Collection:LPB

Genre: Newsmagazine

Place Covered: Lafayette, Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, Baton Rouge, East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana

Copyright Holder: Louisiana Educational Television Authority

Date Issued: 2010-02-12

Duration: 00:08:35

Subjects: French language | Cajun French dialect | Dictionaries | Ancelet, Barry Jean | French immersion

Contributors:

• Sanford, Shauna Host
• LaFleur, Donna Producer
• Fortenberry, Rex Q. Photographer
• Fontenot, Jodie Photographer
• LaFleur, Donna Photographer
• Dunn, Joseph Interviewee
• Ancelet, Barry Interviewee
• Lindner, Tamara Interviewee

This segment from the February 12, 2010, episode of the series “Louisiana: The State We’re In” features producer Donna LaFleur’s report on the creation of a new French dictionary, “The Dictionary of Louisiana French as Spoken in Cajun, Creole, and American Indian Communities.” LaFleur interviews Barry Jean Ancelet, one of the dictionary’s nine editors, who discusses the process of documenting Louisiana French through interviews with French speakers, the differences between Louisiana French and the French spoken in other Francophone countries, and the incorporation of English words to describe new inventions. She also interviews Tamara Lindner, another dictionary editor, about her role in editing the dictionary entry by entry. LaFleur then speaks to Joseph Dunn, a bilingual professional, about the different French dialects in Louisiana, learning French through his school’s French immersion program, and the importance of French to his career. This story also includes footage from the “French table” at Dwyer’s Café in Lafayette and a French immersion classroom at South Boulevard Elementary School in Baton Rouge. Host: Shauna Sanford