The Top 5 Languages Spoken in New Orleans (2024)

FAQs

What are the main languages in New Orleans? ›

Language. American English, with significant variations, is the dominant language in New Orleans. French is less used today in daily life than in the past.

In summary, the most popular languages in the world—be it by the number of native speakers, geographical reach, or global influence—are Chinese, English, and Spanish. While these languages dominate the global stage, the importance of other languages like Arabic, Hindi, and Russian cannot be overlooked.

Today, English has replaced French as the state's dominant language, though French often retains a symbolic status and may be used by young (often Anglophone) people in limited domains, such as music. The varieties of English spoken in south Louisiana, however, are often influenced by French.

Some Spaniards immigrated to the colony, but it was dominated by French language and culture. Like South Carolina, Louisiana had a "minority" population of Africans that greatly outnumbered the European settlers, including those white Creoles born in the colony.

Local variance. The Yat accent is the most pronounced version of the New Orleans accent, and is perceptually similar to a New York accent. As with all dialects, there is variance in the accent to geographic and social factors like one's exact locational or financial background.

Although New Orleans' early European residents were French, the architecture of the French Quarter is actually Spanish. To pay a war debt, France gave up control of Louisiana to Spain from 1763 until 1803.

If you speak two languages you're bilingual, if you speak three you're trilingual. If you speak more, you may be considered a polyglot. Polyglots are certainly rare and interesting people: only about 3% of the world's total population can speak four or more languages.

Cajuns talk extremely fast, their vowels are clipped, and French terms abound in their speech. These variations have been studied by a few linguists, more folklorists, and, in a casual way, many tourists. The vocal differences of Cajun English are both qualitative and quantitative.

The constitution established English as the official language of Louisiana, which pushed French out of New Orleans to its current location in southwestern parts of the state.

What language did slaves in Louisiana speak? ›

Enslaved Africans in New Netherlands, later New York, developed a Dutch-based creole, Negerhollands Creole Dutch, in Haiti and later in Louisiana people spoke a French-based creole, today called Haitian Creole French.

English – As the official language of the United States, it is no surprise that English is the most commonly spoken language in New Orleans. French – New Orleans has a rich French history, as it was founded by the French in 1718. Today, French is still spoken by many residents, particularly in the French Quarter.

For legal purposes, English is required. Other than that, there is no official language (just like other states). But the overwhelming majority of people in the state speak fluent English as either their first or second tongue.

Later legal documents indicate that descendants of early European colonists in Louisiana began to refer to themselves as “Creoles” – apparently building on the “colonial-born” connotation of the word. They did this to distinguish themselves from Europeans just arriving in New Orleans.

Today, common understanding holds that Cajuns are white and Creoles are Black or mixed race; Creoles are from New Orleans, while Cajuns populate the rural parts of South Louisiana. In fact, the two cultures are far more related—historically, geographically, and genealogically—than most people realize.

Culturally, New Orleans boasts an eclectic hybrid of African-American, French and Spanish influences.

Louisiana Creole, French-based vernacular language that developed on the sugarcane plantations of what are now southwestern Louisiana (U.S.) and the Mississippi delta when those areas were French colonies.