Department of
French & Italian
Student-Faculty Forum Series
presents
The Dictionary of Louisiana French: A Portrait of Cajun Lexicon
by Albert Valdman & Kevin
Rottet
Friday, September 19,
2008
2:30-3:30 pm
Ballantine Hall 244
The long awaited Dictionary of Louisiana French: As Spoken in Cajun, Creole and American Indian Communities is now ready to go to press and to appear in print in 2009. In this talk we will offer an overview of the decade-long project, covering the background, previous lexicographic work on Louisiana French, our methodology and approach, and the structure of our dictionary. We will show how the riches of the Cajun lexicon can shed light on the internal dynamics of a variety of French largely cut off from contact with France, as well as on the nature of the little known colonial French.
Albert Valdman is Rudy Professor Emeritus of French Linguistics and Linguistics. He is the founder and editor of the journal Studies in Second Language Acquisition and is currently working on sociolinguistic research in Haiti (NSF grant) and on a differential dictionary of Louisiana French (Mellon Emeritus Fellowship). This year he was inducted into the Ordre des Francophones d’Amériques of Québec.
Kevin Rottet is Associate Professor of French Linguistics who specializes in endangered minority varieties of or related to French, especially Louisiana French and Louisiana Creole, and the Brythonic Celtic languages Welsh and Breton. His recent work includes preposition stranding in Louisiana French and feminization of occupation names in Welsh.
If you have a disability and need assistance, accommodations can be made to address most needs. Please call 855-5458.
