PROUD TO BE AN ACADIENNE

We are here to stay! I am writing in response to the article that appeared in The Guardian written by Claude Forest (French culture kept artificially alive, June 3). I quote one sentence: There does not seem to be a future for the French language in Prince Edward Island. Mr. Forest, how dare you make such a narrow-minded comment? Do you think the Acadian population is going the way of the dinosaur? Look up some facts instead. Here are some figures (2016) 13 per cent of the population, almost 18,000 people can speak both English and French. There has been a five per cent increase since 2011. French is the first language of 3.3 per cent of the population. There are almost 900 students enrolled in the six public schools of the province. There are close to 7,000 students in core French and over 5,000 in French immersion. Moreover, the French schools have community centres which organize many various activities all in French. Yes, I am proud to be an Acadienne, having lived in a French community all my life. I have taught school for countless years at École Évangéline. In the early years almost all textbooks were in English. Now, only the English course has English textbooks. We have come a long way and are mighty proud of it! I have also had the opportunity to teach French classes to adults in the evening. They were very enthusiastic to learn a second language and don’t tell me they can’t pronounce words correctly – À la acadien et non À la québecois. You also mentioned that being bilingual was not an advantage to getting employment. Maybe you could check with Tourism P.E.I. and the Canada Revenue Agency to begin with. Yes, we are proud to be Acadians and I will continue to make galettes blanches, fricot au poulet et pâtés de Noël! And my children will also continue that tradition and their children also. We are very happy to share our lives with the anglophone population. We are Islanders living together in the best place on earth. To quote a famous line: Nous sommes ici, c’est pour rester!

Carmella Lubbersen, née Poirier Wellington, P.E.I.