A Thought of Few, Thoughts of Many

Gaelic, Acadian, Mi'kmaq: Nova Scotia's Threatened Languages

Memorandum

INTRODUCTION My name is Sarah Berthiaume. I am a student at Cape Breton University currently studying English and Political Science. As a Political Science student interested in the welfare of ancient, dying languages in Nova Scotia, it is important for me to explain to you the importance of ensuring the survival of the Gaelic, Mi’kmaq and Acadian French languages in Cape Breton as well as the rest of Nova Scotia. First I must say that I am not speaking on behalf of any organization or institution. I am contacting you in regards to myself. As a young student, I represent the future of this island and believe, for the welfare of our future generations, that it is of dire importance that we consider these languages. I, for one, would like my children to embark on the history of the island. Learning these languages would most certainly strengthen our unique cultural heritage.

HISTORY
Gaelic: The Scots-Gaelic language came to Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia as far back as 200 years ago as part of the Irish and Manx dialects spoken in Europe. At its peak in the mid-19^th century, Gaelic was the third most spoken language in Canada after English and French.[1] Unfortunately, the language has severely declined since this point in time and has become nearly extinct.

Mi’kmaq: An indigenous First Nations people of Nova Scotia.[2] Out of 13 other communities in Nova Scotia and five in Cape Breton, the biggest Mi’kmaq communities reside in Cape Breton Island’s Eskasoni and Membertou, named after the Grand Chief Membertou (1510-1611). Membertou is an urban First Nation community located in the city of Sydney and consisting of over 1050 people. Nova Scotia has a total of over 115 thousand Mi’kmaq people according to the Membertou website. Many years ago, Membertou was located just off of Kings Road, along the Sydney Harbor. In 1916, the Exchequer Court of Canada ordered the relocation of the 125 Mi’kmaq; the first time an aboriginal community had been legally forced through the courts to relocate in Canadian history. In 1926, the Membertou Community was officially moved to its present day location.[3] Although the language has a wide number of speakers in Eastern Canada and the Eastern United States, it is important to consider raising awareness elsewhere in the Americas.

French Acadian: Acadian French is a dialect of French spoken by francophone Acadians primarily in Nova Scotia. Acadian French originated from what we know as Metropolitan French, a Romance language spoken in France, Belgium and Switzerland, about 400 years ago.

TECHNOLOGICAL THREAT? Many would agree that the aforementioned languages of Nova Scotia are part of our heritage and that we must not hasten to let these languages disappear. With the lack of Canadian Broadcasting and valid internet resources specific for the speakers of these languages, as well as others interested in them, it would seem that the languages have the possibility, if not probability, of dying out due to the ever evolving technological spectrum. Currently there are a mere 54 television programs designed to attract French Acadian speakers while there is only a part time channel dedicated to Gaelic and one fulltime channel for speakers of the Mi’kmaq language[4]. The only newspaper written in Gaelic stopped print in Cape Breton in the 1960’s. The internet is also an unreliable resource for hard evidence on the origins of these languages or any censuses related to them because many sites offer contradictory evidence whose truths and fallacies are undetermined. Books, written many hundreds of years ago, also prove to be an unreliable source of information for they too contain contradictory and biased information surrounding the time in which they were written.

While technology has become infinitely more sophisticated over the past few hundred years, languages have not. Indeed linguistic complexity is seldom greater than on the lips of hunter-gatherers whose material needs are few and whose grasp of the distant world is minimal. Languages… evolve towards simplicity. Kriol is far simpler and more flexible than the Aboriginal languages that nourished it. Italian is a slipshod free-for-all language compared with the Latin from which it sprang (Abley 44).

WHY SO IMPORTANT? Many would agree that the threat of losing one’s own language, be it one’s own communicative identity, is one of substantial power, one that must be looked at and taken care of immediately. In the words of Mark Abley, author of Spoken Here: Travels Among Threatened Languages, “Languages are devoid of hierarchy. Infants emerge from the womb with an absolute equality of linguistic opportunity – whatever sounds they grow up hearing, whatever syllables they start out babbling, any fully developed language can express their needs and desires.” (p. 43). Abley goes on to argue in favor of infants’ abilities to understand and take in language, then their ability to speak it and communicate. The mind is a complex thing that we must not take for granted, and must instead cherish and nurture it so that we may become more intelligent than technology itself leads us to be. Cape Breton, much like the Island of Man, has certain ideas about the Scots-Gaelic language, or any of the other languages spoken in the area. With this, I compare Abley’s “Reasons Not to Speak [Manx]” (p. 97) with a number of reasons often told to me about why the languages here are rarely spoken. This is not in support of the opposing argument but rather a glimpse at the threat against these languages. Keep in mind that “No language merits extinction by reason of incompetence.”

“Reasons Not To Speak” - It isn’t spoken in school - Too much effort to learn - Useless off of the island - English has status and prestige - It can be a secret code –OR- - a weapon for excluding people

These feelings of dismay and remorse towards the languages must be counteracted and made to change by use of positive reinforcements for the languages. You can do this through Public Policy as well as awareness programs and heritage societies.

PUBLIC POLICY Public policy is a course of action designated by public authorities in address to a problem. It is expressed in the body of laws, regulations, decisions and actions of the government. The current policies regarding languages of Canada regard only the official languages of French and English. Preference for employment is given only to speakers of these languages due to the fact that the majority of Canada’s population speaks either one or the other. On the Policy Library Canada’s website[5] there are no public listings for issues concerning the Gaelic, Mi’kmaq or Acadian languages. Awareness must be made. Information in regards to the threat against these languages and or to the possibility of instilling policies to preserve them is virtually impossible to find through any mass-media means. In light of these facts, I strongly urge you to consider analyzing our current policies on the welfare of dying languages. Although such policies are practically non-existent, bringing back these dying languages would do a great deal of good for the communities of Nova Scotia as well as other Maritime provinces that face these same issues. Policies must be urged to allow employment for the speakers of these languages, much like the Black Business Initiative, as well as to ensure the preservation of them. Policies concerning education, such as mandatory language awareness as well as courses in local history would promote a better understanding of these languages and certainly more knowledge and awareness pertaining to them. Furthermore, it would be tremendously accommodating and supportive to consider television and news programs as well as radio stations and other media resources aimed at offering awareness for these threatened languages. The implementation of these ideas would not only strengthen our heritage and global identity but it would also allow for flexible employment for the speakers of them.

DECLINE The decline of the languages spoken in Nova Scotia began when they were first spoken here and lacked important documented record of the use of them in communication. They are not currently suitable in the work force or in international affairs. The importance of them, found within the people who currently speak them and the organizations that advocate for them, is quite obviously there. Although a wide range of useful documented information can not be gathered for the cause of preserving these languages, we can learn about them through the stories, songs, myths, legends, and histories brought down to us by our ancestors. It would also be important to promote national awareness, perhaps within a holiday, tourist attraction, or larger, fully staffed, museums and heritage sites.
* Currently, Nova Scotia houses only three institutions dedicated to the study or preservation of these languages. These institutions include the Lyceum, the Gaelic College and small private classes pertaining to milling frolics and Gaelic song. Our largest institution, the Fortress of Louisbourgh, which is dedicated to France and French Canada, is currently under going never-ending construction in which most of the site is barely accessible. The animators, or actors in costumes, are ill-trained except for those trained in military technique of the times. There is little information given by the animators in regards to their displays.
* The only local historical society I personally know of, without going to great lengths to find[6], is the Whitney Pier Historical Society, one of which does not advocate to the study or preservation of languages. In my search, I have not found any that do advocate for such a cause.
* Workers at these historical societies and museums do not do any primary research for them, other than the work of a handful of volunteer research associates.
* A course in Gaelic was once offered in the local high schools but has recently been abandoned while courses are still offered in Canadian French (not necessarily Acadian) and in Mi’kmaq. There is a relatively small Gaelic community and the only people interested in taking the courses offered at my local college in Gaelic Studies are local historians or those students who are merely interested in learning something new. The numbers are both sparse and fleeting.

In my travels, I do not hear the old languages of Gaelic or Acadian being spoken. I hear what is known merely as “broken Mi’kmaq” which is a sad combination of English phrases and words entangled in the Mi’kmaq language and being spoken only to their families in private. Without your help, these languages will be lost. The unfortunate truth of the matter is that I am unable to raise awareness of these languages on my own. The members of societies dedicated to the preservation of these languages can only do so much while many of them cannot event support their core activity of keeping up with their collection of artifacts and documented information.

CONCLUSIONS My observations are summarized in the following ways:
1) The preservation of languages deserves more funding so as to build awareness and preserve the culture. Nova Scotians value their culture enough to donate artifacts and small monetary funds to the cause for which I am advocating. All that is needed now is more support from the government to ensure that what needs to be done is done.
2) The foundation of these languages rests in the people who speak them. For this reason, we must promote further communications in these languages as well as supportive social institutions aimed towards this goal. For this reason, heritage societies and museums deserve more resources pertaining to these languages. There must be content as well as marketing to entice visitors to the attractions proposed in this memorandum.
3) It is a means to an end to see only tourism as our historical linguistic salvation. For this reason, heavily promoting only tourism attractions strays from the purpose of preserving the language for tourists may come to view but not to immerse themselves into the culture. These languages should be valued fundamentally as cultural assets for Nova Scotia's identity.

posted by Thought, A Brilliant Disaster @ 3:32 PM