Английская Википедия:-eaux
Шаблон:Short description Шаблон:Italic title Шаблон:Use mdy dates Шаблон:Use American English
Шаблон:Nbheaux is the standard French language plural form of nouns ending in Шаблон:Nbheau, e.g. Шаблон:Lang → Шаблон:Lang, Шаблон:Lang → Шаблон:Lang, Шаблон:Lang → Шаблон:Lang.
In the United States, it often occurs as the ending of Cajun surnames, as well as a replacement for the long "O" (Шаблон:IPAc-en) sound in some English words as a marker of Cajun, or more broadly Louisiana, identity.[1]
American surnames
Шаблон:Nbheaux, pronounced with a long "O" sound (Шаблон:IPAc-en), is a common ending in the United States for historically Cajun surnames, such as Arceneaux, Boudreaux, Breaux, Robicheaux, and Thibodeaux. The same surnames in Quebec and elsewhere in Canada are generally spelled without a terminal x.[2] However, several common Cajun surnames, especially ones that start with a "C", retain the Шаблон:Nbheau ending, for example, Cousineau.
Although there is debate about the exact emergence of the Шаблон:Nbheaux spelling in the United States, it has been claimed that the spelling originated from immigrants who did not speak or read English having to make an X mark at the end of their printed name in order to sign a legal document. Because many Cajun surnames of French origin already ended in "Шаблон:Nbheau," the names' endings eventually became standardized as "Шаблон:Nbheaux."[3]
This claim has been disputed by the historian Carl Brasseaux, who insists that the "Шаблон:Nbheaux" ending was one of many possible ways to standardize Cajun surnames ending in an Шаблон:IPAc-en sound. Brasseaux credits St. Martin Parish Judge Pierre Paul Briant for standardizing the "Шаблон:Nbheaux" spelling of these names during his oversight of the 1820 U.S. Census.[3] In addition, the counts of Pontchartrain and Maurepas spelled their surname 'Phélypeaux', among others, indicating a precedence for the "x" spelling in at least some parts of France.[4]
English-language use in Louisiana
The use of Шаблон:Nbheaux as a replacement for Шаблон:IPAc-en in English-language contexts can be considered a salient feature of English usage in Louisiana.[5] It is used in Louisiana as a marker of Cajun (or more broadly Louisiana) heritage, particularly at collegiate and professional sporting events, typified as "Geaux Tigers", "Geaux Cajuns", or "Geaux Saints" being pronounced as "Go Tigers", "Go Cajuns", and "Go Saints". Louisiana State University trademarked the phrase "Geaux Tigers" in 2005,[6] and University of Louisiana at Lafayette similarly trademarked "Geaux Cajuns" in 2014.[7]
However, in the French language, a letter "e" or "i" that immediately follows a "g" will cause the "g" to become soft. Therefore the pronunciation of "geaux" is actually Шаблон:IPAc-fr, and not Шаблон:IPAc-en. Preserving the hard g-sound would either require removing the "e" (resulting in gaux) or inserting a silent "u" after "g" (gueaux).[1]
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