From Lingua Non Grata to Linguistic Preservation; French Language Paradoxes in 20th Century Louisiana

par Piccinin, Helgi

In Spring2009, I set out from Quebec City with a film crew to travel across NorthAmerica aboard a converted school bus. This grand adventure, dubbed Vidéo Eldorado, would take us all theway to Guatemala. Our first stop was Lafayette, home of the Festival International de Louisiane.Fascinated by the rich French culture we discovered at the very heart of themost populous English-speaking nation in the Western hemisphere, we stayed onfor a month to experience the day-to-day life of Louisiana's French-speakingminority. As a French-speaking Quebecker and film-maker with a passion foranything related to cultural identity issues, I invite you to come along andexplore French-speaking Louisiana through the stories we collected and theindelible impressions the region left engraved in my mind. The journey beginshere.

Article disponible en français : De l’interdiction à la préservation du français, paradoxes louisianais du 20e siècle

"One flag, one nation, one language"
The Creation of CODOFIL
CODOFIL's Philosophy and Objectives
Teach French Yes! But which French?
Misgivings about CODOFIL or Simply an Image Problem?
The Role of the Family
NOTES
DOCUMENTS COMPLÉMENTAIRES

"One flag,one nation, one language"

In 1901, oil was discovered in Louisiana near Jennings. Forbetter or for worse, the state was forced out of its isolation asindustrialisation got underway. The First and Second World Wars accentuated thetrend towards opening the state to outsiders and helped foster a sense ofkinship with the American people, who had previously been viewed as les Anglais [the English]. Little bylittle, Louisiana's already mixed-race, French-speaking population anddistinctive lifestyle began to be transformed by Americanization.

Paradoxically, the decline of French in Louisiana coincidedwith the introduction of compulsory schooling. In 1915, English became themandatory language of education. Speaking French at school was forbidden andsometimes even harshly punished. This assimilation through education was highlyeffective. Within a few years, an entire generation had learned English andforgotten its French. Floyd Leblanc and "Bébé" Carrier were among those whoexperienced this break with the past firsthand. They told us about how they hadlearned English at school, even though their parents spoke only French.Destined to become English-speaking Americans, the two Cajuns retained their mothertongue more by accident than on purpose. After breaking his leg as a youngster,Leblanc began learning French again while in the care of his Cajun grandmother.As for Carrière, his father, a farmer who needed help in the fields, pulled hisyoung son out of school as soon as the law allowed.

FRENCH LANGUAGE VIDÉO 1 : Floyd Leblanc and BébéCarrière on How They Learned French; 2min, 16sec.

Once they became adults, students from this period, whetherout of shame or fear of marginalisation, taught their children little if anyFrench. They became known as the lost generations. Élaine Clément, communityoutreach coordinator at CODOFIL, is one of them. The consequences of the ban onFrench at school and limited inter-generational transmission are obvious today:"Lots of people in Louisiana understand French but don't speak it."

FRENCH LANGUAGE VIDEO 2: ÉlaineClément on the Lost Generations; 1min. 39sec.

TheCreation of CODOFIL

The Council for the Development of French in Louisiana(CODOFIL) was created in 1968, a product of a long struggle involving Americansocial activism. After long years of assimilation and marginalisation, it wasas if Louisiana had suddenly awakened to the potential for cultural enrichmentthat the French-speaking community had to offer. This new social and economicawareness was reflected in Legislative Act 409, which empowered CODOFIL "to doall that was necessary to ensure the development, utilisation, and preservationof the French language as found in Louisiana, for the cultural, economic andtouristic benefit of the state."

CODOFIL'sPhilosophy and Objectives

"Wetreasure our past to enrich our future by affirming our French language identitythrough education (Goal I), communityoutreach (Goal II) and international exchanges (Goal III)."

In 2009, during my visit, these goals were readily apparent.Since education was one of the main goals of the Vidéo Eldorado (www.videoeldorado.com)odyssey, Louisiana was a perfect destination for us. One of the missions of ourband of nomads was to offer young people from the integrated communities avariety of video workshops. Our first two workshops were held with a Frenchimmersion class at Myrtle Place Elementary School in Lafayette.

In less then two days, the class, once divided into twogroups, made two short films: La Balle etle Fantôme [The Ball and the Ghost] and Amitiéen Survie [Friendship in Survival Conditions].I was impressed by how the class functioned and by the quality of French spokenby these 11 and 12-year-olds, given that many come from families where Frenchis no longer spoken. It was a big challenge.

Community service encompasses a whole range of activities,services and networks aimed at strengthening Louisiana's French-languageculture. There are plenty of opportunities for those who are interested. Amongthe most interesting activities in my book are the Tables Françaises [French language tables]. The idea behind them isas simple as it is brilliant: to organize regular gatherings where people canconverse in French. Currently, there are tables set up all over Louisiana-andthe more there are, the more opportunities there will be for people to speakFrench without relying on chance meetings or conversation limited to the familycircle.

International exchanges have been an eye-opening experiencefor many Louisianans. On the one hand, they provide an opportunity to travel,study and speak French on an everyday basis. On the other hand, they buildbridges between the French-speaking world and a once-isolated community.CODOFIL executive director David Chéramie explains how his organisation has notonly provided his lost generation of former French-speakers with a renewedknowledge of their language, but also with a better understanding of their culturalidentity.

FRENCH LANGUAGE VIDEO 3: DavidChéramie on the Lost Generation and the Importance of CODOFIL's Mission toReach out to the International French-speaking Community; 2min. 52sec.

TeachFrench Yes! But which French?

In 1968, Louisiana passed Legislative Act 408, whichprovided for the teaching of French in the first five years of elementaryschool and the first three years of high school, as well as Legislative Act259, which required universities and colleges to train qualified Frenchteachers. In short, French was back in school. But which variety of French wasthe new program to teach? Furthermore, who would teach it, since nobody hadlearned it at school and few young people were even able to speak it fluently?During a trip to France, CODOFIL's founder James Domangeaux reportedly toldFrench President Georges Pompidou, "Monsieur le Président, if you do not helpme, French has had it in Louisiana. ^{(NOTE 1)}."A cooperative agreement was signed between Louisiana, France and other membersof the international French-speaking community

In today's Lafayette, the presence of French-speakers ishighly noticeable. I quickly came to realise that, more often than not, the Frenchspeakers I kept bumping into from France, Quebec, Africa and other parts of theglobe were teachers in immersion and second language programs. Along withLouisiana French speakers, they form a community substantial enough to ensurethat on certain nights of the week, French is almost the only language you hearin some Lafayette bars. Anything but insular, this multicultural Frenchlanguage community made me realise just what the concept Francophonie [international French-language community] could mean.

I also got the impression that the presence of theseFrench-speaking "citizens of the world" helped foster interest in French amongother Louisianians, whether they had French-language roots or not. Many of theteachers who come to the state only stay for a few years, but they have playedan important role in developing French in Louisiana since the language programshave been introduced. However, their contribution, which was supposed to betemporary, is still essential today. Several of them confided to me thatLouisiana is still incapable of assuming responsibility for French-languageeducation on its own. "There are too few French teachers trained in Louisiana,"I was told several times. But the topic of debate isn't so much who shouldteach French, but rather which French should be taught! After explaining theevolution of French language programs since 1968, Elaine Clément summed up thesituation: "So what French do you teach? For now, it's standard French, withLouisiana French on the side (...) But our real goal is to reintroduce LouisianaFrench everywhere."

FRENCH LANGUAGE VIDEO 4: ElaineClément on the teaching of French in Louisiana; 2min. 44sec.

Misgivingsabout CODOFIL or Simply an Image Problem?

Everyone seems to agree on the need to promote French inLouisiana, but not on the best way to go about it. Musical artist with a uniquetrademark blend of styles, Rocky McKeon divulged one source of friction when Iasked his opinion on CODOFIL. "If you go to my parish and you mention‘CODOFIL,' people won't know what it is (...) CODOFIL doesn't want to getinvolved with the communities enough."

FRENCH LANGUAGE VIDEO 5: RockyMcKeon Critiques CODOFIL; 2min. 44sec.

Rocky's criticisms seem a little harsh to me, but they doraise important questions. Has too much time and energy has been spentdeveloping ties with France and not enough on building bridges in Louisianaitself? CODOFIL depends on government support, but what happens if this fundingis cut? Like other organisations, is it too centralised in Lafayette and notactive enough in other parts of the state? The opinion of Rachelle Dugas, anAcadian who has worked in Louisiana for the past several years, is revealing inthis regard. Although she can't put her finger on the reason, she confirms thatCODOFIL has an image problem in the Cajun community.

FRENCH LANGUAGE VIDEO 6: RachelleDugas on the Problem with CODOFIL; 2min.

It seems to me that the criticism concerning CODOFIL hasbeen assessed by David Chéramie and Élaine Clément. However, Rocky McKeon'sremarks got me to thinking that, over and above the existing policies, programsand tools, it's all about the Louisianans themselves: "If we still speakFrench, it's because we're hard-headed." In the final analysis, it's up toLouisianans to decide whether they want to promote and pass on the Frenchlanguage. Families have played an important role in keeping the language alive,but can we expect them to fulfil the same role in today's environment?

The Roleof the Family

Louisiana is a big state and there are numerous smallvillages with French-speaking inhabitants. Although we spent most of our timein Lafayette, we did make several visits to St. Martinville and Breaux Bridge.It was there that we encountered people like Mr. Carrière and Mr. Leblanc. Evenmore than CODOFIL, families have played a central role in keeping French alivein the hearts and souls of Louisianans. Families may not have always done asmuch as they could to pass on their French heritage, but many Louisianans cantell you about a French-speaking grandmother or grandfather that they rememberwith affection and pride. Mr. Carrière is emphatic: "When it's in the family,it's not lost." Mr. Leblanc, on the other hand, is less optimistic, noting thatonly two of his eight children speak French.

FRENCH LANGUAGE VIDEO 7: BébéCarrière and Floyd Leblanc on French in the Family; 2min. 22sec.

He may seem pessimistic, but his views are realistic. Iremember the film L'Acadie l'Acadie?!?by Pierre Perrault and Michel Brault, in which a young Acadian expresses thesame frustration with his language. "What's the point of speaking French ifit's to talk to myself." Loving a language is one thing, but a language haslittle use if it can't be used to express oneself and, more importantly, tocommunicate. Mr. Leblanc's disappointment is understandable, but the musician HoraceTrahan (whose views mirror those of his contemporaries) hasn't lost hope. Aproduct of the lost generation, he says he owes his French to his "hard-headed"granddad and father, rather than to any formal schooling. Despite hisprotestations to the contrary, Trahan speaks much better French than he says hedoes-and his sister is a French teacher! In short, all is clearly not lost, yetFrench-speaking Louisiana seems to be in a constant state of disequilibrium.Perhaps the balance could be restored if the "hardheads" joined forces withfamilies and CODOFIL.

FRENCH LANGUAGE VIDEO 8: Horace Trahan on Speaking French; 1min.01sec.

AsLouisiana faces the realities of the 21st century, discover how a newgeneration is dealing with the challenges of preserving its French-language heritage.(Read Article 4).

Helgi Piccinin 

Vidéo Eldorado