(Part 2) Top products from r/Acadiana

Alright, so. Put simply, there really isn't anything comprehensive to get you on your feet in Cajun French like Duolingo, though maybe that'll change one day. There was a small online program by Tulane called Allons! which served as that kind of thing, but it wasn't even close to actually teaching the language and only taught a few dozen words and phrases, and now it appears to be gone.

I find myself unsure of what to recommend a lot. Certainly, I want the Cajun dialect to be spoken, but trying to jump into Cajun French without any prior knowledge of French is really hard, not because you need to know Standard French to know CF, but because there is a big lack of learning resources on CF. The best way to learn it (talking with speakers and immersion) is getting harder to do, even for someone living here, since slowly native speakers are dying.

My recommendation (which is my own opinion) is to get a grasp of Standard French because the resources available make that much easier, nonetheless keeping in mind that differences between the dialects can pop up at any time. Duolingo, teaching SF, uses manteau for "coat" while Cajuns would probably say capot. SF uses voiture for "car" where Cajuns say char. Duolingo will use nous, "we," most of the time where Cajuns nearly always use on. It teaches savoir for "to know" where most Cajuns use connaître for everything, etc. etc.

That's not to say that they are hugely different. Cajun French is still French. To get in tune with these differences, there are a few resources I'd recommend. Principally, the Dictionary of Louisiana French (2009) is the most extensive and best resource put out on the dialect. It might honestly be the best money I've ever spent. Not only does it extensively reference works going back to 1930 on the dialect, it includes their own field work with thousands of sentences by native speakers showing how the language is actually used. Most entries include real-world example sentences, and it also includes copious derivative expressions.

Another one I use sometimes is Cajun French: Dictionary & Phrasebook (2002). Far less extensive than the DLF, but still useful as it has a more "educational" lean to it in the beginning, highlighting basic CF grammar.

There are also two books by Rev. Jules O. Daigle: A Dictionary of the Cajun Language (1984) and Cajun Self-Taught (1992). Now these books are a little more...we can say "controversial"? They aren't as good because Father Daigle was pretty biased against SF, believing that "the Cajun language is no more a dialect of French than French is a dialect of Latin," which, need I say, is wrong. Nonetheless his dictionary is useful sometimes when I can't find what I need in the DLF, and Cajun Self-Taught is supposed to be (as the name implies) a self-teaching tool, though a poor one, as it's little more than a word bank most of the time. He also includes a lot of example conjugation tables in CST which can be useful, but only once you know how the mechanics of French works.

I know I'm forgetting other resources, as I've been doing this for nearly four years, so much of the time I can't even remember where I learned what I know, from experience, a book, online, the FB group, academic papers, who knows. Of course, as others have said, there is /r/CajunFrench, which I tend, so any questions you might have, ask away. I also have a Discord chat for the sub if you'd want to join, which isn't super active, but nonetheless serves to communicate, practice, and ask questions. Obviously this is the type of question that I just can't seem to type only a little bit on, so if you ever have any questions, feel free to ask me.

That really isn't a bad setup. In fact, that's a decent processor for what you're doing with it.

I do recommend upgrading to Windows 7. Now, as a computer guy, I'm a big fan of Windows XP, my fave. However, Microsoft no longer supports XP security. That's your first problem. W7 Will cost you about $40 for a home version.

Your processor is fine. I recommend a quad core i5 or i7, but for what you're doing with it.

You have: Dual channel shared DDR2 SDRAM system memory. Unbuffered, non-ECC DIMMs only. The PC only supports 8GB RAM (2GB per channel).. Do you have extra slots for RAM? You should have two more that you can simply snap 2x2GB sticks into! These are like $24.99 shipped on Amazon.


You're likely using onboard graphics, which is crap for gaming. You will need to find a graphics card that fits either: PCI-Ex1, PCI, or PCI Express x16 slots. You can likely fine these really cheap as long as you don't need anything top of the line, so this is all good news.

All I have is lesser processors and 256MB ram sticks and laptop ram that's 2GB+ right, sorry.

Yeah. I can't find my exact one because it's very old, but this one is the modern version.

Put that thing on full power and I promise you it'll feel like a hot summer day in your bedroom.

EDIT: BTW... bear in mind that they do take a little while to start heating the room up when you first turn them on. I think that's why some people think they're not that great. But trust me, once they get going they warm the place up great.

unless you are in a really old house, it is easy to do. And I recommend something like this near your switch.

https://www.amazon.com/Tripp-Lite-Wallmount-Ethernet-N050-012/dp/B000067SC6/ref=sr_1_18?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1541083064&sr=1-18&keywords=patch+panel

There are variations on some phrases that take on different meanings between people who are maybe one parish over. That would make a duolingo like program a challenge to author. Tonnerre mes chiens by Amanda Lafleur gives good examples.

Cool, Can't wait to here if that's it.
If you're interested in Cajun folklife you may dig this site and/or this book.

Maybe the Re-store on Pinhook. It is Habitat for Humanity's outlet store for reclaimed materials and items. Aside from that, you can buy a new ventless gas heater for about 250 bucks on amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Kozy-World-GWD208-Vent-Free-Dual-Fuel/dp/B001XW102Q/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1415897940&sr=8-4&keywords=ventless+gas+heater

You can also call local HVAC companies. They will definitely be able to do that for you.

I also use this stuff.

I don't know why you're talking to me like I've never experienced mosquitoes. I've lived in South Louisiana my whole life, and the mosquitoes in Lafayette aren't even that bad.

If you're interested in the subject, check out this book: https://www.amazon.com/Visual-Vitriol-Subcultures-Hardcore-Generation/dp/1617030732

You can use any router as far as I know. I've never used a WD router before so I have no clue how good that actually is. The ones I have used on LUS fiber are:

• Asus N600 (RT-N56U)
  
  
• Netgear N600 (WNDR3400) (My current router I use)

You need some Nutz, though. I've heard good things about it.