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The term Creole music (French: musique créole) is used to refer to two distinct musical traditions: art songs adapted from 19th-century vernacular music; or the vernacular traditions of Louisiana Creole people which have persisted as 20th- and 21st-century la la and zydeco in addition to influencing Cajun music.
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."
The Louisiana Creole Heritage Center defines Creoles as “people of mixed French, African, Spanish, and Native American ancestry, most of who reside in or have familial ties to Louisiana." Using either definition, Zydeco is “Creole music,” created and performed by Creoles.
- Origins and Historical Development
- Language Shift, Endangerment and Revitalization
- Geographic Distribution
- Phonology
- Vocabulary
- Writing System
- Language Samples
- See Also
- References
- Further Reading
Louisiana was colonized by the French beginning in 1699, as well as Acadians who were forced out of Acadia around the mid-18th century. Colonists were large-scale planters, small-scale homesteaders, and cattle ranchers; the French needed laborers, as they found the climate very harsh. They began to import enslaved Africans, as they had done in thei...
In the case of Louisiana Creole, a diglossia resulted between Louisiana Creole and Louisiana French. Michael Picone, a lexicographer, proposed the term "Plantation Society French" to describe a version of French which he associated with plantation owners, plantation overseers, small landowners, military officers/soldiers and bilingual, free people ...
Speakers of Louisiana Creole are mainly concentrated in south and southwest Louisiana, where the population of Creolophones is distributed across the region. St. Martin Parish forms the heart of the Creole-speaking region. Other sizeable communities exist along Bayou Têche in St. Landry, Avoyelles, Iberia, and St. Mary Parishes. There are smaller c...
The phonology of Louisiana Creole has much in common with those of other French-based creole languages. In comparison to most of these languages, however, Louisiana Creole diverges less from the phonology of French in general and Louisiana Frenchin particular.
The vocabulary of Louisiana Creole is primarily of French origin, as French is the language's lexifier. Some local vocabulary, such as topography, animals, plants are of Amerindian origin. In the domains folklore and Voodoo, the language has a small number of vocabulary items from west and central African languages. Much of this non-French vocabula...
The current Louisiana Creole alphabet consists of twenty-three letters of the ISO basic Latin alphabet (not including c, q, or x) and several special letters and diacritics.
The Lord's Prayer
Catholic prayers are recited in French by speakers of Louisiana Creole. Today, some language activists and learners are leading efforts to translate the prayers.[unreliable source?] Nouzòt Popá, ki dan syèl-la Tokin nom, li sinkifyè, N'ap spéré pou to rwayonm arivé, é n'a fé ça t'olé dan syèl; parèy si latær Donné-nou jordi dipin tou-lé-jou, é pardon nouzòt péshé paréy nou pardon lê moun ki fé nouzòt sikombé tentasyon-la, Mé délivré nou depi mal.
Sources
1. Valdman, Albert (1997). Valdman, Albert (ed.). French and Creole in Louisiana. New York: Plenum Press. doi:10.1007/978-1-4757-5278-6. ISBN 0-306-45464-5. OCLC 863962055. 2. Valdman, Albert (1998). Dictionary of Louisiana Creole. Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-33451-0. OCLC 39147759. Partial preview at Google Books. 3. Wendte, N. A. (2020). Creole - a Louisiana label in a Texas Context. New Orleans, LA: Lulu Press, Inc. ISBN 978-1-716-64756-7. OCLC 1348382332.
Brasseaux, Carl A. (2005). French, Cajun, Creole, Houma : a primer on francophone Louisiana. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press. ISBN 978-0-8071-4778-8. OCLC 774295468. Partial preview a...Dubois, Sylvie; Horvath, Barbara M. (May 1, 2003). "Creoles and Cajuns: A Portrait in Black and White". American Speech. 78 (2). Duke University Press: 192–207. doi:10.1215/00031283-78-2-192. ISSN...Fortier, Alcée (1895). Louisiana Folk-Tales in French Dialect and English Translation. Memoirs of the American Folklore Society. Vol. II. Boston and New York: Published for the American Folk-lore S...Guillory-Chatman, Adrien; Mayeux, Oliver; Wendte, Nathan; Wiltz, Nathan; Mayers, Jonathan (2020). Ti liv Kréyòl : a learner's guide to Louisiana Creole. New Orleans. ISBN 978-1-5272-7102-9. OCLC 12...A difference in French Louisiana music from the rest of the U.S. is the popular quadrille forms of dance in Louisiana versus the popular English contredance of American “old timey” dance music. Many of the roots of New World French musics are in the particular creolizations—the melodies, dances, and forms of the quadrille played for ...
Music and Mardi Gras are at the heart of both Creole and Cajun rural culture in Louisiana. This clip presents a glimpse into this vibrant world, showing music performances and a Creole Mardi Gras traditional ritual.
Creole music is a rich and diverse musical genre that emerged from the blending of African, European, and Indigenous musical traditions in the Americas, particularly in regions like Louisiana.
