Brinkley quoted in Press Herald piece on French language revival in Maine
Tony Brinkley, a professor of English and faculty associate at the University of Maine Franco-American Centre, spoke with the Portland Press Herald for the article, “African immigrants drive French-speaking renaissance in Maine.” According to the article, Maine is experiencing a small, but growing, French language revival among lifelong residents trying to preserve their French heritage and hundreds of Francophone Africans who settled in a state with almost two centuries of French heritage. In 1919, Maine prohibited speaking French in school, a policy that remained until 1969, the article states. That prohibition, combined with anti-immigrant sentiment aimed at French speakers, drove the language underground, Brinkley said. “I’m against the notion of decline and disappearance,” he added. “It’s more accurate to talk about suppression and about revitalization.” Brinkley said Maine still has a group of French speakers who could help revitalize the heritage. In a 2012 Franco-American Centre survey of 600 self-identified Franco Americans, 63 percent said they were either fluent or understood some French, the article states. Even though three-quarters of the respondents were age 60 or older, the results showed the possibility of revitalizing the language, he said. The Press Herald story also was featured on WLBZ (Channel 2).