Cajun French

Cajun French (French: français cadien/français cadjin) (commonly called Louisiana Regional French, and related to but distinct from the historical Colonial, or Plantation Society, French) is a variety of the French language spoken primarily in Louisiana, specifically in the southern parishes. The Cajuns assimilated the Colonial Louisiana French dialect, but many mistakenly label it Cajun French. Significant populations of Louisianians—descended from European, African, and Native American ancestors—continue to speak these varieties of French. Parishes where these dialects are still found include, but are not limited to, Acadia, Assumption, Avoyelles, Cameron, Iberia, Lafayette, Lafourche, St. Martin, St. Mary, Terrebonne, Pointe Coupée, Vermillion, and other parishes of southern Louisiana.

Cajun French is derived from the original French spoken by French soldiers and settlers in Louisiana before the arrival of the Acadians. The language incorporates words of African, Spanish, Native American and English origin, unknown in Acadian French. Areas of the state that have almost no population of Acadian origin, such as the parishes of Avoyelles, Evangeline and St. Landry, speak a French that is to some degree mutually comprehensible with the French spoken in areas where the population is heavily of Acadian origin.

Cajuns

Cajuns (/ˈkeɪdʒən/; French: les Cadiens or Les Cadiens or les Acadiens, [le kadjɛ̃, lez‿akadjɛ̃]) are an ethnic group mainly living in the U.S. state of Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles (French-speakers from Acadia in what are now The Maritimes of Eastern Canada). Today, the Cajuns make up a significant portion of south Louisiana's population and have exerted an enormous impact on the state's culture.

While Lower Louisiana had been settled by French colonists since the late 17th century, the Cajuns trace their roots to the influx of Acadian settlers after the Great Expulsion from their homeland during the French and English hostilities prior to the Seven Years' War (1756 to 1763). The Acadia region to which modern Cajuns trace their origin consisted largely of what are now Nova Scotia and the other Maritime provinces, plus parts of eastern Quebec and northern Maine. Since their establishment in Louisiana, the Cajuns have developed their own dialect, Cajun French, and developed a vibrant culture including folkways, music, and cuisine. The Acadiana region is heavily associated with them.

Cajun (disambiguation)

Cajun refers to culture aspects of people and related icons of Acadiana:

Other names:

Cajun (rocket)

The Cajun was an American sounding rocket developed during the 1950s. It was extensively used for scientific experiments by NASA and the United States military between 1956 and 1976.

Development

Development of the Cajun sounding rocket began in early 1956 at the Pilotless Aircraft Research Division (PARD) of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics' - later NASA - Langley Research Center, as a development of the earlier Deacon experimental rocket. Utilising the Deacon's airframe but an improved motor that utilised new, higher-energy propellants to provide better performance, the name "Cajun" was applied to the rocket by the leader of PARD's rocket division, a native of New Orleans.

The Cajun rocket was constructed of stainless steel, with extruded Duraluminum stabilising fins. The rocket motor, developed by Thiokol, was capable of producing up to 9,600 lb_f (42.7 kN) thrust.

Operational history

The first test launch of the Cajun rocket took place at the Wallops Island range in Virginia on June 20, 1956. The rocket proved to be as successful as expected, and was quickly put into extensive use, both on its own and as an upper stage in the Nike Cajun (or CAN, 'Cajun And Nike'), first launched on July 6, 1956; and in the Terasca three-stage rocket, first launched May 1, 1959. Several other sounding rocket configurations made use of the Cajun stage, the most extensively used being the Cajun Dart; the Bullpup-Cajun and Double Cajun rockets also utilised the stage.