some Cree-Michif – I catch only some of the nouns, ‘lii fraises’, ‘lii pommes’, ‘la violon’ ‘L’Bon Dju’ (the good God)… see our website for a discussion of the languages … we were in St Laurent and will be working with the people there as translators and also with Cree-Michif speakers. I met Norman Fleury last year at the John Arcand Fiddle Fest. I find the comments from below the video to be very poignant:
“Love it. My grandparents spoke this language but society made them ashamed to use it and they did not pass it on to their children, such a loss. My family spoke this language since Red River …”
We have heard the word ‘shame’ and ‘shaming’ so much throughout our travels when people tell us of their family stories. I listen to the sound of those vowels, the soft pronunciations, and it is the same in the French-Michif, and it is lovely.