Chiac language
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chiac is variant of Acadian French mixed with English, spoken as a dominant language in the Acadian community in southeast New Brunswick, especially among youth, near Moncton, Memramcook and Shediac. It is a relatively more recent evolution of the French language, spurred by exposure to dominant English language media (radio, television, internet) and increased urbanization to Moncton and contact with the dominant Anglophone community in the area since the 1960s especially. The word itself is generally considered a derivation of the name "Shediac," a town in the area. Some have also suggested that it is a derivative of the French word chier, meaning "to shit".
The roots and base of Chiac are Acadian French, i.e. a spoken French often tinged with nautical terms (e.g. haler, embarquer), reflecting the historic importance of the sea to the local economy, as well as older French words (e.g., bailler, quérir, hucher, gosier), many deemed archaic by the Académie Française, testimony to three centuries of relative isolation of Acadian communities from French influence. The collected works of Goncourt Prize-winner Antonine Maillet, and her play La Sagouine in particular, illustrate well this variation of French. What sets Chiac apart from Acadian French is that it is a vernacular French mixed with English.
Chiac is a mixture of Acadian French (which includes words from Old French) and English. Chiac uses primarily French syntax with French-English vocabulary and phrase forms (see Examples, below). It is often deprecated by both French and English speakers as an impure hybrid — either "bad" French or "bad" English. However, Chiac has been reclaimed in recent years by some Acadian groups as a living and evolving language, and part of their collective culture. A number of Acadian artists write literature and music in Chiac.
[edit] Examples
- Ej vas driver mon truck à soir pis ça va êt'e right la fun. (I'm going to drive my truck tonight and it's going to be lots of fun.) (j'prendrai ma voiture ce soir et j'vais bien m'amuser - parisian french -)
- J'vas parker mon char. (I'm going to park my car.) (Je vais garer ma voiture)
- Ej schwimmais dans l'océan pis j'tais right soaking wet. (I swam in the ocean and got soaking wet.) (J'ai nagé dans l'océan et j'étais complètement trempé)
- Worry pas. (Don't worry) (Ne t'inquiète pas)
- J'vas essayer de coaxer Alphonse pis Euclide pour qu'y viennent brosser avant la hockey game de soir. (I'm going to try to convince Alfonce and Euclide to come drinking before the hockey game tonight.) (Je vais essayer de persuader Alphonse et Euclide de venir boire avant le match de hockey de ce soir.)
- Ma mère travaille au grocery store à pousser des shopping carts. (My mother works in a grocery store where she pushes shopping carts.) (Ma mère travaille à l'épicerie, elle y pousse des chariots.)
- Viens watcher un movie chenou. Ça va ête right le fun. (Come watch a movie at my place, it'll be really fun.) (Passe chez nous voir un film. On va bien s'marrer.)
- Chais pas quosse tu parles about. (I don't know what you're talking about.) (Je ne vois pas de quoi tu veux parler.)
- "Moi chu acadienne, hein?" (I'm Acadian, eh?) (Je suis Acadienne!)
[edit] External links
- Et si on parlait chiac ? (And if we spoke Chiac?)
- Je suis acadien - an example of Chiac
- The Chiac verb particle construction - A linguistics paper (pdf format) examining certain features of Chiac grammar
| Languages derived from French see also French-based creole languages |
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In the Americas: Haitian Creole (kreyòl ayisyen) • Michif • Lanc-Patuá |
