Colonial French
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Colonial Louisiana French (more commonly Colonial French), also known as Plantation Society French, is one of three French dialects traditionally recognized in Louisiana (the others being Cajun French and Napoleonic French). Historically spoken by a part of the Louisiana Creole population, it is generally considered to be nearly extinct today^[1][2]. Small populations of Creoles in the parishes of Avoyelles, Iberia, Pointe-Coupée, St. Charles, St. Landry, St. Mary, and St. Tammany still speak Colonial French, as opposed to Cajun. White and Native American speakers of Colonial French are often considered by outsiders to belong to Cajun culture, though this classification has not been traditionally welcomed by white Creoles (Brasseaux).

Linguist Michael Picone of the University of Alabama introduced the term Plantation Society French in 1998,^[1] to distinguish the prestige dialect spoken by Creoles, both white and of color, after the standard French of the mid-19th century,^[3] from the more traditional definition of "Colonial French" as the older dialect introduced into French Louisiana before the Cajun migration. There is a history of diglossia with Louisiana Creole French.^[3]

Plantation Society French, at any rate, is quite close to the Standard French of the time of its origin, with some possible differences in pronunciation and vocabulary use.^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Cane River Valley French – Languages and Labels - Tulane University
2. ^ Squint, Kirstin. "A Linguistic and Cultural Comparison of Haitian Creole and Louisiana Creole" Postcolonial Text, Vol 1, No 2 (2005).
3. ^ ^{a b} Picone, Michael. "The Rise and Fall of Plantation Society French" abstract), presented at the Creole Studies Conference: Creole Legacies, New Orleans, October 23-25, 2003.

Bibliography

• Brasseaux, Carl A (2005). French, Cajun, Creole, Houma: A Primer on Francophone Louisiana. Bâton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press.

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