Parisian French · Standard French
The Paris-area standard of European French. Carried nationally by education and broadcasting; the reference point for most French taught abroad.
Cajun French
Also known as: Louisiana French, Français cadien
The French of the Cajun communities of southern Louisiana, descended from 18th-century Acadian settlers expelled from the Maritimes. Endangered, with active revitalisation through CODOFIL and the Louisiana French immersion programme.
Shareable facts
Want a Cajun French app?
Vote and we'll prioritise it. Top-voted dialects move up the roadmap. One vote per email.
Frequently asked questions
What language is Cajun French?
Cajun French is a dialect of the French language.
Where is Cajun French spoken?
Cajun French is primarily spoken in United States.
Which region is Cajun French associated with?
Cajun French is part of the North America region on DialectAtlas.
Is Cajun French known by other names?
Yes — Cajun French is also referred to as Louisiana French, Français cadien.
Is Cajun French endangered?
Cajun French is considered endangered. Children are no longer learning it as a mother tongue at home, and its everyday use is shrinking.
What are the other dialects of French?
French also includes Metropolitan French, Meridional French, Belgian French, Swiss French, Quebec French, Acadian French, Maghrebi French, West African French, Franco-Ontarian, Métis French. Each variety has its own vocabulary, pronunciation, and cultural context.
Other French dialects
See on the atlas →Southern French · Français méridional
The southern French of Marseille, Toulouse, and the broader Occitan-speaking belt. Marked by realisation of mute vowels and a distinct intonation contour.
Français de Belgique
The French of Wallonia and Brussels. Maintains a number of vocabulary and number forms (septante, nonante) that the Paris standard has dropped.
Romand French · Suisse romand
The French of western Switzerland. Like Belgian French, retains older numerals (septante, huitante, nonante) and shows long contact with German-Swiss varieties.
Québécois · Joual
The dominant French variety of Canada. Strongly distinct from European French in vowel realisation, lexicon, and the colloquial Joual register.
The French of the Maritime provinces, especially New Brunswick. Preserves several 17th-century features lost in both Quebec and Metropolitan French.
The French of North Africa, used as a second language across Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco. Marked by code-switching with Maghrebi Arabic and Berber.
The French of Francophone West Africa — used in administration, education, and media. Strong contact features from Wolof, Bambara, and other regional languages.
Ontario French · Français ontarien
The French of the historic Francophone communities of Ontario, especially around Sudbury, Ottawa, and the Northern shore. Closely related to Quebec French but with stronger English contact features.
Mitchif Français · Prairie French
The French variety of the Métis Nation of the Canadian Prairies. Distinct from Quebec and Acadian French; not to be confused with Michif, the mixed Cree-French language of the same communities.
Nearby dialects
See on the atlas →0 km away
The English of the Cajun communities of southern Louisiana, descended from generations of French-English bilingualism. Distinguished by intonation, vowel realisations, and lexical borrowings from Cajun French.
586 km away
A Muskogean language with two surviving communities — the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, descendants of the Trail-of-Tears removal. Around 10,000 speakers.
590 km away
An endangered German enclave variety spoken by descendants of nineteenth-century German settlers in central Texas, especially around New Braunfels, Fredericksburg, and the Hill Country. It preserves older German features while reflecting long contact with American English.
668 km away
A Muskogean language of the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma. Closely related to Choctaw; critically endangered with active revitalisation through the Chickasaw Nation Language Department.
691 km away
The Cherokee of Oklahoma, descended from the communities forcibly removed from the Southeast in 1838. The basis of the modern Cherokee Nation's language programme and the Cherokee syllabary press.
704 km away
A Muskogean language of the Muscogee (Creek) and Seminole nations of Oklahoma and Florida. The historical lingua franca of the Southeastern Indigenous confederacy before forced removal.