A Glossary of Variants from Standard-French in St. Landry Parish. Louise Olivier Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College
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Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School 1937 A Glossary of Variants From Standard-French in St. Landry Parish. Louise Olivier Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses Part of the French and Francophone Language and Literature Commons Recommended Citation Olivier, Louise, "A Glossary of Variants From Standard-French in St. Landry Parish." (1937). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 8200. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/8200 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. MANUSCRIPT THESES Unpublished theses submitted for the master's and doctorls degrees and deposited in the Louisiana State University Library are available for inspection. Use of any thesis is limited by the rights of the author. Bibliographical references may be noted, but passages may not be copied unless the author has given permission. Credit must be given in subsequent written or published work. A library which borrows this thesis for use by its clientele is expected to make sure that the borrower is aware of the above restrictions. LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 119-a A GLOSSARY OF VARIANTS FROM STANDARD-FREKOH. m sx. u h m p a r i s h A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE LGBISXAHA STATE UNIVERSITY AMD AGRICULTURAL AKD MECHANICAL COLLEGE IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS $F Louias Olivier Arnatidvllle, Louisiana July* 108? UMI Number: EP69935 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI Dissertation Publishing UMI EP69935 Published by ProQuest LLC (2015). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code P r o Q u e s t ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 11 7ABLS OF GOHTENTS Acknowledgment. ** *....*****.... *.... ****** *H1 Abstract•••*••*«******•**,*••****•«••*•••.....«*»**«*••*..... It Introduction* ......*•*«»•«#«*•••#•**••*«*••#»••••••« ▼ Glossary* *•••••*•***»«••«•••*•*••••»••**.•••****•**•*•«•*»*#•*•*• 1 Appendix* ••*•••••*«.*••*•*•*•••##•**»•*,.**....********••***•***100 Bibliography. «•**••**** .....*••••»*••*...... 102 Biography* •• *........ ***•**•••*•** ...10$ L . All I wish to express say gratitude to Ufa*. K. A* Major, Mr* W* A* Pickens, end Mrs* Judith Major in cheeking over those words and in patting the glossary in final shape* My cordial thanks are due* im the next placef to Mr* Anthony Speyrer, Miss Ella Olivier, Mies Aline Olivier, as well as the numerous other friends who havti helped me in gathering the material for this thesis* tv ABSTRACT ‘She purpose of this thesis is to compile a glossary of those words used in the French spoken in St* Landry* She material of this thesis does not represeat the spoken Frenah of the whole Parish of St, X*aadry* but is restricted to the agrteul* tural section in the vicinity of leonville, ArnaudvllX©* and Qrand CSteau. Each word is given as closely as possible la conventional ortho* grapfay* transcribed phonetically* defined in English and exemplified in sentences now la Standard French* now In the dialect* Where the sense might be ambiguous* the English translation of the French example is given. Where a Standard French word resembles the St* Landry Parish word* and where there is a connection between the two* that toe is given for comparison* V BWBODOCtrOi The phonetic symbols used in this study are those of the Inter** national Phonetic Alphabet, with certain modifications, as indicated below* (c? j as In natte*. but much more lax* (&) as in pas ce ) •* 1 M (i) m lafll (3) as in aa» Ja ( O) almost as open as in English lam c°y ^ In couteau £zc) as in coup C&) es in English air (jf) as in deux (cC) as In p u r * soeor. but muoh more open* (M) M In iu (<l) *• In anse* This sound Is often articulated much more forward than in Standard French* It often closely approx!** nates ( S' )* {£) a« In fin* This sound is much more open than In Standard French. It approximates a nasalization of the English sound ( ) * ( 3 0 *» in s o p * mop, but much more close* It approximates the sound (o'). Coe) m in b m n * but somewhat more open* The consonant sounds are practically the same as in Standard French* To these must be added the soundst (jy ) es in English sing vi (+S) as la English children as in English I n d y , In the spoken French of the area studied the sound ( <1 ) has r e placed ( cl } • The investigation shews only one word in which the sound (*.) occurs* passer. The sound ( o ) is much sore open in standard French, It Is much nearer to the English in such words as law and p&w. On the other hand, the nasalised fora { D ) has a tendency to a closer pro nunciation which often approximates the sound ( O )* As a general rule, there is a tendency to a much acre open pro nunciation than in Standard French of the sounds* (€~), ( ot ), ( ^ )» ( ^ )i and ( 0€ }* The sound (a) is often articulated much more forward them in Standard French and would approximate (<?)* The Standard French ocat* binations pronounced (a) vary in pronunciation in the dialect from (0.) to ( 3 ) with many intermediate stages in between. The compiler of this thesis has not been able to formulate any fixed rule which deteralnes these variations* There seems to be a tendency to round (A) when it occurs in a stressed syllable, but this is not invariable* This sound (CL) as used in this study when pronounced by different in dividuals ranges then from (£) to (3 ), and this should be taken in to consideration when interpreting the symbol* The sound ( Ji ) as in Standard French anaoatt is often replaced by (7j)f as in { m a n iff K )j (*y) ** ln ^ rSr)/ e h tfreP *n{ ^ )> and ITp ) as in ( I * 'ip ) • The sounds ) and {rfj ) occur In a few words* (</^ ) occurs vii ©specially in English words adopted in the dialect* for tii© source of the variants from Standard French that are found in the dialect of the Parish of St. Landry* on© must seek in the French dialects themselves. Except for English words that h a w been adopted and are in current use in the dialect* a few words of African origin* a few of Indian origin* a few of Spanish origin* and a few words coined by the populace* the vocabulary was brought over by the French immigrants from various districts of France* It is not the purpose of this study to establish the origin of the words die-, cussed but rather to make a compilation of the words la actual use. The author gathered the material in the following manner* First she selected a member of the community who spoke the dialect of the area studied and together they checked* Read’s Louisiana French* Pitchy* s Lee Acadjens Lottiaianajg et Istpr Parlor* and various glossaries of Louisiana French compiled by state students* gathering from the con* tents of those works the words which occurred in the vocabulary of the St* Landry dialect. Several French students in the area studied also contributed by making individual Hats of the variants found in their home converse* tlons. Each list was discussed with the contributor. The compiler also gathered her material from conversations heard in public places. This was done by jotting on a pad the phonetic sym bols of various words as they occurred In the course of a conversation, the speaker being totally ignorant of the fact that such was being done* Several clerks in general merchandise stores were interviewed from time to time and most of the articles of domestic use were contributed by them* 1 A ( d )> pare* proa* Generally used instead of EU*K before a consonant only* A a* ft dit qa. She told me i&at* (gee AL1R.) X ( a ), prop* 1* Of, to indicate possession* Let robe X Marie* Marie1 fl dross* V« Frequently used instead of 0®. Veoes X bonne heure. Como early* St* Fr*, OS* ABlM£R ( obi>ne)# v# tr. To hurt someone seriously* espeeielly In a fight* XX a abtml son frfcre. He hurt his brother seriously* 8t. Fr., RATTRR* St. Fr., AB&ttSR, to engulf* to swallow up, to overwhelm, to spoil* ABOMIBABkE ( a^y'^xnaA), adj. Extraordinary. IX y & dee pommes oette anndef e*est abomimable* Vo have an over-productive apple crop this year* St* Fr*, SXTRAOHDIHAIRE. St. Fr., ABQMISAB1E, abominable, heinous. ABORDSH (abarde), tr. To run against accidentally, to collide* Sa voiture a abordA la miemne. His carriage ran Into mine* St. Fr., BERRTRR, S£ HEURTER* St* Fr*, ABORORR, v* tr., to approach, to accost 0 person* (Bout*), to run afoul* Reflexively,. to accost each other* (Saut*), to come into collision, to run against each other* ABOUTKR ( 3 6 u-tre), tr* To add to* II a aboutA une cuisine a sa a&ison. He added a kitchen to his house* St* Fr*, AJOUTBR. St* Fr*, ABOUfBiR, to join end to end* ABRIER ( v# tr* X* To clothe. L*enfant est bien atoriA. The child is well clothed. St. Fr., RABftXRR* 2• To prop a plant* II faut abrier la vigne# The vine must be propped.