Talk:Zydeco
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Other sources (who?) have linked the term "zydeco" to an African language (which?) in which it means a particular sort of dance or rhythm. The derivation from "les haricots" may have been an in-joke. In the context of the more dominant Cajun culture, it makes a joking link to a well-known Cajun song or poetic phrase. Humour is notoriously difficult to analyse but, in this case, there seems to be a superficial self-deprecation while interpolating a word which has got a secret historic meaning for the minority group. The self-deprication comes in using a "mis-heard" term from the dominant language - implying a foolish ignorance.
Think about it - the word "zydeco" does not really sound like "les haricots" does it?
- It does in a cajun accent. ;-) Terrapin 20:07, 8 Nov 2004 (UTC)
- Zydeco certainly sounds like les haricot. The pronunciation is roughly "layz'areecoe". Now the r in French is a guttural rolled sound and an English speaker is likely to try it with a palatal rolled r (like a Scot), which, when shortened, sounds somewhat like a "rd" (tongue slaps against the palate). Hence the result is "zardeecoe" with very little "r" when said quickly, leading to "zadeecoe". Michael Daly 22:49, 5 June 2007 (UTC)
- Is there any reason to keep the claim that the word has some secret meaning. Sounds like some sort of whacko racist conspiracy theory. If no one can find a reference for this bizarre claim I reckon it should be removed. Kuratowski's Ghost 02:47, 7 Mar 2005 (UTC)
- "Les Haricots Sont Pas Sale"
And this is why you should never leave off the diacritics. In this form it means "The beans are not dirty." I should hope not! Salé means salty or salted. Sale means dirty. Also, salé should be salés because the noun it describes (haricots) is plural. Oh, and haricot is just bean. Haricots verts is green beans. ShadowDragon 20:09, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC)
ShadowDragon, Dans les communités francophones en la Louisiane, on dit parfois seulement "haricots" pour les "haricots verts." Arthurian Legend 18:57, 24 September 2006 (UTC)
"across the U.S., in Europe, and Scandinavia." Scandinavia is, and always has been, a part of Europe.
[edit] Cleanup required
This article can be better organized, grammatically improved and should cite more source. Aaron charles (talk) 15:51, 28 December 2007 (UTC)
[edit] In what language?
For people who are not acquainted with zydeco there must be some more details in this article...for example, in what language is written and sung most of zydeco music, in Louisiana French language or French Creole language? The same applies to cajun music. The article should have more details about the differences between cajun music, the people who play it and zydeco and its musicians. Amedee Ardoin seems to be seminal for both styles, this may be a little bit confusing for outsiders. Emerson
