I was raised in Chalmette, La from 6 mos old til almost 5 yrs old and then moved to the MS/LA state line. I was immersed in Southern speak and Cajun French. I find myself still calling things by their Cajun name or saying a phrase in Cajun. I spoke and sang and comforted my children in Cajun when they were very small, as I suppose was done to me. I live in NE MS now and still have people comment about my phrasing and word choices, i.e. I go make groceries, while others would go buy them, I 'ax' people questions while you would ask, a small boat is a pirough (peero), when I want something someone has, I say 'ta-ta', which is roughly 'thank you'. I have a friend and she and I converse in and out of English and Cajun...it's something my husband finds strange but we've always done it so it's normal to us. My husband is from 'up here' so he has only been around the Cajun language for about 20 years and still has to have me 'translate' some of our more deeply Cajun accented friends. I find the people up here to talk VERY COUNTRY...like Lorretta Lynn country! That's the difference a few hours drive can make in an accent.
