Marys Bay French]], a distinct variety of Acadian French spoken around Clare, Tusket, Nova Scotia and also Moncton, New Brunswick.

===Palatalization===
''not to be confused with [[affrication]] typical of Quebec French.''
* {{IPA|/k/}} and {{IPA|/tj/}} are commonly replaced by {{IPA|[tʃ]}} before a [[front vowel]]. For example, {{lang|fr|quel, queue, cuillère}} and {{lang|fr|quelqu'un}} are usually pronounced {{lang|fr|tchel, tcheue, tchuillère}} and {{lang|fr|tchelqu'un}}. {{lang|fr|Tiens}} is pronounced {{lang|fr|tchin}} {{IPA|[t͡ʃɛ̃]}}.
* {{IPA|/ɡ/}} and {{IPA|/dj/}} often become {{IPA|[d͡ʒ]}} (sometimes {{IPA|[ʒ]}}) before a front vowel. For example, {{lang|fr|bon dieu}} and {{lang|fr|gueule}} become {{IPA|[bɔ̃ ˈdʒø]}} and {{IPA|[d͡ʒœl]}} in informal Acadian French. {{lang|fr|Braguette}} becomes {{IPA|[bɾaˈd͡ʒɛt]}}. (This pronunciation led to the word Ca'''j'''un, from Aca'''di'''en.)

===Metathesis===
[[Metathesis (linguistics)|Metathesis]] is quite common. For example, {{lang|fr|mercredi}} ('Wednesday') is {{lang|fr|mercordi}}, and {{lang|fr|pauvreté}} ('poverty') is {{lang|fr|pauveurté}}. {{lang|fr|Je}} (the pronoun 'I') is frequently pronounced {{lang|fr|euj}} and {{lang|fr|Le}} is frequently pronounced {{lang|fr|eul}}.

In words, "re" is often pronounced "er". For instance :
* {{lang|fr|erçu}} for "{{lang|fr|reçu}}", {{lang|fr|ertourner}} for "{{lang|fr|retourner}}", {{lang|fr|erpas}} for "{{lang|fr|repas}}", {{lang|fr|ergret}} for "{{lang|fr|regret}}", {{lang|fr|s'entertenir}} for "{{lang|fr|s'entretenir}}".

===Vowels===
* Acadian French has maintained phonemic distinctions between {{IPA|/a/}} and {{IPA|/ɑ/}}, {{IPA|/ɛ/}} and {{IPA|/ɛː/}}, {{IPA|/ø/}} and {{IPA|/ə/}}, {{IPA|/ɛ̃/}} and {{IPA|/œ̃/}}.
* In informal speech, the {{IPA|/ɑ/}} vowel is realized as {{IPA|[ɔ]}}: {{Lang|fr|pas}} ('step') {{IPA|/pɑ/}} → {{IPA|[pɔ]}} and {{Lang|fr|bras}} (arm) {{IPA|/bʁɑ/}} → {{IPA|[bʁɔ]}}, etc. 
* The short {{IPA|/ɛ/}} is realized as {{IPA|[ɛ]}} and it is the same as Parisian French.
* {{IPA|/ɛː/}} is open to {{IPA|[æː]}} or closed to {{IPA|[eː]}}, it depends on the region: {{Lang|fr|fête}} ('party') {{IPA|/fɛːt/}} → {{IPA|[fæːt]}} or {{IPA|[feːt]}} and {{Lang|fr|caisse}} ('case') {{IPA|/kɛːs/}} → {{IPA|[kæːs]}} or {{IPA|[keːs]}}, etc. {{Citation needed|date=October 2019}}
* The ⟨oi⟩ spelling has different pronunciations. Old speakers pronounce {{Lang|fr|roi}} ('king') {{IPA|[wɛ]}}, because the traditional Parisian pronunciation was like {{IPA|[rwɛ]}}. But in modern standard Acadian French, it is pronounced {{IPA|[wa]}}. Even where there is no [[circumflex]], there are some words which are phonemically pronounced {{IPA|/wɑ/}} and the phoneme is pronounced as {{IPA|[wɑ]}} in formal speech but {{IPA|[wɔ]}} in informal speech: {{Lang|fr|trois}} ('three') {{IPA|[tʁ̥wɑ]}} or {{IPA|[tʁ̥wɔ]}} and {{Lang|fr|noix}} ('nut') {{IPA|[nwɑ]}} or {{IPA|[nwɔ]}}. The ⟨oî⟩ spelling is phonemically {{IPA|/wɑ/}}, but old speakers pronounce it {{IPA|[weː]}}, while modern speakers pronounce it {{IPA|[wɑː]}} as in Quebec French: {{Lang|fr|boîte}} ('box') {{IPA|[bweːt]}} or {{IPA|[bwɑːt]}} and {{Lang|fr|croître}} ('grow') {{IPA|[kɾweːt(ɾ)]}} or {{IPA|[kʁ̥wɑːt(ʁ̥)]}}, etc.

===Elision of final consonants===
* Consonant clusters finishing a word are reduced, often losing altogether the last or two last consonants in informal speech: {{Lang|fr|table}} ('table') {{IPA|/tabl/}} → {{IPA|[tab]}} and {{Lang|fr|livre}} ('book'/'pound') {{IPA|/livʁ/}} → {{IPA|[liːv]}},<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://phono.uqac.ca/index.php?article=rubrique35|title=PHONO: Caractéristiques phonétiques du français québécois|access-date=2019-10-11|archive-date=2020-03-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200328002906/http://phono.uqac.ca/index.php?article=rubrique35|url-status=dead}}</ref> etc.

==Vocabulary and grammar==

Yves Cormier's {{Lang|fr|Dictionnaire du français acadien}} (ComiersAcad)<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=nJGvPwAACAAJ&dq=dictionnaire+du+fran%C3%A7ais+acadien&hl=en&ei=XXjCTci3LIKWOvn5xZ0I&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAA{{cite book|last=Cormier|first=Yves|title=Dictionnaire du français acadien|year=2009|publisher=Fides, Editions}}]. Retrieved 5 May 2011.</ref> includes the majority of Acadian regionalisms. From a syntactic point of view, a major feature is the use of {{Lang|fr|je}} for the first-person singular and plural; the same phenomenon takes place with {{Lang|fr|i}} for the third persons. Acadian still differentiates the {{Lang|fr|vous}} form from the {{Lang|fr|tu}} form.

The following words and expressions are most commonly restricted to Acadian French south of the Miramichi River, but some are also used north of the Miramichi River and in [[Quebec French]] (also known as Québécois) or [[Joual]] for the Montreal version of Quebec French. The Miramichi line is an isogloss separating South Acadian (archaic or "true" Acadian) from the [[Canadian French]] dialects to the north, North Acadian, [[Brayon]] (Madawaskan) and Quebec French (Laurentian French). South Acadian typically has morphosyntactic features such as [je [V [-on] … ]] (as in {{Lang|fr|je parlons}} "we speak") that distinguishes it from dialects to the north or elsewhere in the Americas such as [[Cajun French]], [[Saint-Barthélemy French]] or [[Métis French]] that have [nouzot [on- [V …]]] (as in {{Lang|fr|nous-autres on parle}}). Geddes (1908),<ref>Geddes, James (1908). ''Study of the Acadian-French language spoken on the north shore of the {{Lang|fr|i=unset|Baie-des-Chaleurs}}''. Halle: Niemeyer [https://archive.org/details/studyofacadianfr00gedd]</ref> the oldest authority on any variety of French spoken in Northern Acadia, records of the morphosyntactic characteristics of "true" Acadian spoken in the South and adjacent islands to the West.<ref>Although superficially a phonological descendant of South Acadian French, analysis reveals North Acadian French to be [[Morphosyntactic|morphosyntactically]] identical to Quebec French. North Acadian is believed to have resulted from a localized levelling of contact dialects between Québécois and Acadian settlers. Cf. Wittmann, Henri (1995) "{{Lang|fr|i=unset|Grammaire comparée des variétés coloniales du français populaire de Paris du 17<sup>e</sup> siècle et origines du français québécois}}." in Fournier, Robert & Henri Wittmann. {{Lang|fr|Le français des Amériques}}. Trois-Rivières: Presses universitaires de Trois-Rivières, 281–334.[http://www.nou-la.org/ling/1995a-fda.pdf]</ref>

Some examples of "true" Acadian French are:

* {{lang|fr|achaler}}: 'to bother' (Fr: {{lang|fr|ennuyer}}) (very common in Quebec French)
* {{lang|fr|ajeuve}}: (variation of {{lang|fr|achever}}, literally 'to complete') 'a while ago' (Fr: {{lang|fr|récemment, tout juste}})
* {{lang|fr|amanchure}}: 'thing, thingy, also the way things join together: the joint or union of two things' (Fr: {{lang|fr|chose, truc, machin}})
* {{lang|fr|amarrer}}: (literally, 'to [[mooring (watercraft)|moor]]') 'to tie' (Fr: {{lang|fr|attacher}})<ref name=crb>{{cite web |url=http://npshistory.com/publications/acadian-culture-in-maine.pdf |title=Acadian Culture in Maine |last=Brassieur |first=C. Ray |website=[[National Park Service]] |publisher=[[United States Department of the Interior]] |access-date=3 January 2019 }}</ref>
* {{lang|fr|amoureux}}: (lit. 'lover') '[[burdock]]' (Fr: {{lang|fr|(capitule de la) bardane}}; Quebec: {{lang|fr|toque, grakia}}) (also very common in Quebec French)
* {{lang|fr|asteur}}: (contraction of {{lang|fr|à cette heure}}) 'now' (Fr: {{lang|fr|maintenant, à cette heure, désormais}}) (very common in Quebec French)
* {{lang|fr|attoquer}}: 'to lean' (Fr: {{lang|fr|appuyer}})
* {{lang|fr|atentot}}: 'earlier' (Fr: {{lang|fr|plus tôt}})
* {{lang|fr|avoir de la misère}}: 'to have difficulty' (Fr: {{lang|fr|avoir de la difficulté, avoir du mal}}) (very common in Quebec French)
* {{lang|fr|bailler}}: 'to give' (Fr: {{lang|fr|donner}}) (Usually 'to yawn')
* {{lang|fr|baratte}}: 'a piece of machinery or tool of sorts that no longer works properly', e.g. "My car is a lemon so it is a {{Lang|fr|baratte}}" (very common in New Brunswick)
* {{lang|fr|batterie}}: 'the central passage through a barn ({{lang|fr|granges acadiennes}}) flanked by two storage bays adjacent to the eaves'.<ref name=crb/>
* {{lang|fr|besson}}: 'twin' (Fr: {{lang|fr|jumeau/jumelle}})
* {{lang|fr|boloxer}}: 'to confuse, disrupt, unsettle' (Fr: {{lang|fr|causer une confusion, déranger l'ordre régulier et établi}})
* {{lang|fr|Bonhomme Sept-heures}}: 'a fearful character of fairy tales who would visit unpleasant deeds upon young children if they did not go to bed at the designated hour'.<ref name=crb/>
* {{lang|fr|bord}}: (literally 'the side of a ship') {{Lang|fr|l'autre bord}} meaning 'the other side (of a street, river, etc.'); {{Lang|fr|changer de bord}} meaning 'changing sides (in a team competition)'; {{Lang|fr|virer de bord}} meaning 'turning back or retracing one's steps'.<ref name=crb/>
* {{lang|fr|boucane}}: 'smoke, steam' (Fr: {{lang|fr|fumée, vapeur}}) (very common in Quebec French)
* {{lang|fr|bouchure}}: 'fence' (Fr: {{lang|fr|clôture}})
* {{lang|fr|brâiller}}: 'to cry, weep' (Fr: {{lang|fr|pleurer}}) (very common in Quebec French)
* {{lang|fr|brogane}}: 'work shoe, old or used shoe' (Fr: {{lang|fr|chaussure de travail, chaussure d'occasion}})
* {{lang|fr|brosse}}: 'drinking binge' (Fr: {{lang|fr|beuverie}}) (common in Quebec French)
* {{lang|fr|caler}}: 'to sink' (Fr: {{lang|fr|sombrer, couler}}) (also 'to drink fast in one shot', {{lang|fr|caler une bière}}) (very common in Quebec French)
* {{lang|fr|char}}: 'car' (Fr: {{Lang|fr|voiture}}) (very common in Quebec French)
* {{lang|fr|chassis}}: 'window' (Fr: {{lang|fr|fenêtre}})
* {{lang|fr|chavirer}}: 'to go crazy' (Fr: {{lang|fr|devenir fou, folle}})
* {{lang|fr|chu}}: 'I am' (Fr: {{lang|fr|je suis}}, or, colloquially {{lang|fr|chui}}) (very common in Quebec French)
* {{lang|fr|cosses}}: 'peas, green beans' (Fr: {{lang|fr|mangetout}})
* {{lang|fr|cossé}}: 'what, or asking for information specifying something'. (Fr: {{lang|fr|quoi}})
* {{lang|fr|cotchiner}}: 'to cheat' (Fr: {{lang|fr|tricher}})
* {{lang|fr|coude}}: '[[Knee (construction)|ship's knees]]' that are a distinctive and unusual structural feature of early Acadian houses.<ref name=crb/>
* {{lang|fr|Djâbe}}: 'Devil' (Fr: {{lang|fr|Diable}})
* {{lang|fr|de service}}: 'proper, properly' (Fr: {{lang|fr|adéquat, comme il faut}})
* {{lang|fr|èchell}}: (literally 'a ship's ladder') 'stairway' (Fr: {{lang|fr|échelle}})<ref name=crb/>
* {{lang|fr|ej}}: 'I' (Fr: {{lang|fr|je}}) 
* {{lang|fr|élan}}: 'moment, while' (Fr: {{lang|fr|instant, moment}})
* {{lang|fr|erj}}: 'and I' (Fr: {{lang|fr|et je suis}})
* {{lang|fr|espèrer}}: 'to wait; say welcome, to invite' (Fr: {{lang|fr|attendre, inviter}})
* {{lang|fr|faire zire}}: 'to gross out' (Fr: {{lang|fr|dégouter}})
* {{lang|fr|farlaque}}: 'loose, wild, of easy virtue' (Fr: {{lang|fr|dévergondée, au moeurs légères}})
* {{lang|fr|fournaise}}: (lit. 'furnace') 'a wood stove, oven'
* {{lang|fr|frette}}: 'cold' (Fr: {{lang|fr|froid}}) (very common in Quebec French)
* {{lang|fr|fricot}}: 'traditional Acadian stew prepared with chicken, potatoes, onions, carrots, dumplings (lumps of dough), and seasoned with [[savory (herb)|savoury]]'
* {{lang|fr|garrocher}}: 'to throw, chuck' (Fr: {{lang|fr|lancer}}) (very common in Quebec French)
* {{lang|fr|le grand mènage}}: 'spring cleaning', often more comprehensive than in other cultures.<ref name=crb/>
* {{lang|fr|greer}}: (literally, '[[rigging]] of a ship's masts') 'to describe a woman's attire or decoration of a youngster's bicycle'.<ref name=crb/>
* {{lang|fr|grenier}}: 'a sleeping loft'.<ref name=crb/>
* se grouiller: 'to hurry, move' (Fr: se depecher)
* {{lang|fr|hardes}}: 'clothes, clothing' (Fr: {{lang|fr|vêtements}})
* {{lang|fr|harrer }}: 'to beat, maltreat' (Fr: {{lang|fr|battre ou traiter pauvrement, maltraîter}})
* {{lang|fr|hucher}}: 'to cry out, scream' (Fr: {{lang|fr|appeler (qqn) à haute voix}})
* {{lang|fr|icet}}: 'precisely here' (Fr: {{lang|fr|ici}})
* {{lang|fr|icitte}}: 'here; around here' (Fr: {{lang|fr|ici}})
* {{lang|fr|innocent}}: 'simple, foolish or stupid' (Fr: {{lang|fr|simple d'esprit, bête, qui manque de jugement}}) (very common in Quebec French)
* {{lang|fr|itou}}: 'also, too' (Fr: {{lang|fr|aussi, de même, également}}) (common in Quebec French)
* {{lang|fr|larguer}}: (literally 'loosening a ship's mooring lines') 'to let go of any object'<ref name=crb/>
* {{lang|fr|maganer}}: 'to overwork, wear out, tire, weaken' (Fr: {{lang|fr|traiter durement, malmener, fatiguer, affaiblir, endommager, détériorer}}) (very common in Quebec French)
* {{lang|fr|mais que}}: 'when' + future tense (Fr: {{lang|fr|lorsque, quand (suivi d'un futur)}})
*''malin/maline'': 'mean or angry' (lit. malignant)
*{{lang|fr|marabout}}: 'to be irritated or angry'
* {{lang|fr|mitan}}: 'middle, centre' (Fr: {{lang|fr|milieu, centre}})
* {{lang|fr|païen}}: (lit. 'pagan') 'hick, uneducated person, peasant' (Fr: )
* {{lang|fr|palote}}: 'clumsy' (Fr: {{lang|fr|maladroit}})
* {{lang|fr|parker}}: 'park' (Fr: {{lang|fr|stationner}})
* {{lang|fr|pâté chinois}}: 'a [[shepherd's pie]] casserole of mashed potatoes, ground meat, and corn'.<ref name=crb/> 
* {{lang|fr|peste}}: 'bad odor' (Fr: {{lang|fr|puenteur}})
* {{lang|fr|pire à yaller/au pire à yaller}}: 'at worst' (Fr: {{lang|fr|au pire}})
* {{lang|fr|plaise}}: '[[American plaice|plaice]]' (Fr: {{lang|fr|plie}})
* {{lang|fr|ploquer}}: 'having or showing determined courage' (lit. 'plucky')
* {{lang|fr|[[ploye]]}}: 'buckwheat pancake', a tradition of [[Edmundston]], New Brunswick, also common in Acadian communities in Maine (Fr: {{lang|fr|crêpe au sarrasin}})
* {{lang|fr|point, poinne}}: 'not', or a similar term of negation (Fr: {{lang|fr|pas}})
* {{lang|fr|pomme de pré}}: (lit. 'meadow apple') American [[cranberry]] (''Vaccinium macrocarpon'') (Fr: {{lang|fr|canneberge}}; Quebec: {{lang|fr|atoca}})
* {{lang|fr|pot-en-pot}}: 'a meat pie of venison, rabbits, and game birds'.<ref name=crb/>
* {{lang|fr|[[poutine râpée]]}}: 'a ball made of grated potato with pork in the centre', a traditional Acadian dish
* {{lang|fr|quai}}: 'a portable wheeled boating pier pulled out of the water to avoid ice damage'.<ref name=crb/>
* {{lang|fr|qu'ri}}: (from {{Lang|fr|quérir}}) 'to fetch, go get' (Fr: {{lang|fr|aller chercher}})
* {{lang|fr|rinque}}: 'just' 
* {{lang|fr|se haler}}: (lit. 'to haul oneself') 'to hurry' (Fr: {{lang|fr|se dépêcher}})
* {{lang|fr|se badjeuler}}: 'to argue' (Fr: {{lang|fr|se disputer}})
* {{lang|fr|soira}}: 'see you later' (Fr: {{lang|fr|au revoir}})
* {{lang|fr|j'étions}}: 'we were' (Fr: {{lang|fr|nous étions}})
* {{lang|fr|ils étiont}}: 'they were' (Fr: {{lang|fr|ils étaient}})
* {{lang|fr|taweille}}: '[[Mikmaq]] woman, traditionally associated with medicine or [[Midewiwin]]' (Fr: {{lang|fr|Amérindienne}})
* {{lang|fr|tchequ'affaire, tchequ'chouse, quètchose, quotchose}}: 'something' (Fr: {{lang|fr|quelque chose}}) ({{Lang|fr|quètchose}} and {{Lang|fr|quechose}} are common in Quebec French)
* {{lang|fr|tcheque, tcheques}}: 'a few' (Fr: {{lang|fr|quelque}})
* {{lang|fr|tête de violon}}: '[[ostrich fern]] [[fiddlehead]]' (''Matteuccia struthiopteris'')
* {{lang|fr|tétine-de-souris}}: (lit. 'mouse tit') 'slender [[glasswort]], an edible green plant that grows in salt marshes' (''[[Salicornia]] europaea'') (Fr: {{lang|fr|salicorne d'Europe}})
* {{lang|fr|[[tintamarre]]}}: 'din' (also refers to an Acadian noisemaking tradition whereby people gather in the streets and parade through town)
* {{lang|fr|tourtiéres}}: 'meat pies', sometimes with potatoes.<ref name=crb/>
* {{lang|fr|valdrague}}: 'in disorder or confusion'
* {{lang|fr|vaillant, vaillante}}: 'active, hard-working, brave' (Fr: {{lang|fr|actif, laborieux, courageux}}) (common in Quebec French)

===Numerals===
{{Unreferenced section|date=May 2025}}
* In the [[Nova Scotia]]n communities of [[Wedgeport]] and [[Pubnico (village), Nova Scotia|Pubnico]], the numbers {{lang|fr|soixante-dix}} ('seventy'), {{lang|fr|quatre-vingts}} ('eighty') and {{lang|fr|quatre-vingt-dix}} ('ninety') are instead called {{lang|fr|septante, huitante}} and {{lang|fr|nonante}} respectively, a [[French language#Numerals|phenomenon]] also observed in [[Swiss French]]; [[Belgian French]] likewise uses {{lang|fr|septante}} and {{lang|fr|nonante}} but not {{lang|fr|huitante}}.

==={{Lang|fr|Passé simple}}===
[[St. Marys Bay French]], a conservative dialect of Acadian French spoken in the [[St. Marys Bay, Nova Scotia]] region, is notable for maintaining use of the {{Lang|fr|[[passé simple]]}} in spoken conversation.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Comeau |first1=Philip |last2=King |first2=Ruth |last3=Butler |first3=Gary R. |title=New insights on an old rivalry: The passé simple and the passé composé in spoken Acadian French |journal=Journal of French Language Studies |date=November 2012 |volume=22 |issue=3 |pages=315–343 |doi=10.1017/S0959269511000524 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-french-language-studies/article/abs/new-insights-on-an-old-rivalry-the-passe-simple-and-the-passe-compose-in-spoken-acadian-french1/0A272F68256151BB3CB4867FF908734C |language=en |issn=0959-2695|url-access=subscription }}</ref> In most modern dialects of French, the tense is only used in formal writing and speech.

== See also ==
{{Portal|United States|Language}}
*[[Creole language]]
*[[Louisiana French]], also known as Cajun French
*[[New England French]]
*[[Poitevin language]]
*[[Saintongeais dialect]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050114060619/http://www2.umoncton.ca/cfdocs/cea/livres/doc.cfm?livre=glossaire Le Glossaire acadien] by [[Pascal Poirier]] French language page.

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060217223532/http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/Acadian-english/ Acadian English Wordlist] from [https://web.archive.org/web/20120223164907/http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/ Webster's Online Dictionary] - [[The Rosetta Edition]]
*[http://piquine.drobicho.com Les Éditions de la Piquine Online Acadian Glossary with audio] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130516022048/http://piquine.drobicho.com/ |date=2013-05-16 }} - (Website is only in French)

{{French dialects by continent}}
{{Gallo-Romance languages and dialects}}
{{Acadia}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Acadian culture]]
[[Category:Acadian French| ]]
[[Category:French dialects]]
[[Category:Canadian French]]