Thought I might try to fight the laziness and make a post after work instead of vegging (collapsing). I love Fridays but like to have a little chat with friends to finish up the week properly. I've written a long delayed email to a friend in Australia, had a chat with one friend already and after this post am going to call an aunt in Ontario and my daughter and a friend in Alberta. That should work for me.
I've had an opportunity (and great time) to talk Acadian genealogy with several people lately. It is such a fascinating subject to me and it seems to be becoming more interesting to others, more known about really. The 400th anniversary in '04 probably gave it a bit of prominence. I am proud of being 100% Acadian but wish I was more fluent in the French language that is such a big part of it. Sending my kids to early French Immersion was a small part. I actually doubt they will retain much if they don't use it in their lives, as happened to me. Language is funny that way. After being immersed for five days to a week in a previously spoken or learned languages, the rhythm of it starts to come back and then it becomes easier.
A couple of songs immediately come to mind: Daniel Lanois with his The Collection of Mary Claire and Feist with La Meme Histoire. Both are Canadian artists to be proud of.
My son has just been in for a chat and Kenz is in now. I think she's going to rub my arms and hand off. It is increasingly harder to type. It has also become later than I thought. I got lost in some links when I googled Acadian for the first link on the page. I still have phonecalls to make. Here are a couple of those links that I will be looking at later.
- http://bayougenealogy.com/shiplists.html
- http://museum.gov.ns.ca/arch/infos/infoaca2.htm
- http://www.crownofmaineproductions.com/storyacadian.html
- http://www.acadian.org/apology.html
6 comments:
I do love Acadian music and have a few in my collection. You have inspired me to find more.
Kat, I grew up with french songs at our house parties. There was usually a fiddle and lots of guitars. Oh, the memories.
Within just three or four generations my family lost Scots Gaelic, Irish Gaelic, Welsh and French. Unfortunately, the culture seems to fade with the language.
However, French has returned as my kids are both fluently bilingual. The Chiac dialect, mind you, but French nonetheless. Hopefully, they'll both pass it on to their kids.
Hi Dan, I've missed you and your blog! Glad you still visit here. Was your wife a life long French speaker? Moncton is a great bilingual city, yes, a lot of Chiac but you really can get by easily in either language. Thanks for still coming by.
My ex-wife is Québecoise. She only spoke French when I met her. We are raising the kids with her only speaking French to them, and me only English. They get the best of both worlds. They are also schooled in French (French, not immersion). Chiac is a problem but it's part of the local culture and hard to avoid.
That is a unique and perfect way for the children. The Chiac is quaint and quite funny actually. I think I grew up with a whole Fringlish thing that would be similar to Chiac but not as distinct.
Post a Comment