Today, I saw the play Parler mal by Bianca Richard and Gabriel Robichaud.
At first, PARLER MAL was a podcast and a documentary, then turned into a play. The project focuses on linguistic insecurity. Bianca Richard and Gabriel Robichaud are Acadian artists from southeastern New Brunswick.
For a long time, people told them that they “speak badly” (speak badly = parler mal) because of their accent and the way they speak.
Some Acadians speak Chiac. It's a mix of French and English. Often, English verbs are used but conjugated in French. It’s actually hard to explain, and I don't speak Chiac. I've not been really exposed to Chiac as my coworkers are from France too. At my workplace, we can find Quebecois, Acadians, and Francophone immigrants from Africa and Europe.
If you like watching the Drag Race franchise, there is Sami Landri, an Acadian drag queen.
In the play Parler mal, Bianca and Gabriel talk about prejudice, judgment, and the shame that can come with the way you speak. They show how language is deeply connected to identity, culture, and self-confidence. They also said that when they go to Quebec, Quebecois answer them in English. And some people around me had the same experience. I admit I don't understand how that's possible. We're talking about French speakers talking to other French speakers.
It really made you think about how we judge people based on their accents, the vocabulary they use,...
At the end, Gabriel Robichaud said he had been shamed, but this shame didn't stop his pride.
As I come from France, I can't really understand the "linguistic insecurity" that Franco-Canadians can experience.
I remember that the first year I arrived in Canada, we talked about French at my work and the question "what are you doing to preserve the French language?". I'm not certain of the exact question, but I've never asked myself this question because the official language of my country is French.
However, even in France we judge the accent of others. For exemple the northern accent is often mocked. Historically, the north is known for its mines, and poor families, so their accent is also stigmatized and seen as uneducated.
Some Acadian artists:
I found this post very interesting. Thanks for sharing.
Votre rédaction est trés intéressant. Merci pour le partage!