Editing Acadian French (section)

==Phonology==
Since there was relatively little linguistic contact with France from the late 18th century to the 20th century, Acadian French retained features that died out during the French [[standardization]] efforts of the 19th century such as these:

* The {{IPA|/ʁ/}} phoneme, Acadian French has retained an [[alveolar trill]] or an [[alveolar flap]], but modern speakers pronounce it as in Parisian French: {{lang|fr|rouge}} (red) can be pronounced {{IPA|[ruːʒ]}}, {{IPA|[ɾuːʒ]}} or {{IPA|[ʁuːʒ]}}.
* In nonstandard Acadian French, the third-person plural ending of [[verb]]s ‹{{lang|fr|-ont}}›, such as {{lang|fr|ils mangeont}} {{IPA|fr|i(l) mɑ̃ˈʒɔ̃|}} (they eat), is still pronounced, unlike standard French (France and Quebec) {{lang|fr|ils mangent}} ({{IPA|[i(l) ˈmɒ̃ːʒ(ə)]}} (France)/{{IPA|[i ˈmãːʒ(ə)]}} or (Quebec)/{{IPA|[ɪl ˈmãːʒ(ə)]}} ), the ‹e› can be pronounced or not, but ‹-nt› is always silent.{{Citation needed|date=October 2013}}

According to Wiesmath (2006),<ref>{{cite book |last=Wiesmath |first=Raphaële |title=Le français acadien: analyse syntaxique d'un corpus oral recueilli au Nouveau-Brunswick, Canada |publisher=l'Hamalthan |year=2006}}[https://archive.org/details/lefrancaisacadie0000wies]. ''Accessed 5 May 2011''.</ref> some characteristics of Acadian are:
*The verbal ending -ont in the third person plural
*Palatalization of {{IPA|/k/}} and {{IPA|/ɡ/}} to {{IPA|[tʃ]}} and {{IPA|[dʒ]}}, respectively
*A feature called {{Lang|fr|l'ouisme}} where {{Lang|fr|bonne}} is pronounced {{IPA|[bʊn]}}
These features typically occur in the speech of older people.

Many aspects of Acadian French (vocabulary and "trill r", etc.) are still common in rural areas in the South West of France. Speakers of [[Metropolitan French]] and even of other Canadian varieties of French sometimes have difficulty understanding Acadian French. Within North America, its closest relative is [[Louisiana French]] spoken in Southern Louisiana since both were born out of the same population that were affected during the [[Expulsion of the Acadians]].

See also [[Chiac]], a variety with strong [[English language|English]] influence, and [[St. Marys Bay French]], a distinct variety of Acadian French spoken around Clare, Tusket, Nova Scotia and also Moncton, New Brunswick.

===Palatalization===
''not to be confused with [[affrication]] typical of Quebec French.''
* {{IPA|/k/}} and {{IPA|/tj/}} are commonly replaced by {{IPA|[tʃ]}} before a [[front vowel]]. For example, {{lang|fr|quel, queue, cuillère}} and {{lang|fr|quelqu'un}} are usually pronounced {{lang|fr|tchel, tcheue, tchuillère}} and {{lang|fr|tchelqu'un}}. {{lang|fr|Tiens}} is pronounced {{lang|fr|tchin}} {{IPA|[t͡ʃɛ̃]}}.
* {{IPA|/ɡ/}} and {{IPA|/dj/}} often become {{IPA|[d͡ʒ]}} (sometimes {{IPA|[ʒ]}}) before a front vowel. For example, {{lang|fr|bon dieu}} and {{lang|fr|gueule}} become {{IPA|[bɔ̃ ˈdʒø]}} and {{IPA|[d͡ʒœl]}} in informal Acadian French. {{lang|fr|Braguette}} becomes {{IPA|[bɾaˈd͡ʒɛt]}}. (This pronunciation led to the word Ca'''j'''un, from Aca'''di'''en.)

===Metathesis===
[[Metathesis (linguistics)|Metathesis]] is quite common. For example, {{lang|fr|mercredi}} ('Wednesday') is {{lang|fr|mercordi}}, and {{lang|fr|pauvreté}} ('poverty') is {{lang|fr|pauveurté}}. {{lang|fr|Je}} (the pronoun 'I') is frequently pronounced {{lang|fr|euj}} and {{lang|fr|Le}} is frequently pronounced {{lang|fr|eul}}.

In words, "re" is often pronounced "er". For instance :
* {{lang|fr|erçu}} for "{{lang|fr|reçu}}", {{lang|fr|ertourner}} for "{{lang|fr|retourner}}", {{lang|fr|erpas}} for "{{lang|fr|repas}}", {{lang|fr|ergret}} for "{{lang|fr|regret}}", {{lang|fr|s'entertenir}} for "{{lang|fr|s'entretenir}}".

===Vowels===
* Acadian French has maintained phonemic distinctions between {{IPA|/a/}} and {{IPA|/ɑ/}}, {{IPA|/ɛ/}} and {{IPA|/ɛː/}}, {{IPA|/ø/}} and {{IPA|/ə/}}, {{IPA|/ɛ̃/}} and {{IPA|/œ̃/}}.
* In informal speech, the {{IPA|/ɑ/}} vowel is realized as {{IPA|[ɔ]}}: {{Lang|fr|pas}} ('step') {{IPA|/pɑ/}} → {{IPA|[pɔ]}} and {{Lang|fr|bras}} (arm) {{IPA|/bʁɑ/}} → {{IPA|[bʁɔ]}}, etc. 
* The short {{IPA|/ɛ/}} is realized as {{IPA|[ɛ]}} and it is the same as Parisian French.
* {{IPA|/ɛː/}} is open to {{IPA|[æː]}} or closed to {{IPA|[eː]}}, it depends on the region: {{Lang|fr|fête}} ('party') {{IPA|/fɛːt/}} → {{IPA|[fæːt]}} or {{IPA|[feːt]}} and {{Lang|fr|caisse}} ('case') {{IPA|/kɛːs/}} → {{IPA|[kæːs]}} or {{IPA|[keːs]}}, etc. {{Citation needed|date=October 2019}}
* The ⟨oi⟩ spelling has different pronunciations. Old speakers pronounce {{Lang|fr|roi}} ('king') {{IPA|[wɛ]}}, because the traditional Parisian pronunciation was like {{IPA|[rwɛ]}}. But in modern standard Acadian French, it is pronounced {{IPA|[wa]}}. Even where there is no [[circumflex]], there are some words which are phonemically pronounced {{IPA|/wɑ/}} and the phoneme is pronounced as {{IPA|[wɑ]}} in formal speech but {{IPA|[wɔ]}} in informal speech: {{Lang|fr|trois}} ('three') {{IPA|[tʁ̥wɑ]}} or {{IPA|[tʁ̥wɔ]}} and {{Lang|fr|noix}} ('nut') {{IPA|[nwɑ]}} or {{IPA|[nwɔ]}}. The ⟨oî⟩ spelling is phonemically {{IPA|/wɑ/}}, but old speakers pronounce it {{IPA|[weː]}}, while modern speakers pronounce it {{IPA|[wɑː]}} as in Quebec French: {{Lang|fr|boîte}} ('box') {{IPA|[bweːt]}} or {{IPA|[bwɑːt]}} and {{Lang|fr|croître}} ('grow') {{IPA|[kɾweːt(ɾ)]}} or {{IPA|[kʁ̥wɑːt(ʁ̥)]}}, etc.

===Elision of final consonants===
* Consonant clusters finishing a word are reduced, often losing altogether the last or two last consonants in informal speech: {{Lang|fr|table}} ('table') {{IPA|/tabl/}} → {{IPA|[tab]}} and {{Lang|fr|livre}} ('book'/'pound') {{IPA|/livʁ/}} → {{IPA|[liːv]}},<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://phono.uqac.ca/index.php?article=rubrique35|title = PHONO: Caractéristiques phonétiques du français québécois}}</ref> etc.