french language and immigration

Evilah · June 7, 2007

About immigrants and foriegn language....

The acadien people immigrated to louisiana before the louisiana purchase (in 1803). They spoke French. The first Acadians to arrive in Louisiana consisted of 20 Acadians who came to New Orleans (via Mobile) from New York in 1764. (Notably before 1776)

These people enjoyed the use of the French language until the early nineteen twenties and thirties when children were rounded up by truant officers and forced to go to school and speak english. Children were whipped in school when they spoke english, by english teachers who were sent down into louisiana to rid the area of the french dialect spoken there (which was considered a bastard lanuage). Children were taught to believe it was an indication of inferiority to use their own language.

That language is now called "cajun" which is an insulting word to start with since it was a derogatory term like "nigger" used to refer to acadian/american indian racial mixes found in southwest louisiana. " A blend of the words acadien and injun. Acadien is pronounced with an almost absent first letter a, "cah-dee-anh" with the emphasis on the nasal syllable anh.

There is only one "french immersion" public school there now, and the people who lived there fought for it. It's an elementary school, and parents fight to get their kids to go to school there. The cajun dialect is not used, Canadian French is taught there by Belgian, Canadian, and French teachers. It was wrong of the schools and establishment to teach people that their language was inferior and to try to force them not to use it.

But it has long been American policy for American citizens to speak the language of the constitution, declaratation of independence, etc. And despite the barbaric way the French was "whipped out" of acadien children, I still think all people who live here should be able to speak English properly. I do not advocate the abandonment of any laungauge, but I support the use of a single national language to promote solidarity and community in a country full of different cultures and lanugages and ethnic groups.

It seems only right that this language should be the language of our founding fathers. People who live here need to know the history of this country, the values it's based on, and be willing to JOIN the communities of people living here and not attempt to create little enclaves of their own country in this country, ignoring the values and customs of american people.

Evilah

susannah · June 8, 2007

Hey, People can and will speak any language that they like. We live in a global village and who are you to demand that English be spoken by the masses? I guess because you are asking in a dainty and polite manner, that all must conform. It is not going to happen.

I love that I live in Melbourne, which is a very diverse multicultural city, and I can hear five or six different languages spoken before I get to the end of the street. It makes life rich and wonderful, and worth living.

Once again I sense passive aggressive racist undertones here.

It really steams me.

Susannah

green · June 8, 2007

While Canada is officially bilingual - English-French - we did at one time make a concerted attempt to erase the Aboriginal languages. We forced these peoples to send their kids away to residential Christian schools where they were beaten if they were caught speaking in their own mother languages. The kids were brutalised and sometimes sexually abused as well. The end result was a generation of damaged and dysfunctional individuals who have passed along this damage to succeeding generations. This bit of Canadian history is one of our own ugly skeletons.

susannah · June 8, 2007

Hey, Australia too violently ripped Indigenous children away from their families to raise in "White is right" type institutions. It is a shameful and dark part of our history.

Look, I am all for people who live in a country contributing and being involved,but people will do that in their own way. Immigrants do contribute just by working hard and helping the economy to flourish, and by bringing their own cultural heritage and traditions (and food:hungry::biggrin1:)for others to experience and enjoy.Immigrants will speak English when they can, and many try in ernest to. Some people just do not feel comfortable speaking English also, as others would judge the standard to which it is being spoken.

Others just want to speak in their own language and that is ok too. It all adds to the rich tapestry of society.

Evilah It is not an attack on you, but maybe because you are not an immigrant it is hard for you to grasp the enormity of leaving your homeland, and the struggle and challenges that you are faced with when trying to start your life again in a new country.

Susannah

green · June 8, 2007

As I have often commented on LBT my city is a large one, indeed the greater Toronto area numbers more than 3 million people, and more than half of these individuals are either immigrants or the children of immigrants. My parents were immigrants and most of my neighbours are immigrants. What I know about my neighbours is that their children all speak flawless Canadian style English. What my neighbours tell me is that some of their children resist even learning the language of their parents; some of these children only want to speak English.

My point is that although the first generation of immigrants may never arrive at achieving any degree of competency in the language of their new home, their kids will and so will their grandchildren and their great grandchildren.

It is unfair and unkind to expect new immigrants to be able to achieve fluency in the language and the folkways of their new home. Not everyone is equally as capable of adapting. And the truth is that many immigrants choose a new country for their children and their children's children as much as for themselves. They want to make sure that their kids will have a chance of having a prosperous and a safe life.