View source for Louisiana Creole

{{Short description|French-based creole in Louisiana}}
{{distinguish|Louisiana French}}
{{Use American English|date=December 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2023}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Louisiana Creole
| altname          = '''Kouri-Vini'''
| nativename       = {{lang|lou|kouri-vini}},<ref name=BBC /> {{lang|lou|kréyòl}},<ref name="tiliv-book" /> {{lang|lou|fransé}}<ref name="apics">{{Citation |last1=Neumann-Holzschuh |first1=Ingrid |title=Louisiana Creole structure dataset |date=2013 |url=https://apics-online.info/contributions/53 |work=Atlas of Pidgin and Creole Language Structures Online |access-date=2023-05-15 |place=Leipzig |publisher=Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology |last2=Klingler |first2=Thomas A.}}</ref>
| ethnicity        = [[Louisiana French people|Louisiana French]] ([[Cajuns|Cajun]], [[Louisiana Creole people|Creole]])
| states           = [[United States]]
| region           = Southern Alabama and Louisiana, (particularly [[St. Martin Parish, Louisiana|St. Martin Parish]], [[Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana|Natchitoches Parish]], [[St. Landry Parish, Louisiana|St. Landry Parish]], [[Jefferson Parish, Louisiana|Jefferson Parish]], [[Lafayette Parish, Louisiana|Lafayette Parish]],
[[Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana| Calcasieu Parish]], [[Pointe Coupee|Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana]] [[New Orleans]], and [[Mobile, Alabama|Mobile]]); also in [[California]] (chiefly [[Southern California]]), [[Illinois]], [[Arkansas]], and in [[Texas]] (chiefly [[East Texas]]).
| speakers         = <10,000
| date             = 2023
| ref              = <ref name=":0"/>
| speakers2        = 
| familycolor      = Creole
| fam1             = [[Creole language|Creole]]
| fam2             = [[French-based creole languages|French Creole]]
| iso3             = lou
| lingua           = 51-AAC-ca
| map              = Map of Creole-Speaking Parishes in Louisiana.JPG
| mapcaption       = Creole-speaking parishes in Louisiana
| glotto           = loui1240
| glottorefname    = Louisiana Creole French
| nation           = {{flag|Louisiana}}
}}
'''Louisiana Creole''',{{efn|{{langx|lou|kréyòl Lalwizyann}}; [[Louisiana French]]: ''créole louisianais''}} also known by the [[endonym]] '''Kouri-Vini'''<ref name=BBC>{{cite web |first=Tracey |last=Teo |url=https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20230228-kouri-vini-the-return-of-the-us-lost-language |title=Rediscovering America: Kouri-Vini: The return of the US' lost language |website=BBC Travel |date=March 1, 2023}}</ref> ({{langx|lou|kouri-vini}}), among other names,{{efn|Including (in Creole) '''kréyòl''', '''fransé/françé''', '''gombo''', '''patwa''', or (pejoratively) '''nèg'''.}} is a [[French-based creole languages|French-based creole]] language spoken by fewer than 10,000 people, mostly in the U.S. state of [[Louisiana]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|first1=Ingrid |last1=Neumann-Holzschuh |first2=Thomas A. |last2=Klingler|url=https://apics-online.info/contributions/53|title=Structure dataset 53: Louisiana Creole|work=APiCS Online |access-date=2017-08-15}}</ref> Today it is spoken by people who may racially identify as [[White Americans|white]], [[African Americans|black]], [[Multiracial Americans|mixed]], and [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]], as well as [[Cajun]] and [[Louisiana Creole people|Creole]]. It should not be confused with its sister language, [[Louisiana French]], a dialect of the [[French language]]. Many [[Louisiana Creole people|Louisiana Creoles]] do not speak the Louisiana Creole language and may instead use [[Louisiana French|French]] or [[English language|English]] as everyday languages.

Due to its rapidly shrinking number of speakers, Louisiana Creole is considered an [[endangered language]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/lou|title=Louisiana Creole|work=Ethnologue|access-date=2017-08-15}}</ref>

==Origins and historical development==
Louisiana was [[History of Louisiana#French exploration and colonization (1682–1763)|colonized by the French]] beginning in 1699, as well as by [[Acadians]] who were [[Acadian expulsion|forced out]] of [[Acadia]] around the mid-18th century.<ref>{{Cite web|date=December 7, 2020|title=Acadian|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Acadian|access-date=December 7, 2020|website=Britannica}}</ref><ref name=":03">{{Cite journal|last1=Klinger|first1=Thomas A.|last2=Neumann-Holzschuh|first2=Ingrid|date=2013|editor-last=Michaelis|editor-first=Susanne Maria|editor2-last=Maurer|editor2-first=Phillippe|editor3-last=Haspelmath|editor3-first=Martin|editor4-last=Huber|editor4-first=Magnus|title=Louisiana Creole.|journal=The Survey of Pidgin and Creole Languages Volume II: Portuguese-based, Spanish-based, and French-based Languages.|location=UK|publisher=Oxford University Press|pages=229–40}}</ref> Colonists were large-scale planters, small-scale homesteaders, and cattle ranchers; the French needed laborers, as they found the climate very harsh. They began to import enslaved Africans, as they had done in their Caribbean island colonies.<ref name=":03" /> Two-thirds of the slaves brought to Louisiana originated in the [[Senegambia|Senegambian region]], speaking [[Malinke]], [[Sereer]], [[Wolof language|Wolof]], [[Pulaar]], and [[Bambara language|Bambara]]. The largest group from Senegambia was the [[bambara people|Bambara]], who spoke mutually intelligible dialects of the [[Malinke language]].<ref name="postcolonial">{{cite journal |last=Squint |first=Kirstin |title=A Linguistic and Cultural Comparison of Haitian Creole and Louisiana Creole |url=https://www.postcolonial.org/index.php/pct/article/view/375/813 |journal=Postcolonial Text |access-date=1 March 2025 |volume=1 |issue=2 |date=2005 |issn=1705-9100 |oclc=863040959}}</ref>

Also, the monopoly held by the Company of Indies in both [[Senegal]] and [[Louisiana]] may also have contributed to the Africans' relative ancestral homogeneity. Because of this homogeneity, retention of the Africans' indigenous languages may have hindered the development of a Creole in Louisiana. In fact, the Pointe Coupee slave revolt in 1731 was organized by the Bambara who were purportedly speaking their ancestral languages to plan the coup. Ultimately, Louisiana Creole did develop, with West African languages becoming the [[stratum (linguistics)|substrates]] to a varied French [[lexifier]].<ref name= "postcolonial"/> The importation of enslaved people by the French regime continued until 1743.<ref name=":03" />

The language developed in 18th-century Louisiana from interactions among [[Louisiana Creole people|speakers]] of the lexifier language—Standard French—and several substrate or [[Stratum (linguistics)#Adstratum|adstrate]] languages from Africa.<ref name=":13">{{Cite book|title=If I Could Turn My Tongue Like That: The Creole Language of Pointe Coupee parish, Louisiana.|last=Klinger|first=Thomas A.|publisher=Louisiana State University|year=2003|location=Louisiana|pages=3–92}}</ref><ref name=":03" /> Prior to its establishment as a creole, the precursor was considered a [[pidgin]] language.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Dubois|first1=Sylvie|last2=Melançon|first2=Megan|date=2000|title=Creole is, Creole Ain't: Diachronic and Synchronic Attitudes Toward Creole Identity in Southern Louisiana.|journal=Language in Society|volume=29|issue=2|pages=237–58|doi=10.1017/S0047404500002037|s2cid=144287855}}</ref> The social situation that gave rise to the Louisiana Creole language was unique, in that the lexifier language was the language found at the contact site. More often the lexifier is the language that arrives at the contact site belonging to the substrate/adstrate languages. Neither the French, the French-Canadians, nor the enslaved Africans were native to the area; this fact categorizes Louisiana Creole as a contact language that arose between exogenous ethnicities.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Pidgins, Creoles, & Mixed Languages|last=Velupillai|first=Viveka|publisher=John Benjamins Publishing Company.|year=2015|location=Amsterdam|pages=48–50}}</ref> Once the pidgin tongue was transmitted to the next generation as a ''[[lingua franca]]'' (who were considered the first [[First language|native speakers]] of the new grammar), it could effectively be classified as a [[creole language]].<ref name=":03" /><ref name=":13" />

No standard name for the language has existed historically. In the language, community members in various areas of Louisiana and elsewhere have referred to it by many expressions, though ''kréyol''/''kréyòl'' has been the most widespread. Until the rise of Cajunism in the 1970s and 80s, many Louisiana francophones also identified their language as ''Créole'', since they self-identified as Louisiana Creoles. In Louisiana's case, self-identity has determined how locals identify the language they speak. This leads to linguistic confusion. To remedy this, language activists beginning in the 2010s began promoting the term ''Kouri-Vini'', to avoid any linguistic ambiguity with [[Louisiana French]].<ref name=BBC/>

The boundaries of historical Louisiana were first shaped by the French, then, in [[Admission to the Union|statehood]] after 1812, took on its modern form. By the time of the [[Louisiana Purchase]] by the U.S. in 1803, the boundaries came to include most of the Central United States, ranging from present-day Montana; parts of North Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado; all of South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas; part of Southeast Texas; all of Oklahoma; most of Missouri and Arkansas; as well as Louisiana.<ref name=":23">{{Cite journal|last=Wendte|first=N.A|date=2018|title=Language and Identity Among Louisiana Creoles in Southeast Texas: Initial Observations|journal=Southern Journal of Linguistics|volume=42|pages=1–16}}</ref>

In 1978, researchers located a document from a murder trial in the colonial period that acknowledges the existence of Louisiana Creole.<ref name=":03" /><ref name=":23" />  The documentation does not include any examples of orthography or structure.<ref name=":03" /><ref name=":23" />

In an 1807 document, a grammatical description of the language is included in the experiences of an enslaved woman recorded by C.C. Robin. This was prior to arrival in Louisiana of French-speaking colonists and enslaved Africans from [[Saint-Domingue]]; the whites and free people of color (also French-speaking) were refugees from the [[Haitian Revolution]], which had established the [[First Empire of Haiti|first empire]] in the [[Western Hemisphere]]. The statements collected from Robin showed linguistic features that are now known to be typical of Louisiana Creole.<ref name=":03" />

The term ''Criollo'' ("Creole") appears in legal court documents during the [[Louisiana (New Spain)|Spanish colonial period]] (1762–1803); the Spanish reference to the language stated that it was used among enslaved people and whites.<ref name=":23" />

The importation of enslaved Africans increased after France ceded the colony to Spain in 1763, following France's defeat by [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]] in the [[Seven Years' War]] in Europe.<ref>"Seven Years War." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Paul Lagasse, and Columbia University, Columbia University Press, 8th edition, 2018. Credo Reference,</ref> Some Spaniards immigrated to the colony, but it was dominated by French language and culture. Like South Carolina, Louisiana had a "minority" population of Africans that greatly outnumbered the European settlers, including those white Creoles born in the colony.<ref name=":03" />

==Language shift, endangerment and revitalization==
In the case of Louisiana Creole, a ''[[diglossia]]'' resulted between Louisiana Creole and Louisiana French. Michael Picone, a lexicographer, proposed the term "Plantation Society French" to describe a version of French which he associated with plantation owners, plantation overseers, small landowners, military officers/soldiers and bilingual, [[free people of color]], as being a contributor to Louisiana Creole's lexical base. Over the centuries, Louisiana Creole's negative associations with slavery stigmatized the language to the point where many speakers are reluctant to use it for fear of ridicule. In this way, the assignment of "high" variety (or H language) was allotted to standard Louisiana French and that of "low" variety (or L language) was given to Louisiana Creole and to Louisiana French.<ref name="Carlisle">{{cite web|last1=Carlisle|first1=Aimee Jeanne|title=Language Attrition in Louisiana Creole French|url=http://linguistics.ucdavis.edu/pics-and-pdfs/Honors%20Thesis%20Aimee%20Carlisle.pdf|website=linguistics.ucdavis.edu|publisher=University of California, Davis|access-date=March 27, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160910072001/http://linguistics.ucdavis.edu/pics-and-pdfs/Honors%20Thesis%20Aimee%20Carlisle.pdf|archive-date=September 10, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The social status of Louisiana Creole further declined as a result of the [[Louisiana Purchase]]. Americans and their government made it illegal for francophones to speak their language. In 1921, the State of Louisiana mandated that public education take place in English only.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |date=December 20, 2023 |title=Louisiana Creole is enjoying a modest revival |url=https://www.economist.com/united-states/2023/12/20/louisiana-creole-is-enjoying-a-modest-revival |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229004632/https://www.economist.com/united-states/2023/12/20/louisiana-creole-is-enjoying-a-modest-revival |archive-date=2024-02-29 |access-date=2024-03-02 |newspaper=[[The Economist]] |issn=0013-0613}}</ref> Children and adults were often punished by corporal punishment, fines, and social degradation. By the 21st century, other methods were enforced. The promise of upward socioeconomic mobility and [[public humiliation|public shaming]] did the rest of the work, prompting many speakers of Louisiana Creole to abandon their stigmatized language in favor of English.<ref name="Brown 1993">{{cite journal |last=Brown |first=Becky |title=The social consequences of writing Louisiana French |journal=Language in Society |publisher=Cambridge University Press |volume=22 |issue=1 |year=1993 |issn=0047-4045 |doi=10.1017/s0047404500016924 |pages=67–101 |s2cid=145535212}}</ref> Additionally, the development of industry, technology and infrastructure in Louisiana reduced the isolation of Louisiana [[French-based creole languages|creolophone]] communities and resulted in the arrival of more anglophones, resulting in further exposure to English. Because of this, Louisiana Creole exhibits more recent influence from English, including [[loanword]]s, [[code-switching]] and [[Calque|syntactic calquing]].{{sfn|Valdman|1997|p=111}}<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite book|title=Le créole de Breaux Bridge, Louisiane: étude morphosyntaxique, textes, vocabulaire|last=Neumann|first=Ingrid|publisher=Helmut Buske Verlag|year=1985|isbn=9783871186974|location=Hamburg}}</ref>

Today, Louisiana Creole is spoken by fewer than 6,000 people.<ref name=BBC/><ref name=":0" /> Though national census data includes figures on language usage, these are often unreliable in Louisiana due to respondents' tendencies to identify their language in line with their ethnic identity. For example, speakers of Louisiana Creole who identify as [[Cajuns]] often label their language 'Cajun French', though on linguistic grounds their language would be considered Louisiana Creole.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Klingler|first=Thomas A.|date=2003|title=Language labels and language use among Cajuns and Creoles in Louisiana|url=http://repository.upenn.edu/pwpl/vol9/iss2/8/|journal=University of Pennsylvania Working Papers in Linguistics|volume=9|issue=2}}</ref>

Efforts to [[language revitalisation|revitalize]] French in Louisiana have placed emphasis on ''[[Cajun French]]'', to the exclusion of Creole.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Squint|first=Kirstin L.|date=2005-05-04|title=A Linguistic Comparison of Haitian Creole and Louisiana Creole|url=http://postcolonial.org/index.php/pct/article/view/375|journal=Postcolonial Text|language=en|volume=1|issue=2}}</ref> [[Zydeco]] musician [[Keith Frank]] has made efforts through the use of social media not only to promote his music, but preserve his Creole heritage and language as well, most notably through the use of Twitter. Additionally, Frank developed a mobile application in 2012 titled the "ZydecoBoss App", which acts as a miniature social network linked to a user's Facebook and Twitter accounts, allowing users to provide commentary in real time amongst multiple platforms. Aside from social media activism, Frank also created a creole music festival in 2012 called the "Creole Renaissance Festival", which acts a celebration of Creole culture.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Demars |first=Marie |date=2015-04-08 |title="On A Mission": Preserving Creole Culture One Tweet at a Time. Keith Frank, Zydeco, and the Use of Social Media |url=https://journals.openedition.org/transatlantica/7586 |journal=Transatlantica. Revue d'études américaines. American Studies Journal |language=fr |issue=1 |doi=10.4000/transatlantica.7586 |s2cid=194272954 |issn=1765-2766|doi-access=free }}</ref> 

A small number of community organizations focus on promoting Louisiana Creole, for example CREOLE, Inc.<ref>{{Cite web|title=CREOLE, Inc.|url=https://louisianacreoleinc.org/|access-date=2020-10-10|website=CREOLE, Inc.|language=en-US}}</ref> and the "Creole Table" founded by Velma Johnson.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.louisianacreoleinc.org/about-us.html|title=About Us|website=www.louisianacreoleinc.org|language=en-GB|access-date=2017-11-05|archive-date=November 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107005620/http://www.louisianacreoleinc.org/about-us.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Northwestern State University developed the Creole Heritage Center, designed to bring people of Louisiana Creole heritage together, as well as preserve Louisiana Creole through their Creole Language Documentation Project.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gillis |first=Phil |title=Creole Heritage Center |url=https://www.nsula.edu/creole-heritage-center/ |access-date=2020-12-08 |website=Northwestern State University |language=en-US}}</ref> In addition, there is an active online community of language learners and activists engaged in language revitalization, led by [[language activist]] Christophe Landry.<ref>Mayeux, Oliver. 2015. [https://www.academia.edu/13440964/New_Speaker_Language_The_morphosyntax_of_new_speakers_of_endangered_languages ''“New Speaker Language: The Morphosyntax of New Speakers of Endangered Languages.”'']  MPhil dissertation, Cambridge, United Kingdom: University of Cambridge.</ref> 

These efforts have resulted in the creation of a popular orthography,<ref name=":5">{{Cite book|url=https://www.academia.edu/20413461|title=A Guide to Louisiana Creole Orthography|last1=Landry|first1=Christophe|last2=St. Laurent|first2=Cliford|last3=Gisclair|first3=Michael|last4=Gaither|first4=Eric|last5=Mayeux|first5=Oliver|publisher=Louisiana Historic and Cultural Vistas|year=2016}}</ref> a digitalized version of Valdman et al.'s ''Louisiana Creole Dictionary'',{{sfn|Valdman|1998}} and a free [[spaced repetition]] course for learning vocabulary hosted on [[Memrise]] created by a team led by Adrien Guillory-Chatman.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Kouri-Vini (Louisiana Creole Language)|url=https://app.memrise.com/course/1046984/kouri-vini-louisiana-creole-language/|access-date=2020-10-10|website=Memrise|language=en}}</ref> A first language primer was released in 2017<ref name="tiliv-academia">{{Cite book|url=https://www.academia.edu/34216669|title=Ti Liv Kréyòl: A Louisiana Creole Primer|last1=Wendte|first1=N. A.|last2=Mayeux|first2=Oliver|last3=Wiltz|first3=Herbert|publisher=Public Domain|year=2017}}{{dead link|date=March 2023}}</ref><ref name="tiliv-mylhcv">{{Cite news|url=http://www.mylhcv.com/introducing-ti-liv-kreyol/|title=Ti Liv Kréyòl: A Louisiana Creole Primer – Louisiana Historic and Cultural Vistas|date=2017-08-14|work=Louisiana Historic and Cultural Vistas|access-date=2017-11-05|language=en-US}}</ref> and revised into a full-length language guide and accompanying website in 2020.<ref name="tiliv-book">{{Cite book|last1=Guillory-Chatman|first1=Adrien|url=https://learnlouisianacreole.com|title=Ti Liv Kréyòl: A Learner's Guide to Louisiana Creole|last2=Mayeux|first2=Oliver|last3=Wendte|first3=Nathan|last4=Wiltz|first4=Herbert J.|publisher=TSÒHK|year=2020|isbn=978-1527271029|location=New Orleans}}</ref> 2022 saw the publication of an anthology of contemporary poetry in Louisiana Creole, the first book written completely in the language.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.editionstintamarre.com/catalogue/fvi |title=Févi |publisher=Les Cahiers du Tintamarre |year=2022 |isbn=978-1-7353605-4-6 |editor-last=Mayers |editor-first=Jonathan Joseph |location=Shreveport, L.A. |language=lou |editor-last2=Mayeux |editor-first2=Oliver}}</ref> A December 2023 article in ''[[The Economist]]'' highlighted revitalization efforts with the headline "Louisiana Creole is enjoying a modest revival," focusing in particular on language activists Jourdan Thibodeaux and Taalib Pierre-Auguste.<ref name=":2" />

==Geographic distribution==
Speakers of Louisiana Creole are mainly concentrated in south and southwest Louisiana. [[St. Martin Parish, Louisiana|St. Martin Parish]] is the heart of the Creole-speaking region. Other sizeable communities exist along [[Bayou Teche|Bayou Têche]] in [[St. Landry Parish, Louisiana|St. Landry]], [[Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana|Avoyelles]], [[Iberia Parish, Louisiana|Iberia]], and [[St. Mary Parish, Louisiana|St. Mary]] Parishes. There are smaller communities on [[False River (Louisiana)|False River]] in [[Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana|Pointe-Coupée Parish]], in [[Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana|Terrebonne Parish]], and along the lower Mississippi River in [[Ascension Parish, Louisiana|Ascension]], [[St. Charles Parish, Louisiana|St. Charles Parish]], and [[St. James Parish, Louisiana|St. James]] and [[St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana|St. John the Baptist]] parishes.<ref>Kirstin Squint, [http://postcolonial.org/index.php/pct/article/viewArticle/375/813 A Linguistic and Cultural Comparison of Haitian Creole and Louisiana Creole], postcolonial.org, Accessed March 11, 2014</ref>

There once were creolophones in Natchitoches Parish on [[Cane River]] and sizable creolophone communities in adjacent [[Southeast Texas]] ([[Beaumont, Texas|Beaumont]], [[Houston, Texas|Houston]], [[Port Arthur, Texas|Port Arthur]], [[Galveston, Texas|Galveston]])<ref name=":23" />{{sfn|Wendte|2020}} and the [[Chicago]] area. Natchitoches, being the oldest colonial settlement in Louisiana, proved to be predominantly creole since its inception.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Din |first=Gilbert C. |date=May 2009 |title=Colonial Natchitoches: A Creole Community on the Louisiana-Texas Frontier |journal=Western Historical Quarterly |volume=40 |issue=2 |pages=220 |doi=10.1093/whq/40.2.220 |issn=0043-3810|doi-access=free }}</ref> Native inhabitants of the local area Louisiana Creole speakers in California{{Huh?|date=July 2025}} reside in [[Los Angeles County, California|Los Angeles]], [[San Diego County, California|San Diego]] and [[San Bernardino County, California|San Bernardino]] Counties and in Northern California (the [[San Francisco Bay Area]] and [[Sacramento County, California|Sacramento]], [[Plumas County, California|Plumas]], [[Tehama County, California|Tehama]], [[Mono County, California|Mono]], and [[Yuba County, California|Yuba]] Counties).<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=A.|first=Klingler, Thomas|title=If I could turn my tongue like that : the Creole language of Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana|date=2003|publisher=Louisiana State University Press|isbn=0807127795|location=Baton Rouge|oclc=846496076}}</ref> Historically, there were Creole-speaking communities in Arkansas, Mississippi, and Alabama (on [[Mon Louis Island]]); however, it is likely that no speakers remain in these areas.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Marshall|first=Margaret|date=1991|title=The Creole of Mon Louis Island, Alabama, and the Louisiana Connection|journal=Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages|volume=6|pages=73–87|doi=10.1075/jpcl.6.1.05mar}}</ref>

==Phonology==
The phonology of Louisiana Creole has much in common with those of other [[French-based creole languages]]. In comparison to most of these languages, however, Louisiana Creole diverges less from the [[French phonology|phonology of French]] in general and [[Louisiana French]] in particular.

=== Consonants ===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+ Consonants of Louisiana Creole<ref name=":3">{{cite book|title=The survey of pidgin and creole languages. Volume 2: Portuguese-based, Spanish-based, and French-based languages|last1=Klingler|first1=Thomas A.|last2=Neumann-Holzschuh|first2=Ingrid|date=2013|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-967770-2|editor1=Susanne Maria Michaelis|chapter=Louisiana Creole|editor2=Philippe Maurer|editor3=Martin Haspelmath|editor4=Magnus Huber|chapter-url=https://apics-online.info/surveys/53}}</ref><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":4" /> 
! colspan="2" |
! [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
![[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
![[Postalveolar consonant|Postalveolar]]
! [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
|- align="center"
! colspan="2" | [[Nasal stop|Nasal]]
| {{IPA link|m}} 
| {{IPA link|n}}
| {{IPA link|ɲ}}
| {{IPA link|ŋ}}
|- align="center"
! rowspan="2" | [[Plosive consonant|Plosive]]/
[[Affricate]]
!<small>[[Voicelessness|voiceless]]</small>
| {{IPA link|p}} 
| {{IPA link|t}} 
| {{IPA link|tʃ}}
| {{IPA link|k}} 
|-
!<small>[[Voice (phonetics)|voiced]]</small>
|{{IPA link|b}}
|{{IPA link|d}}
|{{IPA link|dʒ}}
|{{IPA link|ɡ}}
|- align="center"
! rowspan="2" | [[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]
!<small>[[Voicelessness|voiceless]]</small>
| {{IPA link|f}}
| {{IPA link|s}} 
|{{IPA link|ʃ}} 
| &nbsp;
|-
!<small>[[Voice (phonetics)|voiced]]</small>
|{{IPA link|v}}
|{{IPA link|z}}
|{{IPA link|ʒ}}
|
|- align="center"
! colspan="2" | [[Flap consonant|Tap]]
| &nbsp;
| {{IPA link|ɾ}}
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
|- align="center"
! colspan="2" | [[Lateral consonant|Lateral]]
| &nbsp;
| {{IPA link|l}}
|
| &nbsp;
|}
The table above shows the consonant sounds of Louisiana Creole, not including [[semivowel]]s {{IPA|/j/}} and {{IPA|/w/}}. In common with [[Louisiana French]], Louisiana Creole features [[postalveolar affricate]]s {{IPA|/tʃ/}} and {{IPA|/dʒ/}}, as in {{IPA|/tʃololo/}} ‘weak coffee’ and {{IPA|/dʒɛl/}} ‘mouth’. The nasal palatal {{IPA|/ɲ/}} usually becomes [[nasal palatal approximant]] {{IPA|/j̃/}} when between vowels, which results in the preceding vowel becoming nasalized. At the end of a word, it typically is replaced by {{IPA|/n/}} or {{IPA|/ŋ/}}.<ref name=":3" />

=== Vowels ===

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+ Oral and nasal vowels of Louisiana Creole<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":4" /> 
|-
! rowspan="2"  colspan="2" | &nbsp;
! colspan="2" | [[Front vowel|Front]] !! rowspan="2" | [[Central vowel|Central]] !! rowspan="2" | [[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
! <small>[[Roundedness|unrounded]]</small> !! <small>[[Roundedness|rounded]]</small>
|- class="nounderlines"
! [[Close vowel|Close]]
! rowspan="3" | <small>oral</small>
| {{IPA link|i}} || {{IPA link|y}} || || {{IPA link|u}}
|- class="nounderlines"
! [[Close-mid vowel|Close-mid]]
| {{IPA link|e}} || {{IPA link|ø}} || rowspan="2" | || {{IPA link|o}}
|- class="nounderlines"
! rowspan="2" | [[Open-mid vowel|Open-mid]]
| {{IPA link|ɛ}} || {{IPA link|œ}} || {{IPA link|ɔ|ɔ}}
|- class="nounderlines"
! rowspan="2" | <small>[[nasalization|nasal]]</small>
| {{IPA link|ɛ̃}} || {{IPA link|œ̃}} || || {{IPA link|ɔ̃}}
|- class="nounderlines"
! rowspan="2" | [[Open vowel|Open]]
| || || || {{IPA link|ɑ̃}}
|- class="nounderlines"
! <small>oral</small>
||| || {{IPA link|a|a}} || 
|}
The table above shows the oral and nasal vowels of Louisiana Creole as identified by linguists.<ref name=":03" />

==== Vowel rounding ====
Speakers of the language may use rounded vowels {{IPA|[y]}}, {{IPA|[ø]}} and {{IPA|[œ]}} where they occur in French. This is subject to a high degree of [[Variation (linguistics)|variation]] with the same region, sociolinguistic group, and even within the same speaker.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":6">{{Cite thesis|title=Rethinking decreolization: Language contact and change in Louisiana Creole|url=https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/294526|publisher=University of Cambridge|date=2019-07-19|degree=PhD|doi=10.17863/cam.41629|language=en|first=Oliver|last=Mayeux}}</ref> Examples of this process include:

* ''diri''~''duri'' ({{IPA|/diri/~/dyri/}}) 'rice', compare French ''du riz'' ({{IPA|/dyri/}})
* ''vyé''~''vye'' ({{IPA|/vje/~/vjø/}}) 'old', compare French ''vieux'' ({{IPA|/vjø/}})
* ''djèl''~''djœl'' ({{IPA|/dʒɛl/~/dʒœl/}}) 'mouth', compare Louisiana French ''djeule'' ({{IPA|/dʒœl/}}){{sfn|Valdman|1998}}

==== Vowel lowering ====
The [[open-mid vowel]] {{IPA|[ɛ]}} may be lowered to the near-open vowel {{IPA|[æ]}} when followed by {{IPA|[ɾ]}}, e.g. ''frè''~''frær'' ({{IPA|[fɾɛ]~[fɾæɾ]}}) 'brother'.<ref name=":03" />

==== Regressive and progressive vowel nasalization ====
In common with [[Louisiana French]], Louisiana Creole vowels are [[Nasalization|nasalized]] where they precede a [[nasal consonant]], e.g. ''jènn'' {{IPA|[ʒɛ̃n]}} 'young', ''pomm'' {{IPA|[pɔ̃m]}} 'apple'. However, unlike most varieties of Louisiana French, Louisiana Creole also exhibits progressive nasalization: vowels following a nasal consonant are nasalized, e.g. ''konnin'' {{IPA|[kɔ̃nɛ̃]}} 'to know'.<ref name=":8">{{Cite book|last=Klingler|first=Thomas A.|title=Language in Louisiana: Community and Culture|date=2019-08-01|publisher=University Press of Mississippi|isbn=978-1-4968-2386-1|editor-last=Dajko|editor-first=Nathalie|pages=95|chapter=The Louisiana Creole Language Today|doi=10.2307/j.ctvkwnnm1.14|editor-last2=Walton|editor-first2=Shana|jstor=j.ctvkwnnm1|s2cid=243597697}}</ref>

==Grammar==
Louisiana Creole exhibits [[subject-verb-object]] (SVO) word order.<ref name=":1" />

=== Determiners ===
In 19th-century sources, determiners in Louisiana Creole appear related to [[Specificity (linguistics)|specificity]]. [[Bare nouns]] are non-specific. As for specific nouns, if the noun is presupposed it took a definite determiner (''-la'', singular; ''-la-ye'', plural) or by an indefinite determiner (''en,'' singular; ''de'' or ''-ye'', plural). Today, [[definite articles]] in Louisiana Creole vary between the ''le'', ''la'' and ''lê'', placed before the noun as in [[Louisiana French]], and [[Preposition and postposition|post-positional]] definite determiners -''la'' for the singular, and -''yé'' for the plural.<ref name=":3" /> This variation is but one example of the influence of [[Louisiana French]] on Louisiana Creole, especially in the variety spoken along the [[Bayou Teche|Bayou Têche]] which has been characterized by some linguists as [[Decreolization|decreolized]], though this notion is controversial.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3" />

Some speakers of that variety display a highly variable system of [[Grammatical number|number]] and [[Grammatical gender|gender]] [[Agreement (linguistics)|agreement]], as evidenced in [[possessive]] [[pronoun]]s.<ref name=":6" />

==== Personal pronouns ====
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!<ref name=":3" />  !! Subject !! Objective !! Possessive
|-
| 1st person || mo || mò/mwin || mô; (mâ (''sg. fem.''); mê (''pl.''))
|-
| 2nd person || to || twa || tô; (tâ; tê)
|-
| 3rd person || li || li || sô; (sâ; sê)
|-
| 1st plural || nou, no, nouzòt || nouzòt || nou, nô, nouzòt
|-
| 2nd plural || vouzòt, ouzòt, zòt, zo || vouzòt, zòt || vouzòt
|-
| 3rd plural || yé || yé || yê
|}
[[Possession (linguistics)|Possession]] is shown by noun-noun possessum-possessor constructions (e.g. ''lamézon mô papa''  'house (of) my grandfather') or with the preposition ''a'' (e.g. ''lamézon a mô papa'' 'house of my grandfather').<ref name=":3" />

=== Verbs ===

==== Verbal morphology ====
Older forms of Louisiana Creole featured only one form of each verb without any [[inflection]], e.g. {{IPA|[mɑ̃ʒe]}} 'to eat'. Today, the language typically features two verb classes: verbs with only a single form (e.g. ''bwa'' {{IPA|[bwɑ]}} 'to drink') and verbs with a 'long' or 'short' form (e.g. ''manjé'' {{IPA|[mɑ̃ʒe]}}, ''manj'' {{IPA|[mɑ̃ʒ]}} 'to eat').<ref name=":03" />

==== Tense, aspect, mood ====
Like other creole languages, Louisiana Creole features preverbal markers of [[Tense–aspect–mood|tense, aspect and mood]] as listed in the table below. 
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Form
!Classification
!Meaning
!Notes
|-
|''té''
|[[Past tense|Anterior]]
|Past [[Active–stative language|state]] of adjectives and [[stative verb]]s; [[pluperfect]] or [[Habitual aspect|habitual]] past of non-stative verbs<ref name=":8" />
|
|-
|''apé, ap, é''
|[[Progressive aspect|Progressive]]
|Ongoing actions
|Form ''é'' is only used in Pointe Coupée<ref name=":1" />
|-
|''a, va, alé''
| rowspan="2" |[[Future tense|Future]]
|Future actions
|
|-
|''sa''
|Future [[Stative verb|states]]
|
|-
|''sé''
|Conditional
|Actions or states which might take place
|
|-
|''bin''
|[[Remote past tense|Remote past]]
|"an action or state that began before, and continued up to, a subsequent point in time"<ref name=":1" />
|Likely a borrowing from [[African-American English]]<ref name=":6" />
|}

==Vocabulary==
The vocabulary of Louisiana Creole is primarily of French origin, as French is the language's [[lexifier]]. Some local vocabulary, such as topography, animals, plants are of [[Amerindian]] origin. In the domains of [[folklore]] and [[Louisiana Voodoo|Voodoo]], the language has a small number of vocabulary items from [[West Africa|West]] and [[Central Africa|Central African]] languages.{{sfn|Valdman|1998|pp=3–4}} Much of this non-French vocabulary is shared with other [[French-based creole languages]] of North America, and Louisiana Creole shares all but a handful of its vocabulary with [[Louisiana French]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=New Orleans and the global South : Caribbean, Creolization, carnival|last=Neumann-Holzschuh|first=Ingrid|publisher=Georg-Olms-Verlag AG|year=2016|isbn=978-3487155043|editor-last=Ette|editor-first=Ottmar|location=Hildesheim|chapter=Entre la Caraïbe et l'Amérique du Nord: le créole louisianais et son lexique à la lumière de ses contacts linguistiques et culturels|oclc=973171332|editor-last2=Müller|editor-first2=Gesine}}</ref>

==Writing system==

Louisiana Creole has never had a standard, universal [[orthography]]. For example, {{IPA|/tʃwe/}} ('to kill') could variably be rendered ''tchué'', ''tchwé'', ''chwé'', and so on. Historically, Louisiana Creole was often written in French-based or "pan-Creole" orthographies, the latter reminiscent of [[Haitian Creole]] writing. In the most recent popular orthographic system (described below), the Louisiana Creole [[alphabet]] consists of twenty-three [[letter (alphabet)|letters]] of the [[ISO basic Latin alphabet]] (excluding [[c]], [[q]], and [[x]]) and several special letters and [[diacritic]]s.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://louisianacreoledictionary.com/Lesson%20Topics/alphabet.aspx |title=Alphabet | author=Louisiana Creole Dictionary | website=louisianacreoledictionary.com | year=2014}}</ref>

:{| class="wikitable"
!Letter
!Name<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iKAqEDkldc |title=Louisiana Creole Alphabet (Updated)| author=Christophe Landry | website=YouTube | year=2014}}</ref> 
!Name ([[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]])
!Diacritics
!Phoneme correspondence<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mylhcv.com/guide-to-louisiana-creole-orthography/|title=Guide to Louisiana Creole Orthography|date=January 5, 2016}}</ref><ref name=":5" />
|-
| [[A|A a]] || a || {{IPA|/a/}} ||[[Á|Á á]], ([[À|À à]]), [[Â|Â â]] || {{IPA|/a/}}
|-
| [[Æ|Æ æ]] || æ || {{IPA|/æ/}} || || {{IPA|/æ/}}
|-
| [[B|B b]] || bé || {{IPA|/be/}} || || {{IPA|/b/}}
|-
| [[Ç|Ç ç]] || çé || {{IPA|/se/}} || || {{IPA|/s/}}
|-
| [[D|D d]] || dé || {{IPA|/de/}} || || {{IPA|/d/}}
|-
| [[E|E e]] || e || {{IPA|/ə/}} || [[É|É é]], [[È|È è]], [[Ê|Ê ê]] || {{IPA|/ə/}}; é = {{IPA|/e/}}; è = {{IPA|/ɛ/}}
|-
| [[F|F f]] || èf || {{IPA|/ɛf/}} || || {{IPA|/f/}}
|-
| [[G|G g]] || gé || {{IPA|/ɡe/}} || || {{IPA|/ɡ/}}
|-
| [[H|H h]] || hash || {{IPA|/haʃ/}} || || {{IPA|/h/}}
|-
| [[I|I i]] || i || {{IPA|/i/}} || [[Í|Í í]], [[Ì|Ì ì]], [[Î|Î î]] || {{IPA|/i/}}; ì = {{IPA|/ɪ/}}
|-
| [[J|J j]] || ji || {{IPA|/ʒi/}} || || {{IPA|/ʒ/}}
|-
| [[K|K k]] || ka || {{IPA|/ka/}} || || {{IPA|/k/}}
|-
| [[L|L l]] || èl || {{IPA|/ɛl/}} || || {{IPA|/l/}}
|-
| [[M|M m]] || èmm || {{IPA|/ɛ̃m/}} || || {{IPA|/m/}}
|-
| [[N|N n]] || ènn || {{IPA|/ɛ̃n/}} || || {{IPA|/n/}}
|-
| [[Ñ|Ñ ñ]] || ñé || {{IPA|/ɲe/}} || || {{IPA|/ɲ/}}
|-
| [[O|O o]] || o || {{IPA|/o/}} ||[[Ó|Ó ó]], [[Ò|Ò ò]], [[Ô|Ô ô]] || {{IPA|/o/}}; ò = {{IPA|/ɔ/}}
|-
| [[Œ|Œ œ]] || œ || {{IPA|/œ/}} || || {{IPA|/œ/}}
|-
| [[P|P p]] || pé || {{IPA|/pe/}} || || {{IPA|/p/}}
|-
| [[R|R r]] || ær, èr || {{IPA|/æɾ/}}, {{IPA|/ɛɾ/}} || || {{IPA|/r/}}
|-
| [[S|S s]] || ès || {{IPA|/ɛs/}} || || {{IPA|/s/}}
|-
| [[T|T t]] || té || {{IPA|/te/}} || || {{IPA|/t/}}
|-
| [[U|U u]] || u || {{IPA|/y/}} || [[Û|Û û]] || {{IPA|/y/}}
|-
| [[V|V v]] || vé || {{IPA|/ve/}} || || {{IPA|/v/}}
|-
| [[W|W w]] || double-vé || {{IPA|/dubləve/}} || || {{IPA|/w/}}
|-
| [[Y|Y y]] || igrèk || {{IPA|/iɡɾɛk/}} || || {{IPA|/j/}}
|-
| [[Z|Z z]] || zèd || {{IPA|/zɛd/}} || || {{IPA|/z/}}
|}

:{| class="wikitable"
!Digraph
!Name 
!Name ([[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]])
!Phoneme correspondence
|-
| [[Ch (digraph)|ch]] || ché || {{IPA|/tʃe/}} || {{IPA|/tʃ/}}
|-
| [[List of Latin-script digraphs#D|dj]] || djé || {{IPA|/dʒe/}} || {{IPA|/dʒ/}}
|-
| [[List of Latin-script digraphs#O|ou]] || ou || {{IPA|/u/}} || {{IPA|/u/}}
|-
| [[Sh (digraph)|sh]] || shé || {{IPA|/ʃe/}} || {{IPA|/ʃ/}}
|-
| '''[[Nasal vowel|Nasals]]''' || || ||
|-
| an, am, en, em || || || {{IPA|/ɑ̃/}}
|-
| in, im || || || {{IPA|/ɛ̃/}}
|-
| on, om || || || {{IPA|/ɔ̃/}}
|-
| un, um || || || {{IPA|/œ̃/}}
|}

== Language samples ==

===Numbers===

:{| class="wikitable"
!Number
!Louisiana Creole
![[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]
!Louisiana French
![[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]
|-
| 1 || un, in || {{IPA|/œ̃, ɛ̃/}} || un (ein) || {{IPA|/ɛ̃/}}
|-
| 2 || dé || {{IPA|/de/}} || deux || {{IPA|/dø/}}
|-
| 3 || trwa, trò || {{IPA|/tɾwa, tɾɔ/}} || trois || {{IPA|/tɾwa/}}
|-
| 4 || kat || {{IPA|/kat/}} || quatre || {{IPA|/kat(ɾ)/}}
|-
| 5 || sink || {{IPA|/sɛ̃k/}} || cinq || {{IPA|/sɛ̃k/}}
|-
| 6 || sis || {{IPA|/sis/}} || six || {{IPA|/sis/}}
|-
| 7 || sèt || {{IPA|/sɛt/}} || sept || {{IPA|/sɛt/}}
|-
| 8 || wit || {{IPA|/wit/}} || huit || {{IPA|/ɥit/}}
|-
| 9 || nèf || {{IPA|/nɛf/}} || neuf || {{IPA|/nœf/}}
|-
| 10 || dis || {{IPA|/dis/}} || dix || {{IPA|/dis/}}
|-
| 11 || onz || {{IPA|/ɔ̃z/}} || onze || {{IPA|/ɔ̃z/}}
|-
| 12 || douz || {{IPA|/duz/}} || douze || {{IPA|/duz/}}
|-
| 13 || trèz || {{IPA|/tɾɛz/}} || treize || {{IPA|/tɾɛz/}}
|-
| 14 || katòrz || {{IPA|/katɔɾz/}} || quatorze || {{IPA|/katɔɾz/}}
|-
| 15 || kinz || {{IPA|/kɛ̃z/}} || quinze || {{IPA|/kɛ̃z/}}
|-
| 16 || sèz || {{IPA|/sɛz/}} || seize || {{IPA|/sɛz/}}
|-
| 17 || dis-sèt || {{IPA|/disɛt/}} || dix-sept || {{IPA|/disɛt/}}
|-
| 18 || diz-wit || {{IPA|/dizwit/}} || dix-huit || {{IPA|/dizɥit/}}
|-
| 19 || diz-nèf || {{IPA|/diznɛf/}} || dix-neuf || {{IPA|/diznœf/}}
|-
| 20 || vin || {{IPA|/vɛ̃/}} || vingt || {{IPA|/vɛ̃/}}
|-
| 30 || trent || {{IPA|/tɾɑ̃t/}} || trente || {{IPA|/tɾɑ̃t/}}
|-
| 40 || karant || {{IPA|/kaɾɑ̃t/}} || quarante || {{IPA|/kaɾɑ̃t/}}
|-
| 50 || sinkant || {{IPA|/sɛ̃kɑ̃t/}} || cinquante || {{IPA|/sɛ̃kɑ̃t/}}
|-
| 60 || swasant || {{IPA|/swasɑ̃t/}} || soixante || {{IPA|/swasɑ̃t/}}
|-
| 70 || swasant-dis || {{IPA|/swasɑ̃tdis/}} || soixante-dix || {{IPA|/swasɑ̃tdis/}}
|-
| 80 || katré-vin || {{IPA|/katɾevɛ̃/}} || quatre-vingts || {{IPA|/katɾəvɛ̃/}}
|-
| 90 || katré-vin-dis || {{IPA|/katɾevɛ̃dis/}} || quatre-vingt-dix || {{IPA|/katɾəvɛ̃dis/}}
|-
| 100 || sen || {{IPA|/sɑ̃/}} || cent || {{IPA|/sɑ̃/}}
|-
| 1,000 || mil || {{IPA|/mil/}} || mille || {{IPA|/mil/}}
|}

===Greetings===
:{|class="wikitable"
! Louisiana Creole
! French
! English
|-
|Bonjou!
|Bonjour!
|Hello!
|-
|Konmen lê zafær?
|Comment ça va?
|How are things?
|-
|Komen ça va? / Komen ç'apé kouri?
|Comment ça va?
|How are you doing?
|-
|Mo byin, mærsi.
|Je vais bien, merci.
|I'm good, thanks.
|-
|Wa (twa) pli tar.
|À plus tard.
|See you later.
|-
|Mo linm twa.
|Je t'aime.
|I love you.
|-
|Swènn-twa / swiñ-twa.
|Prenez soin de vous/toi.
|Take care.
|-
|Bonjou / Bonmatin.
|Bonjour.
|Good morning.
|-
|Bonswa.
|Bonsoir.
|Good evening.
|-
|Bonnwi / Bonswa.
|Bonne nuit.
|Good night.
|}

===The Lord's Prayer===
Catholic prayers are recited in French by speakers of Louisiana Creole. Today, some language activists and learners are leading efforts to translate the prayers.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_HGizbHH7M  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/l_HGizbHH7M |archive-date=2021-12-22 |title=Nouzòt Popá (The Our Father in Louisiana Creole)| author=Christophe Landry |url-status=live | website=Youtube | year=2012}}{{cbignore}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=July 2020}}

Nouzòt Popá, ki dan syèl-la<br />
Tokin nom, li sinkifyè,<br />
N'ap spéré pou to<br />
rwayonm arivé, é n'a fé ça<br />
t'olé dan syèl; parèy si latær<br />
Donné-nou jordi dipin tou-lé-jou,<br />
é pardon nouzòt péshé paréy nou pardon<br /> 
lê moun ki fé nouzòt sikombé tentasyon-la,<br />
Mé délivré nou depi mal.

==See also==
{{Portal|United States|Languages}}
* [[Louisiana Creole people]]
* [[Louisiana French]]
* [[Haitian Creole]]
* [[Isleño Spanish]]
* [[Arkansas Creoles]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Sources===
*{{cite book |last=Valdman |first=Albert |editor-first1=Albert |editor-last1=Valdman |title=French and Creole in Louisiana |publisher=Plenum Press |publication-place=New York |date=1997 |isbn=0-306-45464-5 |oclc=863962055 |doi=10.1007/978-1-4757-5278-6}}
*{{cite book |last=Valdman |first=Albert |title=Dictionary of Louisiana Creole |publisher=Indiana University Press |publication-place=Bloomington, Ind. |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-253-33451-0 |oclc=39147759}} Partial preview at [{{GBurl |id=ZKS6AiLkI4AC}} Google Books].
*{{cite book |last=Wendte |first=N. A. |title=Creole - a Louisiana label in a Texas Context |publisher=Lulu Press, Inc |publication-place=New Orleans, LA |date=2020 |isbn=978-1-716-64756-7 |oclc=1348382332}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book |last=Brasseaux |first=Carl A. |title=French, Cajun, Creole, Houma : a primer on francophone Louisiana |publisher=Louisiana State University Press |publication-place=Baton Rouge |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-8071-4778-8 |oclc=774295468 |ref=none}} Partial preview at [{{GBurl |id=XCBfDwAAQBAJ}} Google Books].
*{{cite journal <!-- Citation bot bypass--> |last=Dubois |first=Sylvie |last2=Horvath |first2=Barbara M. |title=Creoles and Cajuns: A Portrait in Black and White |journal=American Speech |publisher=Duke University Press |volume=78 |issue=2 |date=2003-05-01 |issn=0003-1283 |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/43882 |url-access=subscription |doi=10.1215/00031283-78-2-192 |pages=192–207 |s2cid=15155226 |ref=none}}
*{{cite book |last1=Fortier |first1=Alcée |volume=II |title=Louisiana Folk-Tales in French Dialect and English Translation |series=Memoirs of the American Folklore Society |publisher=Published for the American Folk-lore Society by Houghton, Mifflin, and Co. |publication-place=Boston and New York |year=1895 |hdl=2027/uc1.b3501893 |issn=0065-8332 |oclc=1127054952 |url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.b3501893 |via=HathiTrust |ref=none}}
*{{cite book |last1=Guillory-Chatman |first1=Adrien |last2=Mayeux |first2=Oliver |last3=Wendte |first3=Nathan |last4=Wiltz |first4=Nathan |last5=Mayers |first5=Jonathan |title=Ti liv Kréyòl : a learner's guide to Louisiana Creole |publication-place=New Orleans |date=2020 |isbn=978-1-5272-7102-9 |oclc=1257416565 |ref=none}}
*{{cite book |last=Hall |first=Gwendolyn Midlo |title=Africans in Colonial Louisiana: The Development of Afro-Creole Culture in the Eighteenth Century |publisher=Louisiana State University Press |publication-place=Baton Rouge |year=1992 |isbn=978-0-585-32916-1 |oclc=45843432 |ref=none}}
*{{cite book |last=Kein |first=Sybil |title=Learn to speak Louisiana French Creole: an introduction |publisher=Gumbo People Products |publication-place=Natchitoches, LA, US |year=2005 |oclc=144558377 |ref=none}}
*{{cite book |last1=Kein |first1=Sybil |last2=Forsloff |first2=Del |title=Maw-Maw's Creole ABC book |publisher=Gumbo People Products |publication-place=New Orleans, LA, US |year=2006 |oclc=809926365 |ref=none}}

==External links==
{{Incubator|lou}}
* [https://learnlouisianacreole.com Learn Louisiana Creole]
* [http://www.LouisianaCreoleDictionary.com Louisiana Creole Dictionary – Online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190929115406/http://www.louisianacreoledictionary.com/ |date=September 29, 2019 }}
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20070930001256/http://www.pointecoupeehistory.com/index.php/page/view/12 Learn Pointe-Coupée Parish Creole]}}
* [http://www.kreolmagazine.com/music-entertainment/books/brian-j-costello-la-language-creole-de-la-paroisse-pointe-coupee/ Brian J. Costello – La Language Créole de la Paroisse Pointe Coupée]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130109023400/http://www.centenary.edu/french/louisiane.html#creole Centenary University Bibliothèque Tintamarre Texts in Louisiana Creole]
* [https://www.youtube.com/user/criollokid80 Christophe Landry, Ph.D.]  
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QodpvU-Z2PI Le bijou sur le Bayou Teche]
* {{YouTube|H78_lc_xFeM|Cajun French (Creole dialect): "C'est Sophie Guidry" by: Emily Lopez}}
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xj_AtDj-LT4 "Allons Manger" Cajun French with Creole dialect]
* {{YouTube|iUwED1bvDpM|Oral History Forum I Raphaël Confiant}}
*{{cite web|last1=Bernard|first1=S.|title=Creoles|url=http://www.knowla.org/entry/627/|website=KnowLA: Encyclopedia of Louisiana|access-date=2016-05-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160118203058/http://www.knowla.org/entry/627|archive-date=2016-01-18|url-status=dead}}
*{{cite web| url=https://www.endangeredlanguages.com/lang/10417| title = Louisiana Creole| website= The Endangered Languages Project}}
* [https://glosbe.com/en/lou/ English – Louisiana creole Glosbe dictionary]
* [https://glosbe.com/lou/en/ louisiana creole – English Glosbe dictionary]

{{languages derived from French}}
{{Gallo-Romance languages and dialects}}
{{Ethnicity in Louisiana}}
{{African American topics}}

[[Category:Louisiana Creole| ]]
[[Category:Louisiana Creole culture]]
[[Category:Endangered pidgins and creoles]]
[[Category:French-based pidgins and creoles]]
[[Category:French-American culture in Louisiana]]
[[Category:French language in the United States]]
[[Category:African-American culture]]
[[Category:African-American English]]
[[Category:Languages of the African diaspora]]
[[Category:Languages of Louisiana]]