Where
is French spoken in Louisiana ?
Source . www.mla.org/census map
History
The decline of the French language in Louisiana
started in the 1920’s. Among the many factors that contributed to it we can
mention the following two : French was perceived as the language of the poor
and/or uneducated and the « melting pot » was definitely English-oriented
(French was banned from the schools). Nevertheless, Cajun people kept speaking
their language and adhered to their cultural heritage. As a result, neither
the language nor the culture ever died completely.
In 1968, James Domangeaux, a lawyer from Lafayette,
had the legislature pass a law (R.S. 408 and 409) that created the Council
for the Development of French in Louisiana better known as the CODOFIL.
One of the main objectives of the CODOFIL became the teaching of French in
Louisiana schools. The lack of qualified teachers in the state required the
cooperation of French speaking countries. The CODOFIL turned to its neighbors
and in 1969, the first Canadian teachers arrived from the province of Quebec.
In 1972, teachers from France joined the project, followed by teachers from
Belgium in 1974. Nowadays, teachers come not only from these countries but
also from the West Indies and French speaking countries of Africa.
In 1984, the Board of Elementary and Secondary
Education (BESE) mandated the teaching of a foreign language for all
academically able students in grades four through eigth. The implementation of
the mandate is defined in Bulletin 741
from the Louisiana Department of Education. Unfortunately, because human
resources are scarce, not all children receive instruction in a foreign
language as part of their schoolday.
Sources :
LDE (2003), A guide for administrators of elementary level
second language and immersion programs in Louisiana schools.
Tauriac, M. (1984), La Louisiane aujourd’hui ,
Paris : éd. jeune afrique.