Acadiana
Acadiana (French and Louisiana French: L'Acadiane), also known as the Cajun Country (Louisiana French: Le Pays Cadjin, Spanish: País Cajún), is the official name given to the French Louisiana region that has historically contained much of the state's Francophone population.[1]
"Cajun-Creole" redirects here. For Alabama's Cajun Country, see Cajan Country.
Acadiana
L'Acadiane (Cajun French)
Many inhabitants of the Cajun Country have Acadian ancestry and identify as Cajuns or Creoles.[2] Of the 64 parishes that make up the U.S. state of Louisiana, 22 named parishes and other parishes of similar cultural environment make up this intrastate region.[3][4]
Etymology[edit]
The word "Acadiana" reputedly has two origins. Its first recorded appearance dates to the October 15, 1946, when a Crowley, Louisiana, newspaper, the Crowley Daily Signal, coined the term in reference to the area of Louisiana in which French descendants of the Acadians settled.[5] However, KATC television in Lafayette independently coined "Acadiana" in the early 1960s, giving it a new, broader meaning, and popularized it throughout southern Louisiana. Founded in 1962, KATC was owned by the Acadian Television Corporation. In early 1963, the ABC affiliate received an invoice erroneously addressed to the "Acadiana" Television Corp. Someone had typed an extra "a" at the end of the word "Acadian". The station started using it to describe the region covered by its broadcast signal.[6]
Today, numerous business, governmental, and nonprofit organizations incorporate Acadiana in their names, e.g., Mall of Acadiana and Acadiana High School. Notably, KLFY-TV, the regional CBS affiliate, used the term in its very successful "Hello News" branding campaign as "Hello Acadiana". KATC hosts a morning television show, "Good Morning Acadiana".[7]