The Acadian French Vowel System in the Lobster-fishing Terminology on Lamèque Island

Abstract

The present paper is an extension of the study of lobster-fishing terminology on Miscou Island to Lamèque Island. The Acadian French terminology compiled on Miscou Island served as the base questionnaire in the interviews of the ninety-six fishermen living in the thirteen fishing communities of Lamèque Island. The major difference with Miscou Island is that the only language spoken in the fishing communities on Lamèque is French. One purpose of the research was to determine to what extent the fishing terminology on Lamèque Island reflects a French phonology. Analysis of the data showed not only that the French vowel system is intact, but that there are allophones, some stemming from English, others specifically Acadian. The allophones vary among the thirteen communities. This paper describes the allophones of the vowel system. Also, the variations of the vowels a-e in the term taquet, are plotted on a phonetic map of the fishing communities.