136-522: Zydeco ( / ˈ z aɪ d ɪ ˌ k oʊ , - d iː -/ ZY -dih-koh, -dee- ; French : zarico ) is a music genre that was created in rural Southwest Louisiana by Afro-Americans of Creole heritage. It blends blues and rhythm and blues with music indigenous to the Louisiana Creoles , such as la la and juré . Musicians use the French accordion and a Creole washboard instrument called
272-545: A voiced alveolar tap [ɾ] ). In 1960, musicologist Mack McCormick used the spelling "zydeco" in the liner notes for a compilation album: A Treasury of Field Recordings . The word was used in reviews, and McCormick began publicizing it around Houston as a standard spelling. Its use was also accepted by musician Clifton Chenier (who had earlier recorded "Zodico Stomp" in 1955) in his recording "Zydeco Sont Pas Salés" . Chenier later claimed credit for having coined this spelling Another possible root word for zydeco
408-720: A French official to teachers in the department of Finistère , in western Brittany, included the following: "And remember, Gents: you were given your position in order to kill the Breton language". The prefect of Basses-Pyrénées in the French Basque Country wrote in 1846: "Our schools in the Basque Country are particularly meant to replace the Basque language with French..." Students were taught that their ancestral languages were inferior and they should be ashamed of them; this process
544-431: A comprehensive academic study entitled "The World's 10 most influential languages". In the article, Weber ranked French as, after English, the second-most influential language of the world, ahead of Spanish. His criteria were the numbers of native speakers, the number of secondary speakers (especially high for French among fellow world languages), the number of countries using the language and their respective populations,
680-543: A foreign language. Due to the rise of French in Africa, the total French-speaking population worldwide is expected to reach 700 million people in 2050. French is the fastest growing language on the continent (in terms of either official or foreign languages). French is increasingly being spoken as a native language in Francophone Africa, especially in regions like Ivory Coast , Cameroon , Gabon, Madagascar , and
816-699: A good supply of raw materials, which has helped Louisiana maintain a high rank in the United States in the production of natural gas, petroleum, sulfur, salt, and fur pelts. High silica sands, lime, clays, timber, seafood, and various agricultural products are also produced in abundance. St. John the Baptist Parish is bisected by the Mississippi River. Though the River separates the Parish into northern and southern parts,
952-467: A nationwide demographic shift. According to the Association of Religion Data Archives in 2020, with Christianity being the predominant religion, Roman Catholics numbered 15,068 adherents—remaining the historically largest single Christian denomination for the parish. Non- or inter-denominational churches spread among the independent congregationalist , Bible , and United and Uniting churches were
1088-639: A period of prosperity and prominence among European nations. Richelieu established the Académie française to protect the French language. By the early 1800s, Parisian French had become the primary language of the aristocracy in France. Near the beginning of the 19th century, the French government began to pursue policies with the end goal of eradicating the many minorities and regional languages ( patois ) spoken in France. This began in 1794 with Henri Grégoire 's "Report on
1224-494: A relic of the old nominal case system of Latin longer than most other Romance languages (with the notable exception of Romanian which still currently maintains a case distinction), differentiating between an oblique case and a nominative case. The phonology was characterized by heavy syllabic stress, which led to the emergence of various complicated diphthongs such as -eau which would later be leveled to monophthongs. The earliest evidence of what became Old French can be seen in
1360-412: A rich and fertile area which has historically been intensively farmed (sugar cane, soybeans, feed corn, and occasional cotton). This fact, and the natural transportation corridor supplied by the river, resulted in the creation of numerous plantations and farms along the lower Mississippi Valley. Many of these plantations were large tracts of land with modest or average-sized homes and outbuildings found on
1496-573: A second language. French is the second most taught foreign language in the EU. All institutions of the EU use French as a working language along with English and German ; in some institutions, French is the sole working language (e.g. at the Court of Justice of the European Union ). French is also the 16th most natively spoken language in the world, the sixth most spoken language by total number of speakers , and
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#17328983817661632-513: A second language. However it has also become a native language in a number of urban areas, especially in regions like Ivory Coast , Cameroon , Gabon, Madagascar , and the Democratic Republic of the Congo . In some North African countries, though not having official status, it is also a first language among some upper classes of the population alongside indigenous languages, but only
1768-897: A second one among the general population. In 2015, approximately 40% of the Francophone population (including L2 and partial speakers) lived in Europe, 36% in sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian Ocean, 15% in North Africa and the Middle East, 8% in the Americas, and 1% in Asia and Oceania. French is the second most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union . Of Europeans who speak other languages natively, approximately one-fifth are able to speak French as
1904-536: A variant of Canadian French , is spoken in parts of New England . Missouri French was historically spoken in Missouri and Illinois (formerly known as Upper Louisiana ), but is nearly extinct today. French also survived in isolated pockets along the Gulf Coast of what was previously French Lower Louisiana , such as Mon Louis Island , Alabama and DeLisle, Mississippi (the latter only being discovered by linguists in
2040-437: Is 95%, and in the French collectivity of Wallis and Futuna , it is 84%. In French Polynesia and to a lesser extent Wallis and Futuna, where oral and written knowledge of the French language has become almost universal (95% and 84% respectively), French increasingly tends to displace the native Polynesian languages as the language most spoken at home. In French Polynesia, the percentage of the population who reported that French
2176-745: Is a Romance language of the Indo-European family . Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire . French evolved from Gallo-Romance , the Latin spoken in Gaul , and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues d'oïl —languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, which French ( Francien ) largely supplanted. French
2312-478: Is a West African term for " musicking ". Recent studies based on early Louisiana recordings made by Alan and John Lomax suggest that the term, as well as the tradition, may have African origins. The west African languages of tribes affected by the slave trade provide some clues as to the origins of zydeco. In at least a dozen languages from this culture-area of Africa, the syllables "za", "re", and "go" are frequently associated with dancing and/or playing music". It
2448-462: Is a two-lane, asphalt-paved, winding highway which parallels the Mississippi River. Most of the heavy industry in the parish fronts on this road. West Bank - Most of the development on the west bank lies along Louisiana Highway 18 (the Great River Road ), a two-lane, asphalt-paved highway which parallels the Mississippi River similarly to Highway 44 on the east bank. In addition to Louisiana 18,
2584-467: Is a widespread second language among the Lebanese people , and is taught in many schools along with Arabic and English. French is used on Lebanese pound banknotes, on road signs, on Lebanese license plates , and on official buildings (alongside Arabic). Today, French and English are secondary languages of Lebanon , with about 40% of the population being Francophone and 40% Anglophone. The use of English
2720-484: Is also a working language in nonprofit organisations such as the Red Cross (alongside English, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic and Russian), Amnesty International (alongside 32 other languages of which English is the most used, followed by Spanish, Portuguese, German, and Italian), Médecins sans Frontières (used alongside English, Spanish, Portuguese and Arabic), and Médecins du Monde (used alongside English). Given
2856-420: Is also possible that "za re go" evolved into les haricots by French-Creole speaking generations unfamiliar with the original language, turning what would have been unfamiliar words into a phonetically similar phrase in the regional language. The word "zydeco" can refer to the musical genre, the dance style, or a social gathering at which the music is played. The original French settlers came to Louisiana in
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#17328983817662992-430: Is among the top five most studied languages worldwide, with about 120 million learners as of 2017. As a result of French and Belgian colonialism from the 16th century onward, French was introduced to new territories in the Americas, Africa, and Asia. French has a long history as an international language of literature and scientific standards and is a primary or second language of many international organisations including
3128-456: Is an official language in 27 countries , as well as one of the most geographically widespread languages in the world, with about 50 countries and territories having it as a de jure or de facto official, administrative, or cultural language. Most of these countries are members of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), the community of 54 member states which share
3264-628: Is enacted only in New Brunswick, where about one third of the population is Francophone. French is also an official language of all of the territories ( Northwest Territories , Nunavut , and Yukon ). Out of the three, Yukon has the most French speakers, making up just under 4% of the population. Furthermore, while French is not an official language in Ontario , the French Language Services Act ensures that provincial services are available in
3400-507: Is generally surrounded by wetlands in St. John Parish. Veterans Memorial Bridge or Gramercy Bridge - (Louisiana Highway 3213) This bridge originates on the east bank of St. James Parish near Gramercy/Lutcher and has access to I-10 and Airline Highway via Louisiana Highway 641. The foot of the bridge on the west bank is in St. John Parish near Wallace, with a tie-in to Louisiana Highway 3127 that opened June 18, 2008. The opening of this bridge has spurred
3536-495: Is growing in the business and media environment. Out of about 900,000 students, about 500,000 are enrolled in Francophone schools, public or private, in which the teaching of mathematics and scientific subjects is provided in French. Actual usage of French varies depending on the region and social status. One-third of high school students educated in French go on to pursue higher education in English-speaking institutions. English
3672-404: Is known as Old French. The period of Old French spanned between the 8th and 14th centuries. Old French shared many characteristics with Latin. For example, Old French made use of different possible word orders just as Latin did because it had a case system that retained the difference between nominative subjects and oblique non-subjects . The period is marked by a heavy superstrate influence from
3808-462: Is often considered to be a useful skill by business owners in the United Kingdom; a 2014 study found that 50% of British managers considered French to be a valuable asset for their business, thus ranking French as the most sought-after foreign language there, ahead of German (49%) and Spanish (44%). MIT economist Albert Saiz calculated a 2.3% premium for those who have French as a foreign language in
3944-775: Is one of the official languages of such major international and regional courts, tribunals, and dispute-settlement bodies as the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights , the Caribbean Court of Justice , the Court of Justice for the Economic Community of West African States , the Inter-American Court of Human Rights , the International Court of Justice , the International Criminal Tribunal for
4080-700: Is planned for renovation. Whitney and Evergreen plantations are both included among the first 26 sites on the Louisiana African American Heritage Trail . In January 1811, the German Coast Uprising started in this parish. It was the largest slave insurrection in US history, but it was short-lived. The slaves killed two whites, but suffered 96 deaths among their forces at the hands of the militia and in executions after quick trials afterward. They attacked five plantations and burned three houses to
4216-594: Is recognized for its national architectural and historic significance. On the west bank are the major complex of house and outbuildings designated as the Whitney Plantation Historic District and the National Historic Landmark (NHL) of Evergreen Plantation . San Francisco Plantation House , also a designated NHL, is on the east bank. San Francisco and Evergreen plantations are open to the public for tours. The Whitney plantation house
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4352-562: Is taught in universities around the world, and is one of the world's most influential languages because of its wide use in the worlds of journalism, jurisprudence , education, and diplomacy. In diplomacy, French is one of the six official languages of the United Nations (and one of the UN Secretariat 's only two working languages ), one of twenty official and three procedural languages of the European Union , an official language of NATO ,
4488-538: Is the language of business and communication, with French being an element of social distinction, chosen for its emotional value. French is an official language of the Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu , where 31% of the population was estimated to speak it in 2023. In the French special collectivity of New Caledonia , 97% of the population can speak, read and write French while in French Polynesia this figure
4624-479: Is the native language of about 23% of the Swiss population, and is spoken by 50% of the population. Along with Luxembourgish and German, French is one of the three official languages of Luxembourg , where it is generally the preferred language of business as well as of the different public administrations. It is also the official language of Monaco . At a regional level, French is acknowledged as an official language in
4760-492: Is the second-most spoken language (after English) in the states of Maine and New Hampshire . In Louisiana , it is tied with Spanish for second-most spoken if Louisiana French and all creoles such as Haitian are included. French is the third most spoken language (after English and Spanish) in the states of Connecticut , Rhode Island , and New Hampshire . Louisiana is home to many distinct French dialects, collectively known as Louisiana French . New England French , essentially
4896-424: Is the sole official language in the province of Quebec , where some 80% of the population speak it as a native language and 95% are capable of conducting a conversation in it. Quebec is also home to the city of Montreal , which is the world's fourth-largest French-speaking city, by number of first language speakers. New Brunswick and Manitoba are the only officially bilingual provinces, though full bilingualism
5032-608: The American Civil War and emancipation , the actions of these people expressed African Americans' deep desire for freedom. As the number of white families in the settlement increased, they wanted education for their children. Before the Civil War , typically planters would hire tutors, often college graduates from the North , who would live with the family for an extended period of time, typically two years. The tutor would teach all of
5168-646: The American South had at that time. The disruption of the Louisiana Creole community began when the United States made the Louisiana Purchase and Americans started settling in the state, particularly migrating from the Southeast. The new settlers typically recognized only the binary system of race that prevailed in the slave societies common where they had come from. The American states had made laws based on
5304-738: The Aosta Valley region of Italy where it is the first language of approximately 50% of the population, while French dialects remain spoken by minorities on the Channel Islands . It is also spoken in Andorra and is the main language after Catalan in El Pas de la Casa . The language is taught as the primary second language in the German state of Saarland , with French being taught from pre-school and over 43% of citizens being able to speak French. The majority of
5440-459: The Aosta Valley region of Italy; and various communities elsewhere. French is estimated to have about 310 million speakers, of which about 80 million are native speakers. According to the OIF, approximately 321 million people worldwide are "able to speak the language" as of 2022, without specifying the criteria for this estimation or whom it encompasses. In Francophone Africa, it is spoken mainly as
5576-593: The Archdiocese of New Orleans oversees 5 religious schools within the parish and there are 2 privately run schools within the parish. http://www.louisianabelieves.com/data/reportcards/2013/ It is in the service area of Delgado Community College . The 1084th Transportation Company of the 165th CSS Battalion of the Louisiana National Guard resides in Reserve, Louisiana . East Bank - The primary artery on
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5712-539: The Democratic Republic of Congo . There is not a single African French , but multiple forms that diverged through contact with various indigenous African languages . Sub-Saharan Africa is the region where the French language is most likely to expand, because of the expansion of education and rapid population growth. It is also where the language has evolved the most in recent years. Some vernacular forms of French in Africa can be difficult to understand for French speakers from other countries, but written forms of
5848-485: The European Union , French was the dominant language within all institutions until the 1990s. After several enlargements of the EU (1995, 2004), French significantly lost ground in favour of English, which is more widely spoken and taught in most EU countries. French currently remains one of the three working languages, or "procedural languages", of the EU, along with English and German. It is the second-most widely used language within EU institutions after English, but remains
5984-547: The Francien dialect is one that not only continued but also thrived during the Middle French period (14th–17th centuries). Modern French grew out of this Francien dialect. Grammatically, during the period of Middle French, noun declensions were lost and there began to be standardized rules. Robert Estienne published the first Latin-French dictionary, which included information about phonetics, etymology, and grammar. Politically,
6120-554: The French phrase Les haricots [ne] sont pas salés , which, when spoken in Louisiana French , is pronounced [lez‿a.ɾi.ko sɔ̃ pa saˈle] . This literally translates as "the green beans aren't salted" and is used idiomatically to express hardship. Initially, several different spellings of the word existed, including "zarico" and "zodico" (in some dialects of French, r has the same pronunciation used by certain dialects of American English for specific instances of d —
6256-884: The Gulf of Mexico and 30 miles (48 km) upriver from the City of New Orleans . The area, known as the River Region, has an abundance of natural resources and a mild "Sunbelt" climate. The average monthly temperature in New Orleans ranges from 55.1 °F (12.8 °C) in January to 83.7 °F (28.7 °C) in July, and rainfall averages 53.2 inches (135 cm) per year with monthly averages running from 2.52 inches (6.4 cm) in October to 7.17 inches (18.2 cm) in July. The New Orleans/River Region contains
6392-820: The International Olympic Committee , the Council of Europe , the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development , Organization of American States (alongside Spanish, Portuguese and English), the Eurovision Song Contest , one of eighteen official languages of the European Space Agency , World Trade Organization and the least used of the three official languages in the North American Free Trade Agreement countries. It
6528-596: The Mississippi River here in the 1720s. On January 8, 1811, the largest slave insurrection in US history, known as the German Coast Uprising , started here. It was short-lived, but more than 200 slaves gathered from plantations along the river and marched through St. Charles Parish toward New Orleans. This is part of the Sugarland or sugar parishes, which were devoted to sugar cane cultivation. Planters held large numbers of enslaved African Americans as workers before
6664-609: The Oaths of Strasbourg and the Sequence of Saint Eulalia , while Old French literature began to be produced in the eleventh century, with major early works often focusing on the lives of saints (such as the Vie de Saint Alexis ), or wars and royal courts, notably including the Chanson de Roland , epic cycles focused on King Arthur and his court , as well as a cycle focused on William of Orange . It
6800-529: The Second Great Migration , many French-speaking and Louisiana Creole-speaking Créoles from the area around Marksville and Opelousas, Louisiana left a poor and prejudiced state for better economic opportunities in Texas. Their numbers were surpassed by the many southern Blacks, including people of color, who migrated to California, Oregon and Washington states, where the buildup of defense industries provided more access to good jobs. They still had to deal with some discrimination but found more opportunities than in
6936-415: The U.S. Census Bureau , the parish has a total area of 348 square miles (900 km ), of which 213 square miles (550 km ) are land and 135 square miles (350 km ) (39%) are water. It is the third-smallest parish in Louisiana by land area and fifth-smallest by total area. St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana is located on the Mississippi River approximately 130 miles (210 km) upriver from
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#17328983817667072-520: The United Nations , the European Union, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization , the World Trade Organization , the International Olympic Committee , the General Conference on Weights and Measures , and the International Committee of the Red Cross . French is a Romance language (meaning that it is descended primarily from Vulgar Latin ) that evolved out of the Gallo-Romance dialects spoken in northern France. The language's early forms include Old French and Middle French . Due to Roman rule, Latin
7208-446: The frottoir . Zydeco music is typically played in an uptempo, syncopated manner with a strong rhythmic core, and often incorporates elements of blues , rock and roll , soul music , R&B , Cajun , and early Creole music . Zydeco music is centered on the accordion , which leads the rest of the band, and a specialized washboard, called a vest frottoir , as a prominent percussive instrument. Other common instruments in zydeco are
7344-411: The 1950s–1970s, such as Little Joe and Freddie Fender , were known for their zydeco roots and inspiration. They helped popularize the style in South Texas within mainstream country music . In 1978, Clifton Chenier saw how popular Zydeco was becoming on the road and overseas. He persuaded a young creole/lala accordionist named Fernest Arceneaux to pick up the accordion again. Arceneaux had given up
7480-455: The 1990s) but these varieties are severely endangered or presumed extinct. French is one of two official languages in Haiti alongside Haitian Creole . It is the principal language of education, administration, business, and public signage and is spoken by all educated Haitians. It is also used for ceremonial events such as weddings, graduations, and church masses. The vast majority of the population speaks Haitian Creole as their first language;
7616-415: The 1990s, adding striking production and elements of funk, hip-hop and rap . Young performers such as Chris Ardoin , Keith Frank , Corey Arceneaux (great nephew of Fernest Arceneaux ), and Zydeco Force tied the sound to the bass drum rhythm to accentuate or syncopate the backbeat even more. This style is sometimes called "double clutching". Hundreds of zydeco bands continue the music traditions across
7752-473: The 2017 Grammy Awards . In 2024 at the 66th annual Grammy Awards Buckwheat Zydeco Jr. (son of the late Buckwheat Zydeco) and the Legendary Ils Sont Partis Band took home the Grammy Award for best regional roots album. While zydeco is a genre that has become synonymous with the cultural and musical identity of Louisiana, it is an important part of the musical landscape of the United States. This southern Black music tradition has received wide recognition throughout
7888-474: The 20th century, when it was replaced by English as the United States became the dominant global power following the Second World War . Stanley Meisler of the Los Angeles Times said that the fact that the Treaty of Versailles was written in English as well as French was the "first diplomatic blow" against the language. During the Grand Siècle (17th century), France, under the rule of powerful leaders such as Cardinal Richelieu and Louis XIV , enjoyed
8024-507: The 20th century: for Warren G. Harding in 1920, when Acadian voters broke with President Woodrow Wilson over various issues, for Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956, when he flipped the state as a whole, and for Richard Nixon in 1972, when he won all but one parish in Louisiana. It also supported the third-party bid of George Wallace in 1968. Prior to passage of the 1898 constitution , which almost completely disenfranchised black voters and made Louisiana an effective one-party state, St. John
8160-404: The Baptist Parish generally voted Republican . In fact, it did so in every presidential election from 1872 until 1896 . At the state level, the parish is also heavily Democratic. St. John the Baptist was Governor John Bel Edwards ' second strongest in the 2019 election , giving him 74% of the vote. The St. John the Baptist Parish School Board operates 10 public schools within the parish,
8296-415: The Baptist Parish includes the third permanent settlement in what is now the state of Louisiana, after Natchitoches (1714) and New Orleans (1718). It was considered part of the German Coast . The area was settled in the early 1720s by a group of German Catholic colonists . Many families established settlements close to the Mississippi River in the areas now known as Lucy, Garyville, and Reserve. The area
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#17328983817668432-510: The Canadian capital, is also effectively bilingual, as it has a large population of federal government workers, who are required to offer services in both French and English, and is just across the river from the Quebecois city of Gatineau . According to the United States Census Bureau (2011), French is the fourth most spoken language in the United States after English, Spanish, and Chinese, when all forms of French are considered together and all dialects of Chinese are similarly combined. French
8568-614: The Caribbean that are collectively referred to as the French West Indies , namely Guadeloupe , Saint Barthélemy , Saint Martin , and Martinique . French is the official language of both French Guiana on the South American continent, and of Saint Pierre and Miquelon , an archipelago off the coast of Newfoundland in North America. French was the official language of the colony of French Indochina , comprising modern-day Vietnam , Laos , and Cambodia . It continues to be an administrative language in Laos and Cambodia, although its influence has waned in recent decades. In colonial Vietnam,
8704-460: The Civil War. Many freedmen stayed in the area after emancipation because of their ties to family and associates. They worked as tenant farmers, and numerous freedmen stayed in the area to work on these plantations afterward. The parish includes three nationally significant examples of 19th-century plantation architecture: Evergreen Plantation , the Whitney Plantation Historic District , and San Francisco Plantation House . Present-day St. John
8840-408: The Empire, this local elite had been slowly abandoning Gaulish entirely, but the rural and lower class populations remained Gaulish speakers who could sometimes also speak Latin or Greek. The final language shift from Gaulish to Vulgar Latin among rural and lower class populations occurred later, when both they and the incoming Frankish ruler/military class adopted the Gallo-Roman Vulgar Latin speech of
8976-416: The Germanic Frankish language , which non-exhaustively included the use in upper-class speech and higher registers of V2 word order , a large percentage of the vocabulary (now at around 15% of modern French vocabulary ) including the impersonal singular pronoun on (a calque of Germanic man ), and the name of the language itself. Up until its later stages, Old French , alongside Old Occitan , maintained
9112-412: The Mississippi River. The first Acadian village in Louisiana was established in what is now Wallace . The German and French cultures thrived alongside one another, but French came to be the dominant language. They developed a culture known as Cajun . In 1769, Acadians who settled in the area began a search for land to build a church. The governing Spanish authority at the time approved the request, and
9248-421: The Sam Brothers, Terrance Simien , Chubby Carrier , and many others were breathing new life into the music. Zydeco superstar Buckwheat Zydeco , already well into his career, signed his deal with Island Records in the mid-1980s. Combined with the national popularity of Creole and Cajun food, and the popular feature film The Big Easy , set in New Orleans, zydeco music had a revival. New artists were cultivated,
9384-399: The U.S. and in Europe, Japan, the UK and Australia. A precocious 7-year-old zydeco accordionist, Guyland Leday, was featured in a 2006 HBO documentary about music and young people. In 2007, zydeco was recognized with a separate category in the Grammy awards, the Grammy Award for Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album category. But with changes in popularity, in 2011 the Grammy awards eliminated
9520-405: The accordion in the 1960s to play the guitar. Shortly after, he began to tour internationally as Fernest and the Thunders. In the mid-1980s, Rockin' Sidney brought international attention to zydeco music with his hit tune " My Toot Toot ". Clifton Chenier, Rockin' Sidney, and Queen Ida all garnered Grammy awards during this pivotal period, opening the door to emerging artists who would continue
9656-407: The area received land grants from the Spanish or French royal governments, depending upon which country ruled the territory at the time of application. The French style of property allotments was made up of narrow frontage on the river so that each plantation had access for transportation of goods to and from New Orleans and world markets. The main house and supporting outbuildings were constructed near
9792-520: The assumption of second-class status for most people of visible African descent, because of its strong association with the caste of slavery. When the Civil War ended, and the black slaves were freed across the South, Louisiana Creoles who had been free before the war often assumed positions of leadership during Reconstruction. However, segregationist Democrats in Louisiana classified Creoles as Black, or having
9928-535: The beans). The first zydeco vest frottoir was designed by Clifton Chenier in 1946 while he and his brother Cleveland were working at an oil refinery in Port Arthur, Texas . Chenier commissioned the instrument from Willie Landry, a welder-fabricator who worked at the same refinery. Landry's original frottoir is held in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institution . Tejano music performers of
10064-633: The category and folded the genre into its new "Best Regional Roots Album" category. 21st century zydeco artists include but not limited to Lil' Nate (son of Nathan Williams), Leon Chavis, Rusty Metoyer. Andre Thierry has kept the tradition alive on the West Coast, while Corey Arceneaux among other artist perform on the East Coast. Dwayne Dopsie (son of Rockin' Dopsie ) and his band, the Zydeco Hellraisers, were nominated for best Regional Roots Album in
10200-534: The country near French-speaking Quebec, however, it is the foreign language more commonly taught. Vowel phonemes in French St. John the Baptist Parish St. John the Baptist Parish ( SJBP , French : Paroisse de Saint-Jean-Baptiste ) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana . At the 2020 census , the population was 42,477. The parish seat is Edgard , an unincorporated area , and
10336-627: The country. Because of the migration of the French-speaking blacks and multiracial Creoles, the mixing of Cajun and Creole musicians, and the warm embrace of people from outside these cultures, there are multiple hotbeds of zydeco and festivals for it throughout the US and in Europe: Louisiana, Texas, Oregon, California, and Europe, as far north as Scandinavia. French language French ( français [fʁɑ̃sɛ] or langue française [lɑ̃ɡ fʁɑ̃sɛːz] )
10472-450: The demographic prospects of the French-speaking nations of Africa, researcher Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry wrote in 2014 that French "could be the language of the future". However, some African countries such as Algeria intermittently attempted to eradicate the use of French, and as of 2024 it was removed as an official language in Mali and Burkina Faso . Significant as a judicial language, French
10608-531: The east bank of St. John Parish is Airline Highway (U.S. Highway 61). This five-lane, asphalt-paved road was once the predominant route linking Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Though it is still heavily traveled, much of the New Orleans-Baton Rouge traffic has been diverted to Interstate 10, located in the northern part of the parish. Interstate 10, a divided, controlled-access highway , has two interchanges in St. John Parish; one at Belle Terre Boulevard and
10744-448: The economic power of the countries using the language, the number of major areas in which the language is used, and the linguistic prestige associated with the mastery of the language (Weber highlighted that French in particular enjoys considerable linguistic prestige). In a 2008 reassessment of his article, Weber concluded that his findings were still correct since "the situation among the top ten remains unchanged." Knowledge of French
10880-453: The electric guitar, bass, keyboard, and drum set. If there are accompanying lyrics, they are typically sung in English or French. Many zydeco performers create original zydeco compositions, though it is also common for musicians to adapt blues standards, R&B hits, and traditional Cajun tunes into the zydeco style. The origin of the term "zydeco" is uncertain. One theory is that it derives from
11016-585: The elites primarily spoke French, while many servants who worked in French households spoke a French pidgin known as " Tây Bồi " (now extinct). After French rule ended, South Vietnam continued to use French in administration, education, and trade. However, since the Fall of Saigon and the opening of a unified Vietnam's economy, French has gradually been effectively displaced as the first foreign language of choice by English in Vietnam. Nevertheless, it continues to be taught as
11152-507: The existing levees and pump systems were built, however, few places were truly safe from high water. Even today, most of the parish is considered a flood hazard area according to FEMA Flood Maps. St. John the Baptist Parish has no incorporated areas. The 2019 census estimates determined 42,242 people lived in the parish. The racial and ethnic makeup of the parish was 56.5% Black and African American , 38.2% non-Hispanic white , 1.1% Asian , 2.7% some other race, and 1.5% multiracial ; of
11288-506: The first government authority to adopt Modern French as official was the Aosta Valley in 1536, while the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts (1539) named French the language of law in the Kingdom of France . During the 17th century, French replaced Latin as the most important language of diplomacy and international relations ( lingua franca ). It retained this role until approximately the middle of
11424-399: The first public schools in the state during this period. It took time for the state to arrange adequate funding for public education. In the segregated system, education for Black children was less well funded and lagged behind that for whites. The first high schools at Edgard and Reserve were not built until 1909. Students traveled to the schools by horse-drawn buses or by train. According to
11560-858: The former Yugoslavia , International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda , the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea the International Criminal Court and the World Trade Organization Appellate Body . It is the sole internal working language of the Court of Justice of the European Union , and makes with English the European Court of Human Rights 's two working languages. In 1997, George Weber published, in Language Today ,
11696-467: The former is still referred to as the "east bank" and the latter as the "west bank," referring to the direction of the river as it reaches the Gulf of Mexico. The Mississippi provides an important transportation corridor which supports the heavy industry located in the area. St. John the Baptist Parish is bordered by St. Charles Parish and Lake Pontchartrain to the east, Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Maurepas to
11832-475: The fringes of the American mainstream. He signed with Specialty Records , the same label that first recorded Little Richard and Sam Cooke for wide audiences. Chenier, considered the architect of contemporary zydeco, became the first major zydeco artist. His early hits included "Les Haricots Sont Pas Salés" ("The Snap Beans Ain't Salty" — a reference to the singer being too poor to afford salt pork to season
11968-818: The gender of the corresponding word in Gaulish. The estimated number of French words that can be attributed to Gaulish is placed at 154 by the Petit Robert , which is often viewed as representing standardized French, while if non-standard dialects are included, the number increases to 240. Known Gaulish loans are skewed toward certain semantic fields, such as plant life ( chêne , bille , etc.), animals ( mouton , cheval , etc.), nature ( boue , etc.), domestic activities (ex. berceau ), farming and rural units of measure ( arpent , lieue , borne , boisseau ), weapons, and products traded regionally rather than further afield. This semantic distribution has been attributed to peasants being
12104-557: The government and building their invisible communities under the Code Noir . The French created the Code Noir in 1724 to establish rules for treatment of enslaved Africans. It also established restrictions and rights for gens de couleur libres , free people of color who were a growing class, often descended from French white men and Black African or mixed-race women. They had the right to own land, something which few blacks or people of color in
12240-492: The ground. A major leader was Charles Deslondes , a mulatto ( mixed-race ) slave brought by a planter from Saint-Domingue in the late 18th century. He and his followers were influenced by the ideals and promises of the French and Haitian revolutions . France ended slavery on Saint-Domingue after its own Revolution , but tried to reimpose it. Slaves and free people of color rebelled, gaining independence after huge losses among French regular forces sent by Napoleon to retake
12376-545: The higher ground. Several, however, were improved with palatial mansions. Three of the larger homes have survived in St. John Parish, as noted in the History above. The higher ground along the banks was used to grow crops, while the wetlands were valued for their abundant timber, hunting and fishing. For years development in the River Parishes was limited to those areas that were naturally higher and less prone to flooding . Until
12512-451: The island. Deslondes gathered more than 200 slaves from plantations along the way, marching downriver into St. Charles Parish toward New Orleans before meeting much resistance. Unable to get the arms they had planned on, the slaves were defeated by the well-armed informal and territorial militias. During these confrontations and even more by summary executions after brief trials, Deslondes and ninety-five slaves were killed. Decades before
12648-655: The land was expropriated on February 21, 1770. The first church stood in the same location as the modern St. John the Baptist Church. The new church carried the same name as the original chapel of the German Coast settlement. The first pastor was Spanish Capuchin Father Bernardo de Limpach. The first church records note a marriage between Antoine Manz and Sibylla Bischof in 1772. The first church survived until being swept away by floodwaters in 1821. The early settlers in
12784-450: The language are very closely related to those of the rest of the French-speaking world. French is the second most commonly spoken language in Canada and one of two federal official languages alongside English. As of the 2021 Canadian census , it was the native language of 7.7 million people (21% of the population) and the second language of 2.9 million (8% of the population). French
12920-474: The language, although it has now given way to Tamil and English. A former French mandate , Lebanon designates Arabic as the sole official language, while a special law regulates cases when French can be publicly used. Article 11 of Lebanon's Constitution states that "Arabic is the official national language. A law determines the cases in which the French language is to be used". The French language in Lebanon
13056-602: The language. The Act applies to areas of the province where there are significant Francophone communities, namely Eastern Ontario and Northern Ontario . Elsewhere, sizable French-speaking minorities are found in southern Manitoba, Nova Scotia , Prince Edward Island and the Port au Port Peninsula in Newfoundland and Labrador, where the unique Newfoundland French dialect was historically spoken. Smaller pockets of French speakers exist in all other provinces. The Ontarian city of Ottawa ,
13192-615: The largest city is LaPlace , which is also unincorporated. St. John the Baptist Parish was established in 1807 as one of the original 19 parishes of the Territory of Orleans , which became the state of Louisiana. St. John the Baptist Parish is part of the New Orleans – Metairie metropolitan statistical area . This was considered part of the German Coast in the 18th and 19th centuries, named for numerous German immigrants who settled along
13328-475: The last to hold onto Gaulish. The beginning of French in Gaul was greatly influenced by Germanic invasions into the country. These invasions had the greatest impact on the northern part of the country and on the language there. A language divide began to grow across the country. The population in the north spoke langue d'oïl while the population in the south spoke langue d'oc . Langue d'oïl grew into what
13464-580: The late 1600s, sent by the Regent of France, Philippe d'Orléans , Duke of Orléans , to help settle La Louisiane (the Louisiana Territory they claimed as a colony. Arriving in New Orleans on seven ships, the settlers quickly moved into the bayous and swamps. There, the French culture permeated those of the Spanish and Native American Indians, who had long populated the area. In 1720, German Catholics founded
13600-552: The late 18th century, planters began to invest more in labor-intensive sugar cane cultivation and processing, increasing their demand for slave labor. Sugar production meant prosperity for the planters and New Orleans. Planters held large numbers of enslaved African Americans. The sugar and cotton parishes all had Black majorities of population before the Civil War. With the sugar wealth, some wealthy planters built elaborate houses and outbuildings. Three survive in St. John parish; each
13736-428: The legally segregated South. In California blacks from Louisiana and other Southern states could vote and began to participate in political life. Today, there are many Cajun and zydeco festivals throughout the US. Zydeco music pioneer Clifton Chenier , "The King of Zydeco", made zydeco popular on regional radio stations with his bluesy style and keyboard accordion. In the mid-1950s, Chenier's popularity brought zydeco to
13872-464: The mid-20th century, when the oil industry developed from resources found here, all of these parishes are home to at least one major chemical- and/or petroleum-processing facility. The industry is the major source of employment in the region but it has had adverse environmental effects. St. John the Baptist parish has the highest rate of environmental cancer of any census tract in the United States. Much of
14008-449: The music took a more innovative direction, and zydeco increased in mainstream popularity. Active zydeco musicians such as C.J. Chenier (son of Clifton Chenier), Chubby Carrier (son of Roy Carrier), Geno Delafose (son of John Delafose), Terrance Simien, Nathan Williams and others began touring internationally during the 1980s. Beau Jocque was a monumental songwriter and innovator who infused zydeco with powerful beats and bass lines in
14144-420: The necessity and means to annihilate the patois and to universalize the use of the French language". When public education was made compulsory , only French was taught and the use of any other ( patois ) language was punished. The goals of the public school system were made especially clear to the French-speaking teachers sent to teach students in regions such as Occitania and Brittany . Instructions given by
14280-441: The new society. Zydeco's rural beginnings and the prevailing economic conditions at its inception are reflected in the song titles, lyrics, and bluesy vocals. The music arose as a synthesis of traditional Creole music , some Cajun music influences, and African-American traditions, including R&B , blues , jazz , and gospel . It was also often just called French music or le musique Creole known as "la-la." Amédé Ardoin ,
14416-406: The north, Lafourche Parish and Lac des Allemands to the south, and St. James Parish to the west. It is one of four parishes which comprise the "River Parishes;" St. John Parish is the heart of the "River Parishes." This section of the state, also consisting of St. James, Ascension, and St. Charles Parishes, makes up the area along the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. Since
14552-574: The official use or teaching of French. It is spoken as a first language (in descending order of the number of speakers) in France; Canada (especially in the provinces of Quebec, Ontario, and New Brunswick); Belgium ( Wallonia and the Brussels-Capital Region ); western Switzerland (specifically the cantons forming the Romandy region); parts of Luxembourg; parts of the United States (the states of Louisiana, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont); Monaco;
14688-528: The other main foreign language in the Vietnamese educational system and is regarded as a cultural language. All three countries are full members of La Francophonie (OIF). French was the official language of French India , consisting of the geographically separate enclaves referred to as Puducherry . It continued to be an official language of the territory even after its cession to India in 1956 until 1965. A small number of older locals still retain knowledge of
14824-533: The parish is either open water or wetlands . The wetlands are currently protected by federal law and development is limited to what is permitted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and/or the Federal Wildlife and Fisheries Department. Higher ground in the parish is found in an alluvial plain which generally borders the Mississippi River on both sides. Soil deposits from the Mississippi's annual flooding created
14960-416: The parish, with the majority being minority-owned. The parish had an employment rate of 56.2% in 2019, and 78.5% of the population lived in owner-occupied units. The median home value was $ 153,900, and median gross rent was $ 933. The median household income was $ 57,429; males had a median income of $ 53,849 versus $ 36,476 for females. An estimated 24.8% of the population lived at or below the poverty line. By
15096-445: The planter's children, and sometimes the family would arrange for other neighborhood children to join the classes as well. There was no public education. In 1869, following the Civil War, families wanting French instruction founded private schools to continue their culture. The Anglo-Americans had imposed English as the official language. The Reconstruction legislature, with both African American and white representatives, established
15232-408: The population, 6.1% were Hispanic and Latin American of any race. Among the population, Spanish was the second most-spoken language as of 2019; approximately 4.0% of the parish population were foreign-born. French ancestry was the largest heritage among the parish population (9.7%). In 2019, there were 15,720 households living in 17,778 housing units. There were also 3,758 businesses operating in
15368-462: The preferred language of certain institutions or administrations such as the Court of Justice of the European Union , where it is the sole internal working language, or the Directorate-General for Agriculture . Since 2016, Brexit has rekindled discussions on whether or not French should again hold greater role within the institutions of the European Union. A leading world language , French
15504-543: The publication of the 2020 United States census , there were 42,477 people, 15,270 households, and 11,104 families residing in the parish. Among the parish population, 56.68% of the population were Black and African American, 31.42% non-Hispanic white, 0.25% Native American, 0.74% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 3.15% multiracial or some other race, and 7.75% Hispanic or Latin American of any race. The increase in Hispanic or Latinos and other non-White Americans has been attributed to
15640-464: The rest largely speak French as a first language. As a French Creole language , Haitian Creole draws the large majority of its vocabulary from French, with influences from West African languages, as well as several European languages. It is closely related to Louisiana Creole and the creole from the Lesser Antilles . French is the sole official language of all the overseas territories of France in
15776-434: The river. The remaining property extended away from the river deeply into the wetlands, where land was cleared for cultivation of sugar cane. For decades into the 19th century, most transportation was done by boat, mainly on the bayous and lakes of the area, but via the Mississippi River as well. St. John, with its fertile land being nine feet above sea level, proved to be an excellent settlement for farming and agriculture. In
15912-539: The same status as freed slaves. By the end of the 19th century, Louisiana, Mississippi, and other former Confederate states were passing new constitutions and laws to disenfranchise most blacks and many poor whites under rules designed to suppress black voting (despite the Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution ). Creoles continued to press for education and advancement while negotiating
16048-570: The second and most influential musician of the region to record the Creole music of southwest Louisiana, made his first recordings in 1929. This Creole music served as a foundation for what later became known as zydeco. Originally performed at house dances in the community, the music eventually was also performed in Catholic Church community centers, as Creoles were mostly Catholic, as well as in rural dance halls and nightclubs. During World War II , and
16184-575: The second at U.S. Highway 51/Interstate 55, both in LaPlace. Both Belle Terre Boulevard and Highway 51 intersect Airline Highway approximately 3.5 miles (5.6 km) south of Interstate 10. Interstate 55, a north–south route leading to Jackson, Mississippi , and beyond, intersects Interstate 10 in the northeastern sector of LaPlace. A third Interstate 10 interchange exists just west of the St. John Parish line near Gramercy (St. James Parish). River Road , also known as Jefferson Highway or Louisiana Highway 44,
16320-459: The second largest Christian group, numbering 7,230; the increase in non/inter-denominational Protestant Christianity reflected increasing ecumenical trends throughout the state. St. John the Baptist Parish leans heavily towards the Democratic Party . It has not voted for a Republican presidential candidate since Ronald Reagan in 1984, and before that voted Republican only three other times in
16456-555: The second permanent European settlements in St. John the Baptist Parish , part of what became known as the German Coast . Later in the 18th century, more German and Irish immigrants also settled in this area. Europeans imported or acquired African slaves as workers, and they soon outnumbered the whites on major sugar cane and other plantations. Through the decades, all the peoples gradually mixed. For 150 years, Louisiana Creoles enjoyed an insular lifestyle, prospering, educating themselves without
16592-462: The total number of French speakers will reach approximately 500 million in 2025 and 650 million by 2050, largely due to rapid population growth in sub-Saharan Africa . OIF estimates 700 million French speakers by 2050, 80% of whom will be in Africa. In a study published in March 2014 by Forbes , the investment bank Natixis said that French could become the world's most spoken language by 2050. In
16728-467: The traditions. Rockin' Dopsie recorded with Paul Simon on his album Graceland and also signed a major label deal during this time. John Delafose was extremely popular regionally. The music made major advances when emerging bands burst exuberantly onto the national scene, fusing new sounds and styles with the music. Boozoo Chavis , Roy Carrier , Zydeco Force , Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas,
16864-673: The two official languages—along with Dutch —of the Brussels-Capital Region , where it is spoken by the majority of the population (approx. 80%), often as their primary language. French is one of the four official languages of Switzerland, along with German, Italian, and Romansh , and is spoken in the western part of Switzerland, called Romandy , of which Geneva is the largest city. The language divisions in Switzerland do not coincide with political subdivisions, and some cantons have bilingual status: for example, cities such as Biel/Bienne and cantons such as Valais , Fribourg and Bern . French
17000-508: The urban intellectual elite. The Gaulish language likely survived into the sixth century in France despite considerable Romanization . Coexisting with Latin, Gaulish helped shape the Vulgar Latin dialects that developed into French contributing loanwords and calques (including oui , the word for "yes"), sound changes shaped by Gaulish influence, and influences in conjugation and word order. Recent computational studies suggest that early gender shifts may have been motivated by
17136-479: The use of French in official government publications, public education except in specific cases, and legal contracts; advertisements must bear a translation of foreign words. In Belgium, French is an official language at the federal level along with Dutch and German. At the regional level, French is the sole official language of Wallonia (excluding a part of the East Cantons , which are German-speaking ) and one of
17272-554: The west bank has Louisiana Highway 3127 or the River Parishes Highway , which is roughly equivalent to the east bank's Airline Highway in that it follows the Mississippi. It is not as winding nor as populated as River Road. Highway 3127 leads to Donaldsonville upriver from St. John Parish. It is home of the "Sunshine Bridge" over the Mississippi River in Ascension Parish . This road has little development on either side and
17408-531: The workplace. In 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked French the third most useful language for business, after English and Standard Mandarin Chinese . In English-speaking Canada, the United Kingdom, and Ireland, French is the first foreign language taught and in number of pupils is far ahead of other languages. In the United States, French is the second-most commonly taught foreign language in schools and universities, although well behind Spanish. In some areas of
17544-402: The world's French-speaking population lives in Africa. According to a 2023 estimate from the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie , an estimated 167 million African people spread across 35 countries and territories can speak French as either a first or a second language . This number does not include the people living in non-Francophone African countries who have learned French as
17680-417: Was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the ( Germanic ) Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to the French colonial empire , there are numerous French-based creole languages , most notably Haitian Creole . A French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French. French
17816-791: Was during the period of the Crusades in which French became so dominant in the Mediterranean Sea that became a lingua franca ("Frankish language"), and because of increased contact with the Arabs during the Crusades who referred to them as Franj , numerous Arabic loanwords entered French, such as amiral (admiral), alcool (alcohol), coton (cotton) and sirop (syrop), as well as scientific terms such as algébre (algebra), alchimie (alchemy) and zéro (zero). Within Old French many dialects emerged but
17952-456: Was gradually adopted by the inhabitants of Gaul. As the language was learned by the common people, it developed a distinct local character, with grammatical differences from Latin as spoken elsewhere, some of which is attested in graffiti. This local variety evolved into the Gallo-Romance tongues, which include French and its closest relatives, such as Arpitan . The evolution of Latin in Gaul
18088-633: Was known in the Occitan-speaking region as Vergonha . Spoken by 19.71% of the European Union's population, French is the third most widely spoken language in the EU, after English and German and the second-most-widely taught language after English. Under the Constitution of France , French has been the official language of the Republic since 1992, although the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts made it mandatory for legal documents in 1539. France mandates
18224-575: Was shaped by its coexistence for over half a millennium beside the native Celtic Gaulish language , which did not go extinct until the late sixth century, long after the fall of the Western Roman Empire . The population remained 90% indigenous in origin; the Romanizing class were the local native elite (not Roman settlers), whose children learned Latin in Roman schools. At the time of the collapse of
18360-554: Was the language they use the most at home rose from 67% at the 2007 census to 74% at the 2017 census. In Wallis and Futuna, the percentage of the population who reported that French was the language they use the most at home rose from 10% at the 2008 census to 13% at the 2018 census. According to a demographic projection led by the Université Laval and the Réseau Démographie de l'Agence universitaire de la Francophonie ,
18496-765: Was under the French regime until 1763, when France ceded Louisiana to Spain after losing the Seven Years' War to Great Britain (this was known as the French and Indian War on the North American front). At the beginning of the Spanish colonial period, many Acadians, people of French descent, began arriving in south Louisiana due to being expelled by the British from what is now Nova Scotia and eastern Canada. The British took over French territory in Canada and in North America east of
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