Language experts estimate as many as 10,000 people still speak the French-based language Louisiana Creole .
语言专家估计，仍有多达1万人在说以法语为基础的路易斯安那克里奥尔语。
The celebrations include autumn's Festival Acadiens et Creoles , summer's Creole Tomato Festival , and spring's Tremé Creole Gumbo & Congo Square Rhythms Festival .
这些庆祝活动包括秋季的阿卡迪亚人与克里奥尔人节、夏季的克里奥尔番茄节，以及春季的特雷梅克里奥尔秋葵汤与刚果广场节奏节。
But for locals and visitors alike , everyday evidence shows how strong Creole culture is in Louisiana .
但无论对当地人还是游客来说，日常生活都显示出克里奥尔文化在路易斯安那有多么深厚。
The state's performance spaces and airwaves are often filled with the driving , rhythmic sound of zydeco and other Creole and Cajun music .
该州的演出场所和电台常常充满柴迪科及其他克里奥尔和卡津音乐强劲而富有节奏的声音。
Louisiana's restaurants offer dishes with rich , complex flavors including gumbo , hot sausage , red beans and rice , and shrimp étouffée .
路易斯安那的餐馆供应口味浓郁而丰富的菜肴，包括秋葵汤、辣香肠、红豆饭和焖虾。
“To celebrate Creole culture is to wake up and live in New Orleans ,” said Christina Bragg .
克里斯蒂娜·布拉格说：“庆祝克里奥尔文化，就是在新奥尔良醒来并生活。”
She is a member of the Mahogany Blue Babydolls , a parade group for Black and mixed-race women .
她是“桃花心木蓝色娃娃”的成员，这是一个由黑人和混血女性组成的游行团体。
“Celebrating Creole is celebrating our day-to-day lives .
“庆祝克里奥尔就是庆祝我们的日常生活。
The food we eat .
我们吃的食物。
The music we dance to .
我们随之起舞的音乐。
The way we gather with friends to parade during Mardi Gras ," she said .
还有我们在狂欢节期间与朋友聚在一起游行的方式。”她说。
"Every day I open my eyes and breathe , it's a celebration of Creole culture , because that's who I am .”
“我每天睁开眼睛呼吸，都是在庆祝克里奥尔文化，因为那就是我。”
So , what is Creole ?
那么，克里奥尔究竟是什么？
“It's food , it's music , it's architecture , it's style and it's traditions ,” Mona Lisa Saloy told VOA .
莫娜·丽莎·萨洛伊对美国之音说：“它是美食，是音乐，是建筑，是风格，也是传统。”
“There are millions of Creole people in countries across the world…we are all so much more alike than we are different .
“世界各国有数以百万计的克里奥尔人……我们之间的相似之处远多于不同之处。
We create beautiful cultures everywhere we go , and I think that's evident here in Louisiana .”
我们无论走到哪里都会创造出美丽的文化，我想这在路易斯安那这里显而易见。”
Saloy is the writer of the poetry collection Black Creole Chronicles and served as Louisiana's poet laureate from 2021 to 2023 .
萨洛伊是诗集《黑人克里奥尔编年史》的作者，2021年至2023年曾任路易斯安那州桂冠诗人。
She said Creole cultures all over the world have similarities to Louisiana's .
她说，世界各地的克里奥尔文化都与路易斯安那的文化有相似之处。
How the word "Creole " is defined changes from place to place and person to person .
“克里奥尔”一词的定义因地而异，也因人而异。
The word “Creole ” is believed to have come from the Portuguese word crioulo , which developed from the Latin word for “to create .”
人们认为“克里奥尔”一词源自葡萄牙语crioulo，而该词又源于拉丁语中意为“创造”的词。
The word took on different meanings in different places .
这个词在不同地方有不同的含义。
Creole in much of Africa and part of the Caribbean , for example , came to mean people of mixed ethnic or racial backgrounds .
例如，在非洲大部分地区和加勒比海部分地区，克里奥尔逐渐指具有混合民族或种族背景的人。
In Louisiana , the definition has changed over the years .
在路易斯安那，这一定义多年来不断变化。
He is a New Orleans-based Creole and owner of a local restaurant , the Vaucresson Sausage Company .
他是住在新奥尔良的克里奥尔人，也是当地一家餐馆“沃克雷松香肠公司”的老板。
“I prefer an inclusive definition ,” he said .
他说：“我更喜欢包容性的定义。”
“By that definition , anyone born in Louisiana could be Creole .
“按照这个定义，任何在路易斯安那出生的人都可以是克里奥尔人。
Describing his definition , Vaucresson added : “…it doesn't matter .
沃克雷松在解释他的定义时补充说：“……这并不重要。
If you're born here and embrace the culture , you can be Creole .”
如果你在这里出生并接纳这种文化，你就可以是克里奥尔人。”
In Louisiana of the 1700s and 1800s , the more inclusive definition was possibly the most accepted .
在18和19世纪的路易斯安那，更具包容性的定义可能是最被认可的。
White people with European ancestry were just as likely to call themselves Creole as mixed-race people of African ancestry .
有欧洲血统的白人和有非洲血统的混血人一样，都可能自称克里奥尔人。
Mixed-race Creoles , too , claimed the term because it differentiated them from enslaved people .
混血克里奥尔人也使用这个称呼，因为它能把他们与被奴役的人区分开来。
Don Vappie is a Creole jazz musician in New Orleans .
唐·瓦皮是新奥尔良的一位克里奥尔爵士乐手。
He described the idea of Creole before the Civil war as organized into three levels .
他说，内战之前的克里奥尔概念分为三个层级。
After the American Civil War , however , many of these differences in New Orleans disappeared .
然而，美国内战之后，新奥尔良的许多此类差别都消失了。
“Creole or not , white people had more in common with white people and Black people had more in common with Black people ,” Vappie told VOA .
瓦皮对美国之音说：“不管是不是克里奥尔人，白人与白人的共同点更多，黑人与黑人的共同点更多。”
Saloy believes Creole is firmly connected to African culture and should stay that way .
萨洛伊认为，克里奥尔与非洲文化紧密相连，而且应该保持下去。