Extensions
Glossary of French Terms
- à la ferme = on the farm
- une mélange = a mixture
- Bon = good, well
- c’est simplement que = it’s simply that
- c’est comme ça = it’s like this
- en générale = generally
- Naturellement = naturally
- d’habitude = usually
- deux façons = two ways
- bien sûr = of course
- fermiers = farmers
- beaucoup de prusse = a lot of spruce
- Mais = but
- la maison = the house
- tu sais = you know
- plaisante = pleasant
- après = after
- Je suppose = I suppose
- aujourd’hui = today
Acadian French
- la bouchure = fence; in standard French, la clôture.
- une échelle = a ladder in standard French, but in Acadian French, it continues to be used for staircase, which in standard French is l’escalier.
- la couverture = roof; in standard French, le toit.
- les vitres = the windows; in standard French, les vitres are the actual window panes, or the windows in a car or train, and les fenêtres are the windows of a house.
- prusse = spruce; in standard French, l’epicea.
Thinking About It…(for family or class discussion)
Gender roles were very clearly defined in this Acadian culture. Were they of equal importance and value? What changes do you see today? How do those changes affect the way we live?
What did the children do for fun in those days? Do you agree with Josephine’s grandfather that it was a “good life”? Why or why not.
Using Your Newspaper (with Maine Learning results applications)
The Acadian were successful farmers partly because they used a totally new method to create a very rich soil. In the newspaper, find a product or a project that interests you and think of a way to make it better, easier, more successful, more accessible, etc. (Science and Technology: Inquiry and problem Solving.)