I am of two minds when it comes to our beautiful language. I believe sincerely in Marie-Anne Gauvin’s “slogan”: Sans sa langue la culture est muette.
I fear a nightmare scenario that seems to be inevitable: We become like probably hundreds of thousands of Americans who have lost their language, but still proudly and loudly self-identify as Franco-Americans, even if they retain only tortieres and poutines as part of their culture. Is this is our inevitable future in the Valley: tortières, ployes, poutines and an Acadian Flag le tout en anglais? (For all practical purposes all three of those words have become English words, haven’t they?)
I don’t think anyone wants to run bilingual meetings where everything is translated because meetings would last two, three or even more hours. There will most probably come a day when the inevitable nightmare arrives and there is no one left who reads French. That day is very near because very few of us read French any more. This is primarily because we were never taught to read or write French.
Mais, all is not lost. Il y a encore du monde qui travaille pour sauver notre belle langue française pi notre culture. Y a Le Club Français qui fait une très bonne jobbe avec une pré-maternel en français et des garderies bilingue après l’école; y a les enseignant(e)s de français; pi le Maine Acadian Heritage Council qui travaille avec nos historical societies. Il y a aussi des société historiques et même des village qui tienent leur langue près de leurs cœurs.
Les enfants apprennent le français plus facilement quand qu’ils sont jeunes, everybody knows this.Y a pu trop-trop d’français dans nos écoles ni dans notre société. Après une an ou deux ans dans une classe en français, French disappears from our children’s lives. Ca finis la. Faurai pas que ça finissent la !
J’souhaite que c’est pas trop tard pour virée ça de bord. J’aime penser que toute va s’arranger pi le français va fleurir icitte pour des générations, ainsi soit-il. Mais, j’sais mieux que ça.
I know that it will not happen by itself and I know that it will not be easy.
Ont aimerais b’en pouvoir vive en français par icitte jusqu’a amen. We can’t live in the past. But is our future written in the stars seulement en anglais?
Come see what the Club Français and others are doing to re-introduce French in The County, where it once flourished in our hearts and in our very souls.
Contact us at leclubfrancaismaine@gmail.com.
Don Levesque is a Grand Isle native who worked in community journalism for almost 35 years. He was the publisher and editor of the St. John Valley Times for 15 years prior to retiring in 2010. He wrote a weekly newspaper column, called Mon 5¢, in the Valley Times for more than 20 years. He has been inducted into the Maine Journalism Hall of Fame and the Maine Franco-American Hall of Fame.
