Acadian French

The /ʁ/ phoneme, Acadian French has retained an or an alveolar flap, but modern speakers pronounce it as in Parisian French: rouge (red) can be pronounced [ruːʒ], [ɾuːʒ] or [ʁuːʒ].

alveolar trill

In nonstandard Acadian French, the third-person plural ending of ‹-ont›, such as ils mangeont [i(l) mɑ̃ˈʒɔ̃] (they eat), is still pronounced, unlike standard French (France and Quebec) ils mangent ([i(l) ˈmɒ̃ːʒ(ə)] (France)/[i ˈmãːʒ(ə)] or (Quebec)/[ɪl ˈmãːʒ(ə)] ), the ‹e› can be pronounced or not, but ‹-nt› is always silent.

verbs

achaler: 'to bother' (Fr: ennuyer) (very common in Quebec French)

ajeuve: (variation of achever, literally 'to complete') 'a while ago' (Fr: récemment, tout juste)

amanchure: 'thing, thingy, also the way things join together: the joint or union of two things' (Fr: chose, truc, machin)

amarrer: (literally, 'to ') 'to tie' (Fr: attacher)^[8]

moor

amoureux: (lit. 'lover') '' (Fr: (capitule de la) bardane; Quebec: toque, grakia) (also very common in Quebec French)

burdock

asteur: (contraction of à cette heure) 'now' (Fr: maintenant, à cette heure, désormais) (very common in Quebec French)

attoquer: 'to lean' (Fr: appuyer)

atentot: 'earlier' (Fr: plus tôt)

avoir de la misère: 'to have difficulty' (Fr: avoir de la difficulté, avoir du mal) (very common in Quebec French)

bailler: 'to give' (Fr: donner) (Usually 'to yawn')

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 baratte" (very common in New Brunswick)

batterie: 'the central passage through a barn (granges acadiennes) flanked by two storage bays adjacent to the eaves'.

[8]

besson: 'twin' (Fr: jumeau/jumelle)

boloxer: 'to confuse, disrupt, unsettle' (Fr: causer une confusion, déranger l'ordre régulier et établi)

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'.

[8]

bord: (literally 'the side of a ship') l'autre bord meaning 'the other side (of a street, river, etc.'); changer de bord meaning 'changing sides (in a team competition)'; virer de bord meaning 'turning back or retracing one's steps'.

[8]

boucane: 'smoke, steam' (Fr: fumée, vapeur) (very common in Quebec French)

bouchure: 'fence' (Fr: clôture)

brâiller: 'to cry, weep' (Fr: pleurer) (very common in Quebec French)

brogane: 'work shoe, old or used shoe' (Fr: chaussure de travail, chaussure d'occasion)

brosse: 'drinking binge' (Fr: beuverie) (common in Quebec French)

caler: 'to sink' (Fr: sombrer, couler) (also 'to drink fast in one shot', caler une bière) (very common in Quebec French)

char: 'car' (Fr: voiture) (very common in Quebec French)

chassis: 'window' (Fr: fenêtre)

chavirer: 'to go crazy' (Fr: devenir fou, folle)

chu: 'I am' (Fr: je suis, or, colloquially chui) (very common in Quebec French)

cosses: 'peas, green beans' (Fr: mangetout)

cossé: 'what, or asking for information specifying something'. (Fr: quoi)

cotchiner: 'to cheat' (Fr: tricher)

coude: '' that are a distinctive and unusual structural feature of early Acadian houses.^[8]

ship's knees

Djâbe: 'Devil' (Fr: Diable)

de service: 'proper, properly' (Fr: adéquat, comme il faut)

èchell: (literally 'a ship's ladder') 'stairway' (Fr: échelle)

[8]

ej: 'I' (Fr: je)

élan: 'moment, while' (Fr: instant, moment)

erj: 'and I' (Fr: et je suis)

espèrer: 'to wait; say welcome, to invite' (Fr: attendre, inviter)

faire zire: 'to gross out' (Fr: dégouter)

farlaque: 'loose, wild, of easy virtue' (Fr: dévergondée, au moeurs légères)

fournaise: (lit. 'furnace') 'a wood stove, oven'

frette: 'cold' (Fr: froid) (very common in Quebec French)

fricot: 'traditional Acadian stew prepared with chicken, potatoes, onions, carrots, dumplings (lumps of dough), and seasoned with '

savoury

garrocher: 'to throw, chuck' (Fr: lancer) (very common in Quebec French)

le grand mènage: 'spring cleaning', often more comprehensive than in other cultures.

[8]

greer: (literally, ' of a ship's masts') 'to describe a woman's attire or decoration of a youngster's bicycle'.^[8]

rigging

grenier: 'a sleeping loft'.

[8]

hardes: 'clothes, clothing' (Fr: vêtements)

harrer: 'to beat, maltreat' (Fr: battre ou traiter pauvrement, maltraîter)

hucher: 'to cry out, scream' (Fr: appeler (qqn) à haute voix)

icet: 'precisely here' (Fr: ici)

icitte: 'here; around here' (Fr: ici)

innocent: 'simple, foolish or stupid' (Fr: simple d'esprit, bête, qui manque de jugement) (very common in Quebec French)

itou: 'also, too' (Fr: aussi, de même, également) (common in Quebec French)

larguer: (literally 'loosening a ship's mooring lines') 'to let go of any object'

[8]

maganer: 'to overwork, wear out, tire, weaken' (Fr: traiter durement, malmener, fatiguer, affaiblir, endommager, détériorer) (very common in Quebec French)

mais que: 'when' + future tense (Fr: lorsque, quand (suivi d'un futur))

malin/maline: 'mean or angry' (lit. malignant)

marabout: 'to be irritated or angry'

mitan: 'middle, centre' (Fr: milieu, centre)

orignal: ''

moose

païen: (lit. 'pagan') 'hick, uneducated person, peasant' (Fr: )

palote: 'clumsy' (Fr: maladroit)

parker: 'park' (Fr: stationner)

pâté chinois: 'a casserole of mashed potatoes, ground meat, and corn'.^[8]

shepherd's pie

peste: 'bad odor' (Fr: puenteur)

pire à yaller/au pire à yaller: 'at worst' (Fr: au pire)

plaise: '' (Fr: plie)

plaice

ploquer: 'having or showing determined courage' (lit. 'plucky')

: 'buckwheat pancake', a tradition of Edmundston, New Brunswick, also common in Acadian communities in Maine (Fr: crêpe au sarrasin)

ploye

point, poinne: 'not', or a similar term of negation (Fr: pas)

pomme de pré: (lit. 'meadow apple') American (Vaccinium macrocarpon) (Fr: canneberge; Quebec: atoca)

cranberry

pot-en-pot: 'a meat pie of venison, rabbits, and game birds'.

[8]

: 'a ball made of grated potato with pork in the centre', a traditional Acadian dish

poutine râpée

quai: 'a portable wheeled boating pier pulled out of the water to avoid ice damage'.

[8]

qu'ri: (from quérir) 'to fetch, go get' (Fr: aller chercher)

rinque: 'just'

se haler: (lit. 'to haul oneself') 'to hurry' (Fr: se dépêcher)

se badjeuler: 'to argue' (Fr: se disputer)

soira: 'see you later' (Fr: au revoir)

j'étions: 'we were' (Fr: nous étions)

ils étiont: 'they were' (Fr: ils étaient)

taweille: ' woman, traditionally associated with medicine or Midewiwin' (Fr: Amérindienne)

Mikmaq

tchequ'affaire, tchequ'chouse, quètchose, quotchose: 'something' (Fr: quelque chose) (quètchose and quechose are common in Quebec French)

tcheque, tcheques: 'a few' (Fr: quelque)

tête de violon: ' fiddlehead' (Matteuccia struthiopteris)

ostrich fern

tétine-de-souris: (lit. 'mouse tit') 'slender , an edible green plant that grows in salt marshes' (Salicornia europaea) (Fr: salicorne d'Europe)

glasswort

: 'din' (also refers to an Acadian noisemaking tradition whereby people gather in the streets and parade through town)

tintamarre

tourtiéres: 'meat pies', sometimes with potatoes.

[8]

valdrague: 'in disorder or confusion'

vaillant, vaillante: 'active, hard-working, brave' (Fr: actif, laborieux, courageux) (common in Quebec French)

Creole language

also known as Cajun French

Louisiana French

New England French

Poitevin language

Saintongeais dialect

by Pascal Poirier French language page.

Le Glossaire acadien

from Webster's Online Dictionary - The Rosetta Edition

Acadian English Wordlist

Archived 2013-05-16 at the Wayback Machine - (Website is only in French)

Les Éditions de la Piquine Online Acadian Glossary with audio