A course in Chiac
The language policy geek in me is very excited this morning. Apparently the immigrant welcoming centre in Moncton, New Brunswick is going to be offering courses in Chiac, the Acadian dialect of French.
If you scroll through the comments page on the CBC story that I've linked to, you'll find all the anticipated denunciations of Chiac as bastardized, lazy French. I'm not a linguist though, I'm a historian. And my initial take on this is that this course could be really beneficial to new immigrants to francophone New Brunswick. I wouldn't recommend it as the only French course that they take - a course in "standard" French will be needed, and likely one in English too, if they want to maximize their opportunities. But to get a grasp on Acadian culture, theatre and literature, a knowledge of Chiac would be very useful - just as getting the basics of Joual helps in Quebec.
A common complaint that I heard at a forum on official languages policy in Toronto was that new immigrants were not welcomed and/or viewed with suspicion or hostility by the multi-generational French Canadians. This type of course will help with the integration process, if it's well done.
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On a very loosely-connected note, I'm really looking forward to seeing French Immersion, the new comedy from the producers of "Bon Cop, Bad Cop", when it comes out. Our language issues in this country have caused severe tensions, but they're also great comic fodder, and it's always nice to see Canadians able to laugh at ourselves.
Labels: Acadian, Chiac, language policy, New Brunswick
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posted by Matt @ 8:57 am
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5 Comments:
If you scroll through the comments page on the CBC story that I've linked to, you'll find all the anticipated denunciations of Chiac as bastardized, lazy French. I'm not a linguist though, I'm a historian.
Um...are you implying that linguists would AGREE with those comments? Because your use of 'though' here makes it kinda read that way.
Hi Jennie,
No, I didn't mean to cast any aspersions on your fine profession. I meant to remove myself from that particular debate. I'm aware that the merits of the various dialects of Canadian French are hotly debated among linguists and French teachers and profs, with proponents on both sides. But that isn't really my concern with this particular post - I'm more interested in it from a culture/integration perspective.
What do you, the pro, think about it?
I am comforted that you didn't mean my profession, necessarily, but still disturbed by your lumping together of "linguists and French teachers." There isn't a single linguistics scholar worth their salt who would be so prescriptive. As I always say to my students, that would be like an astronomer deciding that the earth really should start revolving around the sun, and then taking measures to try to make sure that happens.
Er...that should be 'the sun should start revolving around the earth'. Of course! ;)
Being originally from Moncton, I find this very interesting. I see some merit in this idea, provided that chiac is not taught at the expense of standard French. It's also interesting to note that chiac has evolved considerably in the recent decades. In my opinion, it has become more of a mixture of English and French along with that wonderfully distinct lilt. While a mix of English and French has always been one of the features of chiac, it used to be more known for its use of so-called archaic words.
Bottom line, though, I believe this idea has merit on the grounds that it could help immigrants integrate in that very bilingual place that is Moncton.
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