Acadiana

Acadiana, sometimes called "Cajun Country" is the region of extreme southeast Texas and southern Louisiana inhabited by or culturally influenced by Acadians, the descendants of refugees expelled by the British from Acadia, now known as Nova Scotia.

Interstate 10 is essentially the center line of the region, which extends roughly from the "Cajun prarie" of East Texas and the Lake Charles Louisiana area to Lake Maurepas and the west coast of Lake Pontchartrain (excluding the Florida parishes, New Orleans, and its suburbs), north to Alexandria and south of New Orleans to Houma, Barataria, and Grand Isle. Almost the entire Gulf coast of Louisiana is considered Acadian, including the brackish-water lakes such as Maurepas, Salvador, and des Allemands. It also includes the swampy corridor northwest of Lake Pontchartrain and the Bonnet Carre Spillway including the famed villages "under" Interstate 55. Notable towns and cities in the region include Lafayette, LaPlace, Lake Charles, and Houma.

Contrary to the myths, Acadians are not necessarily "swamp" people. Much of the region is characterized by swamps and bayous but Acadians also settled in the praries west and north of Lafayette. Most of the region north of Interstate 10 is relatively dry land.

Not everybody who lives in Acadiana is culturally Acadian or speaks the Acadian dialect of the French language, nor is everybody who is culturally Acadian or "Cajun" descended from the Acadian refugees. Acadian French is only spoken as a mother tongue in rural areas, with cities such as Lafayette and Houma being mainly anglophone. In some more assimilated areas where the Acadian language was lost due to government schooling and social forces, there is a growing popularity of learning Acadian French as a second language.

The peculiar accent (some argue that it constitutes a dialect) of English spoken in the region tends to be uniform regardless of ethnicity.

In addition to the Acadians, Acadiana is home to several Native American tribes and two other unique languages and subcultures: enclaves of black speakers of French or Spanish-based Creole languages.

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