44 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     The Way 
     
     We Speak 
     
    
   
   
    
     Like other regional dialects, the language spoken in the 
     
     Evangeline Region often differs from standard French with 
     
     regard to the vocabulary, the pronunciation and the gram- 
     
     mar. The French spoken by Acadians today has preserved 
     
     many features of the speech varieties spoken by the settlers 
     
     who arrived from France in the 17th and 18th centuries. 
     
     However, Acadian French is a living language that has evolved 
     
     and is still evolving. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Two major sources of change have affected Acadian French: 
     
     the standard French taught in the schools and used by the 
     
     media, and the English language. The influence of English 
     
     has increased steadily over the past two centuries. Today, the 
     
     vast majority of people in the Evangeline Region speak Eng- 
     
     lish fluently, which was not always the case in the past. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Most people of the area function easily in two varieties of 
     
     French. In other words, they can express themselves in more 
     
     or less standard French, depending on the circumstances, but 
     
     they feel more comfortable speaking “Franglais.” 
     
    
   
   
    
     Although there are regional differences in pronunciation, 
     
     the vocabulary and the grammar of Acadian French on the 
     
     Island is not that different from the Acadian French in other 
     
     parts of the Maritimes. Acadians in New Brunswick can iden- 
     
     tify Acadians from the Island because of the way they pro- 
     
     nounce certain words. Instead of terre, mer and fier, they often 
     
     say tarre, mar and fiar; and instead of main, lapin and faim, 
     
     they often say magne, lapagne and fagne. Like many Québécois, 
     
     Acadians in the Evangeline Region pronounce /undi, tirer and 
     
     dire as lundzi, tzirer and dzire. Contrary to many other Acadian 
     
     areas, they have kept the old collective meaning and conju- 
     
     gation of je (I). Instead of nous avons (we have), they say 
     
     j’avons. An example of this would be: J’ai été a la danse avec 
     
     mes amis et j’avons dansé toute la soirée (I went to the dance 
     
     with my friends and we danced all evening).