Louisiana Creole
| Louisiana Creole | |
|---|---|
| Kouri-Vini | |
| kouri-vini, kréyòl, fransé | |
| Native to | United States |
| Region | Southern Alabama and Louisiana, (particularly St. Martin Parish, Natchitoches Parish, St. Landry Parish, Jefferson Parish, Lafayette Parish, Calcasieu Parish, Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana New Orleans, and Mobile); also in California (chiefly Southern California), Illinois, Arkansas, and in Texas (chiefly East Texas). |
| Ethnicity | Louisiana French (Cajun, Creole) |
Native speakers | <10,000 (2023) |
| Official status | |
Official language in | Louisiana |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | lou |
| Glottolog | loui1240 |
| ELP | Louisiana Creole |
| Linguasphere | 51-AAC-ca |
Creole-speaking parishes in Louisiana | |
Louisiana Creole, also known by the endonym Kouri-Vini (Louisiana Creole: kouri-vini), among other names, is a French-based creole language spoken by fewer than 10,000 people, mostly in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Today it is spoken by people who may racially identify as white, black, mixed, and Native American, as well as Cajun and Creole. Its sister language is Louisiana French, a dialect of the French language. Many Louisiana Creoles do not speak the Louisiana Creole language and may instead use French or English as everyday languages. Due to its rapidly shrinking number of speakers, Louisiana Creole is considered an endangered language.