Chiac language

Infobox Language
name=Chiac, Shiac, Shiak, Chiak
nativename=Chiac
familycolor=Mixed
states=Canada
region=Acadian communities throughout the Maritime provinces,mainly around Moncton, Shediac
speakers=Unknown
family=Mixed language based on Acadian French, Maritimer English and Old French
iso1=none|iso2=none|iso3=none

"Chiac" is a dialect of Acadian French heavily mixed with English. It is spoken as the native and dominant language of most Acadians in southeast New Brunswick, especially among youth, near Moncton,Dieppe,Memramcook and Shediac. It is a relatively more recent evolution of the French language, spurred by exposure to dominant English language media (radio, television, internet) and increased urbanization to Moncton and contact with the dominant Anglophone community in the area since the 1960s especially. The word itself is generally considered a derivation of the name "Shediac," a town in the area.Fact|date=February 2007

The roots and base of Chiac are Acadian French, a spoken French often tinged with nautical terms (e.g. "haler", "embarquer"), reflecting the historic importance of the sea to the local economy, as well as older French words (e.g., "bailler", "quérir", "hucher", "gosier"), many deemed archaic by the Académie Française, testimony to three centuries of relative isolation of Acadian communities from French influence. The collected works of Goncourt Prize-winner Antonine Maillet, and her play "La Sagouine" in particular, illustrate well this variation of French. What sets Chiac apart from Acadian French is that it is a vernacular French mixed with English. It uses primarily French syntax with French-English vocabulary and phrase forms (see below). It is often deprecated by both French and English speakers as an ill-conceived hybrid — either "bad" French or "bad" English. Fact|date=January 2008 See franglais for a wider discussion of this phenomenon.

Chiac has been embraced in recent years by some Acadian groups as a living and evolving language, and part of their collective culture. Acadian writers, poets and musicians such as Dano Leblanc, [cite episode |title=C'est la vie | airdate = 2006-12-08] Zero Celsius, Paul Bossé, [citation |last=Manning |first=Joanna |title=High-flying literature |date=2006-12-14 | newspaper = Telegraph-Journal |year=2006 |page=D3] Fayo [cite web |last=Laberge |first=Corinne |title=Le monde de Fayo |date=2007-06-28 |url=http://www.citesnouvelles.com/article-125172-Le-monde-de-Fayo.html |accessdate=2007-08-09] and 1755 [cite web |last=Elsliger |first=Lise |title=Acadian band 1755 together again |date=2007-06-26 |url=http://www.herenb.com/mn/front/article/37407 |accessdate=2007-08-09] have produced works in Chiac.

Recently, Chiac has also made its way onto local television with Acadieman, a comedy about "The world's first Acadian Superhero." The animated series, also a comic book, contains a mixture of Anglophone, Francophone, and "Chiacophone" characters. The popular Acadian rap group [http://www.laradioradio.com Radio Radio] have also raised the profile of Chiac by rapping almost exclusively in that language.

Examples of Chiac

*"Ej va driver mon truck de soir pis ça va êt'e right la fun." (Hey I'm going to drive my truck tonight and it's going to be right fun.) (je vais conduire ma camionette ce soir et je vais bien m'amuser - "Parisian French" -)
*"J'va parker mon car." (I'm going to park my car.) (Je vais garer ma voiture)
*"Ej schwimmais dans l'ocean puis j'tais right soaking wet la." (I swam in the ocean and got right soaking wet.) (Je nageais dans l'océan et j'étais complètement mouillé)
*"Worry pas." (Don't worry) (Ne t'inquiète pas)
*"J'va essayer de coaxer Alphonse pis Euclide pour qu'y viennent brosser avant la hockey game de soir." (I'm going to try to convince Alfonce and Euclide to come drinking before the hockey game tonight.) (Je vais essayer de persuader Alphonse et Euclide de venir boire un coup avant le match de hockey de ce soir.)
*"Ma mère travaille au grocery store à pousser des shopping carts." (My mother works in a grocery store; she pushes shopping carts.) (Ma mère travaille à l'épicerie, elle y pousse des chariots.)
*"Viens watcher un movie chenou. Ça va ête right la fun." (Come watch a movie at my place, it'll be right fun.) (Passe chez nous voir un film. On va bien s'marrer.)
*"Ej chepas quosse tu parles about." (I don't know what you're talking about.) (Je ne sais pas de quoi tu veux parler.)
*"Moi chu acadien(ne)!" (I'm Acadian!) (Je suis Acadien(ne)!)
*"Le ref ya donné 2 minutes pour bailler du six-pouce" (l'arbitre l'a expulsé 2 minutes après qu'il eut porté un coup irrégulier de la main - lors d'un match de hockey)
*"J'aime la way qu'ta jupe a hang." (I like the way your skirt hangs.) (J'aime vraiment l'effet de ta jupe sur toi)
*"J'v'aller à Parlee de soir." (I'm going to Parlee Beach tonight.) (Je vais aller à la plage de Parlee ce soir.)
*"Check ca out, pi call-moi back." (Verifie les faits et donne-moi un coup de fil).
*"J'ai cashé' mon cheque, pi j'su's right happy". (I've cashed my paycheck, and I'm all set.)
*"Hale ta frame, friggin de dose". (Get lost, jerk.)

External links

* [http://www.ac-bordeaux.fr/Etablissement/TDereme/Options/Acadie/Acadie18.htm "Et si on parlait chiac ?" (And if we spoke Chiac?)]
* [http://rejean.org/acadian.html "Je suis acadien" - an example of Chiac]
* [http://linggraduate.unm.edu/proceedings/HDLS%204%20Proceedings%202001.pdf The Chiac verb particle construction] - A linguistics paper (beginning on page 56 of the pdf document) examining certain features of Chiac grammar.

References