I think this group will be interested to know about the new Dictionary of Louisiana French published last December by University Press of Mississippi. It’s a work that was more than ten years in the making. It builds on the work of Fr. Jules Daigle, Jay Ditchy, William Read and others, and it features words, phrases and usages from all the areas of the state where French is spoken. The editors (of whom I am one) spent years going through old recordings and doing new fieldwork to make the work as comprehensive as possible. The dictionary includes contextual examples showing how the words are used by real people. It is reasonably priced and available from all the usual sources.

I’d also like to let you know about a new website at http://www.cajunfrench.org that offers a variety of resources for those who want to learn to speak Louisiana French, those who already speak it and want to learn to read it, and even for those who know standard French and want to know more about the particularities of our variety. The site includes an interactive introductory course, “Allons!”, based on the theme of a trip to a music festival. It also features virtual flash cards that allow you to hear words and phrases and test yourself as you master them. Now you can even download them onto your iPhone and learn on the go! And finally, we are developing video-based lessons with real people talking about real stuff. That rubric is called “Tu parles!” (Talk about!) Two of the lessons are up and ready for you to try. Your feedback would be most welcome. More materials are in development now, and your ideas will help us to know what you need and want.

Merci!