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Acadians

Acadians
Flag of Acadia.svg
Total population
~126,146–500,000
Regions with significant populations

 Canada: 96,145

 United States: 30,001
 Quebec 32,950
 New Brunswick 25,400
 France 20,400
 Nova Scotia 11,180
 Ontario 8,745
 Prince Edward Island 3,020
 Maine 30,001
Languages
Acadian French (a dialect of French with 370,000 speakers in Canada),English, or both; some areas speak Chiac; those who have resettled to Quebec typically speak Quebec French.
Religion
Predominantly Roman Catholicism
Related ethnic groups
French, Cajuns, French-Canadians, Métis

 Canada: 96,145

The Acadians (French: Acadiens, IPA: [akadjɛ̃]) are the descendants of French colonists who settled in Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries, some of whom are also Métis. The colony was located in what is now Eastern Canada's Maritime provinces (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island), as well as part of Quebec, and present-day Maine to the Kennebec River. Although today most of the Acadians and Québécois are French-speaking (francophone) Canadians, Acadia was a distinctly separate colony of New France. It was geographically and administratively separate from the French colony of Canada (modern-day Quebec). As a result, the Acadians and Québécois developed two distinct histories and cultures. They also developed a slightly different French language. France has one official language and to accomplish this they have an administration in charge of the language. Since the Acadians were separated from this council, their French language evolved independently, and Acadians retain several elements of 17th-century French that have been lost in France. The settlers whose descendants became Acadians came from many areas in France, but especially regions such as Île-de-France, Normandy, Brittany, Poitou and Aquitaine. Acadian family names have come from many areas in France. For example, the Maillets are from Paris; the LeBlancs of Normandy; the surname Melanson is from Brittany, and those with the surnames Bastarache and Basque came from Aquitaine.


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