While sitting in the wonderful
Golden Meadow Methodist church on Saturday
to bury my friends daddy,
I was enamored by an elderly gentleman.
Just before the final prayer
this gentleman asked for permission to come
up to the altar to speak.
From his mouth came the most beautiful
speech that I had not heard for some time.
I closed my eyes and just listened to the
beauty of the rolled words and the broken
sounds of what we know as being cajun french.
I was brought back to a time in childhood where
my parents and their friends and family spoke
this fluently in my presence.
Memories of HOBL's grandpa also came to mind
since he only spoke french and hearing HOBL
speak to him in cajun french always made me love him more.
I've rarely heard HOBL speak french since his grandpa died.
I wish I had paid more attention, I wish I had learned
to speak more of it.
It is sad that I only understand a few words that he shared.
A language that is soon to die with the last generation
to speak it, our parents generation.
Now as an adult, sitting there listening to this beautiful
language I am ashamed that our generation has
not done enough to save these words.
We hear a lot about the oil spill killing our way of life,
how life as we know it may be dying for our cajun heritage
yet we, the very onrs crying has allowed another
part of our heritage to die out by lack of teaching and practicing.
We can't blame others for out fault here.
I do believe my baby boy bought some type of CD
at the Louisiana store in the mall to learn
how to speak our "down the bayou" french.
I will look into buying my own.
I want to be able to speak cajun french to my grandchildren.
I want HOBL to help me learn more of this language
before he forgets it himself.
I want to hear these words come from his mouth
to his grandchildren.
After listening to the beautiful speech of this
older cajun man and having the desire not only to
hear his speech but to understand it, I am
motivated to learn it, to speak it.
I wonder if there is Rosetta Stone for
down the bayou French?
Don't blame my generation for not learning the language. How can I learn something that wasn't taught? It's a dead language. There's no use for it. Why? Give me the Cajun French word for hard drive or pentium processor or fax machine? Doesn't exist. But we all know a Japanese Plum is a mousse polousse and a coot is a poule d'eau. Why? Because way back when those are the kinds of things that were discussed. Guess what? This dialect of french isn't the only dying language. Across the globe there's dialects of different languages dying off. I get really pissed when someone blames me for not learning Cajun French... if it were so important, it should have been taught. My philosophy, learn Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, Italian, German and French and communicate with the world. Trust me, I've sat through hours of conversations between people speaking French. Yes, it's cool to be able to answer an 80 year old and understand the reply. But it really isn't the key. Maybe we'd get more out of the world if we'd let go of the past and catch up to the future. Maybe people wouldn't write the stupidest articles about us as if we were some of the dumbest people in the world. Yes.... you touched a nerve.
ReplyDeleteI'm proud to be able to speak french, I believed what happen is that we were shamed out of our cajun heritage. Every where that I have worked I had fools making fun of the way I talk, to some it sounds like we are uneducated, even my kids at time correct me and say I sound dumb, so that proves the fact that we were shamed of our cajun heritage. But today I don't get made when people make fun of my cajun accent, because most of the ones that make fun are dumb asses, but I must admit I would get real mad in the past, until I realize that I don't need to feel ashamed about my cajun heritage and that people can judge me all they want by my improper english, skills , but in no way do I feel like I need to sound like a politician. I was told by a speech teacher that he wouldn't give me a A because of the way I said my words, so I settle for the B. I am glad to be a cajun and consider that I have been sucessfull to some degree in life and I have aquired many skills thru out life. I have watch some of the great talkers that were as dumb as a flea on a dogs ass and have nothing in life, they are master bullshitters. And I miss talking to friends in french, every once in a while I'll meet someone and speak with them.
ReplyDeleteThe way you speak, how in the world did you not get an A ...?? I just don't understand.
ReplyDeletePeople make spelling mistakes. Some very intelligent people are not great at spelling. Some people improvise. Some people forget to spell check. (Not saying that is a good thing). Some people are creative.
Delete..Creativity, and necessity, how languages were formed.
Deletei agree with HOBL on this one, we should learn the language and I plan on learning it and passing it down to my grandchildren. They can learn all those other lanquages but I want them to know about the simpler times in life that isn't part of the chidren's world anymore.
ReplyDeleteIt won't die if I do my part to teach it. My parents tried to teach me and I thought it was dumb, now I wish I had learned it just like hand making trawl nets that my dad used to do. I am sad that I didn't care more...
Here's a fun and simple Url to share here. Of course you probably already know all these easy ones, but for people who've never heard, thought might be a good start. I thought might be a good introduction to keep enthusiasm up, when some are trying to bring it down. I know so much better to hear on the street, in a family etc. Not much.. just doing my part. http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=8&cts=1330778354794&ved=0CHkQFjAH&url=http%3A%2F%2Flilbitofmyworld.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F08%2Fcajun-french-dying-language.html&ei=5xBST4a_Fc-TtwfOhcDKDQ&usg=AFQjCNH4IGaC_B16OlxOF2hTuZLKnVHgXg&sig2=2Tq9cGVf0pnCTllqDbIK0g
DeleteLearning cajun french also did help me out in my career with Total Minatome. This was a french company and many times I was able to communicate with the VP in french. There french was a little different, but we were able to communicate and the others that didn't know how to speak french, really wanted to learn.I remember when I met Bobby Cheramie and his kids spoke 3 different languages and I was very impressed to see these kids learn this. I believe that any language learned in life is a positive. When I was in the military I had to go to a class and learned to speak basic German language and wish that I would of kept up, Because I met all different cultures of people with BP and It would be nice to cumminicate with them in there language. So I say teach your children many different lanquages, any education is important and especially cajun french. In fact when the earth quake hit in Haiti they were looking for people that spoke french to help, so is it a wasted lanquage, I don't think so.
ReplyDeleteYou know, Hobl and bfob, when my kids were growing up there was an organization that was fighting to bring cajun french to our schools instead of french like what they get now. I was against it at the time and so were many others. Silly me, I was too young to appreciate what a gift that would have been to my children.
ReplyDeleteI wish I had supported it more. My baby boy is so proud of his heritage and is always teaching Kd and his in-laws words that he knows. HOBL and baby boy sit there and teach kd the rolling of the tongue that it takes to pronounce the cajun words correctly, they laugh and it is a source of joy for them. Baby boy listens to Cd's to try and learn it. Bfob, for me it is not about living in the past, and I do my best to keep up with the future. It is about a culture that I am proud to belong to and I want to learn more of that speech that is dying.
oh and HOBL it was the famous Bobby Gisclair who's children spoke portugese, cajun french and english and it was very impressive
ReplyDeleteThe french you spoke is not going to last because it cannot adapt. My grandparents new nothing of a cell phone ... so there was no authentic french word for cell phone ... so what do you hear people say? Donne moi ton cell phone. English words have to be added. What happens when people die? They take the words with them. Many many many days my dad and company try to figure out the french word for certain things and most of the time they can't find it because it died. Lost forever. Learn Spanish ... Learn Chinese ... Learn Japanese ... Learn French .... all great ...
ReplyDeleteBFOB, dude I don't want to speak it fluently as my 1st language I want to speak it for tradition, for pleasure for the pure beauty of the sound.
ReplyDeleteI am not going on a mission the have the whole world speak cajun french, I want to know and I want to speak it amongst my family... and so what if I have to add english words.... I want to keep the language alive in my family.... you know the same way I scrap and play the piano, I will never be famous for either but it brings me pleasure.....
I am for you. You go girl. This story touched me. My Ancestry French, and I think all of it beautiful, Cajun French the most fun, and I don't think any of it should die. And tell that guy about the plant that was just revived from the Cenozoic era. I am sure it is as beautiful as it ever was. And so what if people have to fill in the gaps sometimes. It is all about communication, and as you say, the pleasure of it.
Deletenope i am going to learn cajun french and i am going to speak it to your children too hahaha
ReplyDeleteI can't wait
ReplyDeleteBorn and raised in VP La. I have been all over the world, I work on cargo ships for a living. I have been to a few countries that the little french I know helped. I am proud to be a Cajun, I think keeping are language alive is great, its what makes us different. I am in the process of becoming more fluent, I am so anxious. To Anonymous, its your generation that contributes nothing, all you care about is technology. You have to always remember what Cajun's did, way before you so you can have what you have. Cajun is not a dying language.
ReplyDeleteLaissez les bon ton Rouler!!
I have a question, I'm from Louisiana. I have lived here my entire life. I would love to learn cajun french. What I would like to know now is how do you say:
ReplyDelete"Goodbye my love, you will always have my heart"
in cajun french?
Whoever said that Cajun French cannot adapt is a fool, and the notion that any language can't evolve with the times is a foolish one.
ReplyDeleteJust as European French and Canadian French have evolved with the times, so could Cajun French, and anyone who tries to argue that it can't, simply because it uses loanwords like "cellphone" is silly. Most of the English language is comprised of loanwords from French, Latin and Greek and nobody accuses the English of being unable to evolve. So why denigrate yourselves, just to give yourself an excuse not to teach it to your children. I'm not Cajun but I'm from a different French-speaking background, and its astonishing how similar attitudes are between your culture and mines regarding the language. Where I'm from fewer young people are learning our language and its sad to see such an important part of one's culture die off because of the ignorance of its own people.
Cajun will only survive if the Cajun people themselves want it to survive.
Our heritage was stolen and denied to us by the American ruling class with the help of anglos here, who held positions of economic and therefor political power. They beat it out our children, and made it illegal for government documents to be in any language but theirs.
ReplyDeleteLanguages do not die, they are murdered. But ours is not dead yet, and the more Louisiana French speakers (black, white, Native, and so on) embrace our heritage in direct defiance of Anglo-American imperialism, the stronger we will all be as a united peoples.
Admiration here, for this beautiful family, and all others here, for striving to understand, (not a shallow understanding, like of current technology, or proper spelling, but cultures {something so intensely deep}) that have the right to thrive, not be pushed down, weeded out..Like Aboriginal people that had their families ripped apart and had their culture murdered as though it were nothing.. As though those performing genocide were pulling what (they thought) was a weed in their yard (then wondered why it didn't look the same afterward). That was a most precious flower, disregarded, torn apart, reduced (as is any people, culture, language, that had been wrongly dominated, killed, or allowed slowly to die out, for those with wrong agendas, or that just don't care enough {be literally, "care-less"}). As we are all in the same garden, I think we'd all want to take better care. Admiration and highest respect for those speaking up (rather than down) defying as necessary, making no presumption of perfection, just being themselves, and having respect for something so important. Embrace, Embrace, Embrace.
ReplyDelete