Cajun French is a variety of the French language spoken in southern Louisiana in the U.S. South. It is spoken primarily by the descendants of French Canadians from Nova Scotia who migrated to Louisiana in the 18th century. It was historically spoken in much of Louisiana, but is now mostly confined to the twenty-two parishes of historical Acadia. Language use has been decreasing throughout the 20th and 21st century, and widespread institutional pressure against the use of French in public schools in the 20th century is thought to be a major contributing factor to this decline. More recently, "soft support" from public institutions has seen an increase in second-language French speakers in historical Acadia.