It's not exactly the same, but I'm Creole / Cajun and have been living in Texas for almost 9 years now. When I encounter other people of a similar background, I

It's not exactly the same, but I'm Creole / Cajun and have been living in Texas for almost 9 years now. When I encounter other people of a similar background, I sort of ease back into the way we talk back home, which is to say not entirely Cajun French but we use a lot of those words to describe specific things and there is a different manner in which we speak. For example, back home we will double up on adjectives to emphasize how strong they are. Something is REALLY hot? It's hot hot. If your kid is mischevious, we call that "canille." (kan-eye). If they're REALLY mischevious, they're canille canille. You tend to lose that if you only ever encounter people from other ethnic groups. We even have words that are hyperlocal to certain areas. You won't find "chenise" in a Cajun or Creole dictionary, but the word is used in the river parishes of Louisiana to describe the thorn from these tiny plants that if, you're bare footed, will sometimes embed themselves in the soles of your feet. So if I go to Lafayette and use the word, people usually have no idea what I mean, but my friend from Thibodaux does.