MattG, I am a principal at a French Immersion School in Calcasieu Parish. Good job teaching your son some French and he is using it. The younger they are when they start the more they will learn, and retain, as well as not being embarrassed if they mispronounce a word. Tboy, Father Daigle's dictionary is really great. When using it, the French to English side, it best to have a knowledge of French phonics and verb conjugation. Same alphabet, different pronunciation; and the accents can also change the meaning of the word. Without some phonics knowledge people tend to pronounce a foreign word in English phonics. If the word is a verb Father Daigle usually only has it in the infinitive because he would have had to add at least 500 pages to accommodate all the different conjugations. An example is when you see the verb Parler (to speak or to talk) depending on the subject you are using the spelling will change... I speak or I am speaking-je parle...you speak or you are speaking tu parles or vous parlez. Now here is a major difference between "Standard French" (ain't no such thing as Parisian French) and the Cajun dialect. In standard French I speak or I am speaking is je parle. In the Cajun dialect I speak is je parle but I am speaking is j'apres parler. In Standard French the "am, is, and are" are understood...meaning that it is part of the conjugation of the verb but in the Cajun dialect the word apres is used as a linking verb. Apres also means after when used as a preposition, a subordinating conjunction, an adjective or even an adverb, depending on the context. Standard French never uses apres or anything else as a linking verb. MattG, Iry Lejeune's dialect is from the Point Noir area around Church Point. Listen to the difference between him and Vin Bruce (Lafourche Parish) on the 99 year waltz. Good way to pick up the accent differences. Another great way to pick up on the language is to listen to Cajun Radio shows...KRVS FM 88.7, KBON FM 101.1, and KVIP AM 1050. Besides the music they have commercials and PSAs in French. Don't let the language go...Lache pas la patate!
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