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May 9, 2012
You never know where the language expressed while having coffee and conversation will lead you. Just ask the members of one group that expands their language options every time they meet.
Regarder apprendre ou rafraîchir votre français? (Looking to learn or brush up on your French?) Pour a cup of coffee, pull up a seat and enjoy the opportunity that is Cercle Francophone.
“The group started off with six or eight people having coffee and talking in French,” said Fred Fuller, park guide at the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Reserve. “We’ve got a little community forming here. They are such outgoing people. They want to take the past and the present and bring it into the future.”
Cercle Francophone is dedicated to preserving the French-speaking traditions of south Louisiana. About 25 regular attendants, ranging from students at Nicholls State University to older members of the Thibodaux and Houma communities meet from meets 5:30 to 7 p.m. every Tuesday, except the second Tuesday of the month at the Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center in Thibodaux.
“The event was started by about six months ago by Mo Belachie, of France, who is teaching French at W.S. Lafargue Elementary,” Fuller said. “They were originally meeting once a month, and they just kept having more and more people. Mo leads the group, but the members also rotate amongst themselves in case Mo isn’t here.”
One session included members screening the black and white movie “La Fièvre Jaune” (Yellow Fever). The film recalls an 1897 fever epidemic in which soldiers were guarding a quarantined Cajun village. A central family finds itself in trouble with the law after the father evades a solider blockade through his knowledge of the back bayous. The 1978 film, which is in French and subtitled in English, was written and directed by Cut Off native Glen Pitre. During the movie, some members of this crowd discussed the movie in French.
“Down the bayou, lots of people used to speak just French,” Fuller said. “Some also spoke French and very little broken English.”
After viewing “La Fièvre Jaune,” the group moved into a sitting area for coffee and to discuss their experiences exclusively in French.
“They don’t always watch movies,” Fuller said. “Sometimes group members give demonstrations or talk about a hobby of theirs. One member gave a presentation on model cars that he carves, and another spoke about the snakes and birds he keeps for pets.”
This activity allows members, who also play music and sing at some of the meetings, to become familiar with words or phrases they may not know or use in normal French conversation.
“They have a local cookbook writer who frequents the event to network and improve her French,” Fuller said. “Lots of French tourists also stop in at the meetings. They are usually visiting the area to study the genealogy.”
Victoria O’Rourke of Des Allemands, a sophomore at Nicholls, hopes to add the language to her family’s genealogy. “No one else in my family speaks French,” she said. “I am enjoying the exposure to the language.”
Group member Ray Malbrough of Houma carries on the family tradition and also educates future generations of French speaking locals.
“The language is part of the history, culture and life here,” Malbrough, who is fluent in speaking and writing French, said. “We should speak the language of our ancestors. My grandparents knew English, but refused to speak it. I’ve been bringing my two nephews, ages 8 and 9, to some of the meetings to introduce them to the language.”
Fuller, a native of Vacherie has a place in his heart for history and language. “My mother spoke English, German and French and was a grade school teacher,” he said. “She helped my sister learn French in high school.”
Those in the group are carrying on a living language heritage of the area, and Fuller would like to see their efforts expand beyond Thibodaux.
“I hope the group will be able to reinvigorate the language locally and beyond,” Fuller said. “People should be proud to be bilingual. Embrace the way you speak, your heritage. So what if you speak differently? I like the different dialects. It’s a benefit to be bilingual or multilingual. It’s a great thing to be able to speak a language that was the primary language in the region 50 to 100 years ago.”
Fuller expects the group to continue on its own, even if Belachie does not stay in the area.
“The whole idea is to preserve and learn French and to reestablish the language, if possible,” Fuller said. “It’s like a puzzle, listening to them speak in French, and I like putting it together.”
Members of Cercle Francophone, a local group dedicated to preserving the French-speaking traditions of south Louisiana, discuss the movie “La Fièvre Jaune” (“Yellow Fever”). The group meets from 5:30 to 7 p.m. every Tuesday, except the second Tuesday of the month, at the Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center in Thibodaux.
