St. Marys Bay French

St. Marys Bay French (French: français de la Baie Sainte-Marie) is a dialect of Acadian French spoken around Clare, Nova Scotia. It is like other dialects of Acadian French in many ways, but has some distinguishing features.

Comparison with other dialects
Standard French Saint Mary's Bay Meaning
PhonemeExamplePhonemeExample
/ɑ̃/longtemps/æɔ̃/longteaonlong (time)
/ʒ/jamais /ʒaˈmɛ//x/jama's /xaˈmɑ/never
/ɛj/soleil /sɔlɛj//ɑj/soleil /sɔˈlɑj/sun
/ɛʁ/terre /tɛʁ//ɑɾ/tarre /tɑɾ/land
/ɛ̃/main /mɛ̃//ʌn/main /mʌn/hand
/tʲ/tien /tʲɛ̃//tɕ/tien /tɕʌn/yours
/ʃʲ/chien /ʃʲɛ̃//ɕ/chien /ɕʌn/dog

Most of the vocabulary is like other dialects of Acadian French.

A similar pronunciation of 'jamais' in part of Îles de la Madeleine occurs about as /xaˈmɑ/. In Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, 'jamais' is often realized as /hɑ̃'mɛ/.)

Grand Dérangement's song "L'homme à point d'accent" (from the album Dérangé) is sung in St. Marys Bay French.


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