Summary and Info
Throughout Louisiana’s colonial and postcolonial periods, there evolved a highly specialized vocabulary for describing the region’s buildings, people, and cultural landscapes. This creolized language a unique combination of localisms and words borrowed from French, Spanish, English, Indian, and Caribbean sources developed to suit the multiethnic needs of settlers, planters, explorers, builders, surveyors, and government officials. Today this historic vernacular is often opaque to those who need to understand its meanings, but with A Creole Lexicon, Jay Edwards and Nicholas Kariouk provide a highly organized resource for its recovery. Newly produced diagrams and drawings, as well as original reproductions, and sixteen subject indexes help make this an invaluable reference for exploring and preserving Louisiana’s cultural heritage.