The word chiac has two meanings, both of which refer to particular vocabulary, accent, sentence structures and idioms spoken by Acadian French inhabitants of south-east New Brunswick, Canada. Acadian French (le français acadien) is a dialect of French spoken by the Acadians in the Canadian Maritimes provinces and the Saint John River Valley in northern Maine. ... Motto: Spem reduxit (Hope restored) Official languages English, French Capital Fredericton Largest city Saint John Lieutenant-Governor Herménégilde Chiasson Premier Bernard Lord (PC) Parliamentary representation  - House seat  - Senate seats 10 10 Area Total  â€¢ Land  â€¢ Water    (% of total)  Ranked 11th 72 908 km² 71 450 km² 1 458 km...

The word itself is generally considered a derivation of the name "Shediac," a town in the area. Some have also suggested that it is a derivative of the French word chier, meaning "to shit". The worlds largest lobster sculpture located in Shediac Shediac (46°13′N 64°32′W, AST) is a town located in Shediac Parish, Westmorland County, New Brunswick, Canada on the Northumberland Strait, about 20 km from the city of Moncton. ...

In its first meaning, Chiac is a spoken French often tinged with nautical terms (e.g. haler, embarquer), reflecting the historic importance of the sea to the local economy, as well as older French words (e.g., bailler, quérir, hucher, gosier), many deemed archaic by the Académie Française, testimony to three centuries of relative isolation of Acadian communities from French influence. The collected works of Goncourt Prize-winner Antonine Maillet, and her play La Sagouine in particular, illustrate well this variation of French. The Académie française, or French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. ... Antonine Maillet in 1984 The Honourable Antonine Maillet, PC, CC, OQ, ONB, LL.D, FRSC, (born May 10, 1929) is a Canadian Acadian novelist, playwright, and scholar. ...

In its second meaning, "Chiac" has come to refer to a vernacular French mixed with English, spoken as a dominant language in the Acadian community, especially among youth, near Moncton, Memramcook and Shediac. The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The Acadians (French: Acadiens) are the descendants of the original French settlers of parts of the northeastern region of North America comprising what is now the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. ... Moncton (46°6′ N 64°46′ W) is the second largest city in the Canadian province of New Brunswick and is at the heart of the fastest growing urban area in the province. ... Memramcook is a city in New Brunswick. ... The worlds largest lobster sculpture located in Shediac Shediac (46°13′N 64°32′W, AST) is a town located in Shediac Parish, Westmorland County, New Brunswick, Canada on the Northumberland Strait, about 20 km from the city of Moncton. ...

It is a relatively more recent evolution of the French language, spurred by exposure to dominant English language media (radio, television, internet) and increased urbanization to Moncton and contact with the dominant Anglophone community in the area since the 1960s especially. Look up Anglophone in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969, inclusive. ...

Chiac is a mixture of Acadian French (which includes words from Old French) and English. Chiac uses primarily French syntax with French-English vocabulary and phrase forms (see Examples, below). It is often deprecated by both French and English speakers as an impure hybrid — either "bad" French or "bad" English. However, Chiac has been reclaimed in recent years by some Acadian groups as a living and evolving language, and part of their collective culture. A number of Acadian artists write literature and music in Chiac. Old French is a term sometimes used to refer to the langue doïl, the continuum of varieties of Romance language spoken in territories corresponding roughly to the northern half of modern France and parts of Belgium and Switzerland during the period roughly from 1000 to 1300 A.D... Chiac is an Acadian French vernacular mixed with English, spoken in the south-east New Brunswick, Canada, especially among youth near Moncton, Memramcook and Shediac. ... The Acadians (French: Acadiens) are the descendants of the original French settlers of parts of the northeastern region of North America comprising what is now the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. ...

Examples

• Ej vas driver mon truck à soir pis ça va êt'e right la fun. (I'm going to drive my truck tonight and it's going to be lots of fun.)
• J'vas parker mon châr. (I'm going to park my car.)
• J'schwimmais dans l'ocean et j'tais right soak-an-wet. (I swam in the ocean and got soaking wet.)
• Worry pas. (Don't worry)
• J'vas essayer de coaxer Alfonce pis Euclide pour qu'y viennent brosser avant la hockey game de soir. (I'm going to try to convince Alfonce and Euclide to come drinking before the hockey game tonight.)
• Ma mére travaille au grocery store à pousser des shopping carts. (My mother works in a grocery store where she pushes shopping carts.)

External links

• Et si on parlait chiac ? (And if we spoke Chiac?)
• Je suis acadien - an example of Chiac
• The Chiac verb particle construction - A linguistics paper (pdf format) examining certain features of Chiac grammar