On a Sunday in early February, not so long ago, with the Manchester, New Hampshire, streets still deep in snow, a pervasive warmth clung to the close-packed pews at Sacred Heart Church. The priest mounted his pulpit and began in words from his mother tongue: "Mes bien chers freres," - My dear brethren. Thus, la Chandeleur (Candlemas) began. It was a memorable mass. Each candle lighted during this service went home with a parishioner. For a whole year, these candles protected homes from evil and burned during storms or serious illnesses. Many families kept the old tradition of a pancake party on the evening of la Chandeleur - a time to exchange wishes for good luck.
In many parts of northern New England only twenty or so years ago, this scene was not usual. Today, it is uncommon. Once families of French-Canadian descent regarded French Catholicism and the French language as inseparable. The preservation of religion and language, termed la survivance, was seen as the key to the ethnic survival of the Franco-American (as most French-Canadian descendants in America now prefer to be called.) Yet, recent scientific and statistical studies on communities in Quebec and New England show a significant decline in both participation in the local Catholic parish and use of French.
The most hotly debated issue within the Franco-American community today is the place of French as a mother tongue. Purists, who view language as the most significant feature of ethnic identity, vie with reformists who consider their "Frenchness" as more essential, a matter of historical consciousness, values, and customs. This same issue is a key question to social scientists attempting to understand the impact of language, religion, and folk customs on the development and maintenance of ethnic identity.
Jeffrey A. Ross, scholar and educator, has proposed an intriguing and useful theory regarding the evolution of ethnic identity and its relationship to language. Ross sees collective consciousness as a progression of identity modes consisting of several stages: communal, minority, ethnic, and national. This is a developmental model in which most groups progress, as Ross says, "from a communal stage to the ethnic stage by way of a minority situation." In each period, language plays different roles in the social milieu. His scheme, used as a model to explain the growth of Franco-American society in New England, offers fresh insights into the present language debate.
In many ways, Ross' definition of the communal stage describes the early French society created in Canada. Communal groups, Ross states, exist in primitive or traditional societies. They are nonurban and based on hunting, herding, or agriculture. Such groups are generally isolated from outside contact and thus are self-sufficient. These societies are mostly preliterate; oral literature, music, and history form an essential element in social interaction and entertainment. Ross concludes, "In communal life, society, culture, politics, religion, and economics are all tightly interwoven, and language is the thread that holds them in place.
Les habitants
Before undertaking a close examination of the French-Canadian life-style, a review of its history is needed. As early as 1605 (two years before the founding of Jamestown), French explorer Samuel de Champlain helped establish the first
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