Missouri's Dying Language
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SOURCES & FURTHER READING
Missouri French: www.independent.co.uk/news/wo...
The French In North America: drupal.library.cmu.edu/chicago...
France-Amerique: france-amerique.com/french-di...
Paw Paw French: • Illinois Country Frenc...
The Endangered Missouri Language Named After A Tree: matadornetwork.com/read/misso...
Trying To Save paw Paw: www.stlpr.org/show/st-louis-o...
Tiff: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiff,_M...
Old Mines: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Min...
OMAHS: omahs.weebly.com/
After one week with us visiting the Gateway to the West, we created a new Cardinals fan, a Walmart enthusiast, and (despite it technically being a Michigan original) the biggest Vernors homer on the other side of the Atlantic!
Mission accomplished!!!
Only because he hasn’t been to Illinois yet!
Vernors is proud Michigan original!
Can’t. Stop. Thinking. About. Vernors.
@@NameExplain
Missouri French is very unique in that they've had to come up with names for local animals and plants that they do not have in France. I think it's all very cool and if you're interested I have some reccomendations of where to look.
You should definitely check out my friend Chansons dzu pays des illinouès here on youtube. He has recordings of Illinois/Missouri/Indiana French that include how to say the names of animals and numbers and phrases. Another good search is for Chasse Galerite which is a traditional Missouri french folktale it was recently adapted into a short film by Brian Hawkins.
walmart is a deeply despicable company
The fact that it is an endangered dialect is the exact reason to make a video about it.
Exactly
There are those of us who are trying to revive the language. Trois cent ans, on est toujours icitte!
@@paysdillinoues Is icitte the equivalent to standard French ici? Or does it have a more specific meaning?
@@helenbaumander3953 Icitte is equivalent to the standard french ici. "Trois cent ans, on est toujours icitte" is a phrase in the missouri french community that means "300 years, we are still here" Toujours can also mean always. The meaning of this phrase relates to the fact that these communities have existed far longer than the United States. While Missouri became a state in 1821, Old mines was founded in 1723. Some french cities are even older such as Cahokia, Kaskaskia, and Ste Geneviève.
@@paysdillinouesAs a Missourian, i'd been interested in learning the dialect if possible- but I don't live in the STL area. Do you have any resources I can look into?
In Québec French, cars are often called "chars" and potatoes are "patates"
Exactly
In Missouri French, an English borrowing quia [kee-AH] is actually more popular than char. Here is a recording of a native speaker explaining the history of the word in Missouri French. th-cam.com/video/It5ql_KLyRs/w-d-xo.htmlsi=UT7UsOIGFBaH2Od1
"Patate" exists as well in French-speaking Europe, but it's used in more familiar contexts than in Québec.
"Chars", like tanks?
@@mommyjessiesmash yes. Pronounced the same even.
As a Missourian from St.Louis I feel compelled to learn Missouri French now
Are you of french blood?
I live 30 minutes from Old Mines and I had never heard of Missouri French. I can’t believe you had to come all the way from the UK to teach me about my backyard. Thank you and I’m definitely going to look more into it!
Dude same, I also live that far and I had no idea 😮
I grew up in the lead belt as well and I knew the history and that French was once spoken in the area. But I've never heard it. In fact I'd say it's extinct now as far as I understand and can see.
Cool
Have you heard of St Louis ? It wasn't established by the Sweds .
@@georgesheffield1580 thanks
Glad you had a good time in St. Louis. You still have that French influence in St. Louis and eastern Missouri. It's much, much less noticeable in Kansas City and western Missouri, where I live.
Especially in Soulard and other old town areas, allot of those old buildings, I love driving through that area on the way to work
St. Louis is the westernmost East Coast city honestly
Agreed
@@yaboiandrew2058it’s the southernmost Great Lakes city too
Notre Dame University (in Indiana) was founded by French Catholic immigrants, yet these days, the school is mostly associated with the Irish. It's unclear why. Some say it's because some Irish students at the school were star football players, and a sports commentator called them the "Fighting Irish," and the nickname stuck. Others say the mostly Protestant Americans of English descent saw that it was a Catholic school and just assumed they were Irish.
Probably a little of both. Being a Catholic school it was probably a popular choice for higher education among Catholics, which in the 18th century would have meant many Irish immigrants. Eventually that would mean some Irish students playing football
White supremacy may have also played a role. For a long while, the Irish weren't considered White, and alot were also Catholic. There was also alot of Anti-Catholic bigotry as well (it can still be found in some more evangelical circles today) so both of them just got squished together.
Irish Catholics were more numerous than other Catholic demographics for much of American history. So, it makes sense that ND is associated with Irish Catholics, this is especially true by the time the University got bigger and Collegiate sports got big.
@@Truman5555How could the Irish not be considered white?
@@petera618 Because in the 19th and early 20th centuries only WASP were considered to be white in the United States, the same happened with italians. Even if you go more back in time germans were not considered fully white by the anglos in the United States
I know people all known "pomme de terre" is the french word for potato because it's fun meaning "apple of earth" but I would argue that we use the word "patate" more often than "pomme de terre" in France; which is a lot closer to "patata".
In Missouri you can actually say either pomme de terre or patate. You’ll hear patate more, but both are fine there.
Yep. I was taught pomme de terre in school in Canada, but when I watch French TV, they sat patate
Patate is a bit more slang than pomme de terre in Quebec french, and I hear it more often than the latter.
Very happy my government does what it can to protect French here,
You can actually hear a speaker of Missouri French in the 1970s explain pomme de terre vs patate around 1 minute and 18 seconds in this slideshow:
th-cam.com/video/B5x92E6uib4/w-d-xo.htmlsi=dp0laN0BUekhUUb1
@@helenbaumander3953 Usually for lip synch of American TV shows, *Patate* works better than *Pomme de Terre.*
Depending on the area you are, *Sweet Potato* is _Patate,_ and *Potato* is _Pomme de Terre._ Which is the case for oversea France, and old people's French in mainland. Nowadays, due to lip synch, _Patate douce_ is now mainstream in mainland France to talk about *Sweet Potato*
The English do it too: Pineapple while most of the world use Ananas for example.
It's believed by some that the name of the Ozarks in southern Missouri might be derived from a French term, "aux arc" or something like that.
The Ozarks name comes from the term "les beaus arcs" literally meaning "the beautiful mountains." Fun fact there's another name that comes from this term, the state directly south of Missouri, Arkansas!
J’ai appris quelque chose là. Les Ozarks, j’attribuais plutôt la provenance du nom aux Indiens.
There are two main varieties of American French that mirror the two varieties of Canadian French. French in New England and the Illinois-Missouri region are the direct descendants of Quebec French. Louisiana French is closer to Acadian French, spoken in the Atlantic provinces in Canada, because they were refugees from the 1755 expulsion of Acadians.
The reason Acadian French is different from Quebec French is because they were earlier colonizers of Canada who arrived from different regions. Whereas most French-Canadians trace their roots to the Paris region and to a lesser extent Brittany and Normandy, Acadians have a much stronger poitevin and saintongeais heritage.
Making audio recordings while you can is so important. It's such a shame nobody thought to record Jersey Dutch even though it was documented multiple times in its dying decades.
I totally agree about Jersey Dutch! Fortunately you can hear some recordings of native speakers on my TH-cam channel. I’m continually uploading more for people interested in that sort of thing:
youtube.com/@ChansonsDzuPaysDesIllinoues?si=c6l3lrOFfyPP4r-_
I can't tell if you're talking about New Jersey or actually Jersey
You're about to tell me you don't know the difference aren't you..?
@@HOPEfullBoi01 The Bailiwick of Jersey is a Channel Island. Jersey Dutch is an American tongue.
Same with the dutch that was spoken in Albany, New York and what not, so sad :(
In France we use commonly "patate" for potato in colloquial French. And for car we say "bagnole" from the Gaulish word "benna" (cart, car) akin to Welsh "bèn". After WWII my dad worked as a mechanic on a NATO base in north-eastern France. There were several Americans from Louisiana who could still speak French with him. I don't know if French is still a living language in the US nowadays.
Louisiana is thriving the best out of the other francophone communities in the US but if you go to Maine you may find more speakers too
@@ultimatewafflegaming1018 🥰
Never forget the large Haitian and West African communities. I was quite surprised when I went to New York in 2013 by the sheer number of young Black women of West African origin who worked in shops around the 5th avenue and spoke perfect French. It was a relief as I was with my parents who could not speak a word of English and I could leave them in the hands of these nice ladies. Many taxi drivers could speak French as well for the same reason. It was pretty weird to wander in New York and find so many French-speakers, but it made my life easier... To be an interpreter is the most difficult job ever...
@@lesfreresdelaquote1176 Oui, c'est tout à fait vrai. J'ai un couple d'amis qui vont au moins deux fois par an aux Etats-Unis depuis des décennies. Ils ont parcouru tout cet immense pays. Or, aucun des deux ne parle un mot d'anglais. Ils n'ont aucune motivation. Moi, je trouve ça bizarre quand on aime un pays, de ne pas apprendre la langue qu'on y parle majoritairement. Mais, c'est leur choix, ils ne parlent que le français et ils m'ont raconté la même chose que pour vous à NY. Quand ils se trouvent au fin fond de l'Arizona, du Minnesota ou ailleurs...dans les stations-service, ils repèrent les conducteurs de camions africains et bingo, neuf fois sur dix, c'est un francophone d'Afrique ou de Haïti, qui sont tout contents de parler français et de les renseigner. Ils sont hyper sympas en plus. 😀
@@dagobert54 J'ai une histoire encore plus bizarre. Dans les années 90, je suis allé à Miami et j'ai rencontré un ami de mon grand-père, qui s'était marié avec une Italienne qui parlait français avec un accent... québécois. Or elle n'avait jamais mis les pieds au Canada ou en France, mais elle était agent immobilier à Hollywood (Floride) et sa clientèle était essentiellement composée de Québécois qui cherchaient le soleil l'hiver. La majorité de son personnel était aussi Haïtien. Elle était devenue francophone en Floride...
Ther even are several german dialects in the US, like Texas German and Pennsylvania Dutch. Even the Amish have a german dialect.
The Amish German dialect is probably/most likely Pennsylvania Dutch.
Missouri actually also has a German dialect called Hermandeutsch, which you can still find amongst some older folks in Herman, Missouri
Pa Dutch speaker here. The Amish speak Pennsylvania Dutch. Pa Dutch isn’t just limited to Amish and Mennonites, many people whose families are historically Lutheran speak Dutch too. The thing is, each county has a variation of Dutch (to some extent).
Interesting
Lancaster County, PA probably has more German speakers than anywhere in the Western Hemisphere unless I'm forgetting somewhere.
My great-great was a French soldier at Ft Michilimackinac. His kids settled all along the Ohio and upper Mississippi, working as traders and translators, based in Vincennes, Indiana and St. Genevieve Missouri.
Hello from STL! I wasn’t expecting you to talk about my hometown lol. I’ve been thinking about going down there to try to find French speakers to talk to. Your video has pushed me an inch closer to realizing that trip!
Mouè aussit, bon chance mon ami!
314!!
The problem with going there is that Old Mines is not a centralized town. It is a large area with properties scattered over largely forested, mountainous (=Ozark foothills), hard-to-reach houses. I’ve been there multiple times and know some of the natives. The best time to actually see and talk to locals is at the Fete d’automne in the Fall. Sometimes they do a big picnic in the summer, but the grand majority don’t speak any French at all. There are many who know some words or phrases and whose parents were fluent speakers. I have spoken with many of them and have worked with researchers who have spent significantly more time there. We’re still on the lookout for speakers, but at this point it’s really going to be people who are scattered throughout the Midwest, elderly people who have moved to live with their grandchildren and/or in assisted living homes.
French was killed in the usa 30-40 years ago you still had French schools. They doing the same in Canada outside Quebec
That's exactly what France did to it's regionals languages like breton or occitan 😏
@@Tiekorolivier nope Occitan is not only talked but also schools Breton is talked a little
@@Tiekorolivier and France never move out their way to kill those language unlike usa and Canada
@@bobmorane2082 oh yes France tried to kill all other languages in France and still does now.
What remains of basque, breton, occitan, flemish, corsican and others was barely saved AGAINTS the central state's will.
And most french politicians still are Very jacobins and ready to promote french against other regional languages.
@@Tiekorolivier you obviously did 0 research they have kindergarten schools called École Calandreta that is bilingual French/Occitan lol (goes all the way to college in bilingual)
As a St. Louisan, watching this video was a treat. I've never actually heard about Missouri French, although the French influence on the city can still be clearly seen. I've been to some small towns near Old Mines that have a similar mining history, with each one having something about it that makes it slightly different from the rest. I'm glad you enjoyed visiting our city!
As a Missouian I tried to learn French and want to again.
If you would like to learn specifically Missouri French, there are resources we can give you! One of my friends has gone to a lot of effort to preserve and record the language, you can learn numbers animals and phrases. I also recommend Chasse Galerite by Brian Hawkins which is a short film based on traditional Missouri French folktales. You can watch it entirely for free online.
Excellente initiative ! Tous mes encouragements de France ! 🇫🇷
I live in Springfield. The last ten years I've spent learning French off and on over that time. It's fun to watch cartoons or more simple tv shows and understand what they are saying. A full French drama (originally in French) is a struggle for me still. Sad that French has died out in this state. Would be fun now to use it some, going about daily life.
@@Tony1771-yj8mc You should watch Chasse Galerite by Brian Hawkins. It's a short film about a traditional Illinois / Indiana / Missouri French Folktale. It's one of the best things I've ever seen and it's free.
While the language is gone here in Illinois there's still french cultural things and events you can go do like La Guiannée in Prairie du Rocher Illinois, visit Fort de Chartres which is very close nearby. Also the Pierre Menard home is one of the best examples of French Colonial architecture in Illinois.
If you were able to cross over to the Missouri side Ste Genevieve is very historic also.
One of the branches of my Dad's family tree were Missouri French, and became US citizens following the Louisiana Purchase.
"Char" instead of "voiture" to name cars is very common in Québec. Missouri French is close to the French we speak in Québec because many French Canadians were part of the American West exploration in the 19th century, including one of my Menard ancestors. Many settled in St-Louis at one time. Many French Canadian's names in their street names, including mine (Menard). French that is spoken in Louisiana comes from Acadian French (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland) which were deported by the British from 1755 and after. Their French is different from Quebec French. So is their history. From my personal experience, French-speaking Louisiana people do not understand Québec French very well, but they understand French from France without problems.
After living in Quebec for many years and integrating strongly with my Québécois friends, I once watched an episode of “Swamp People” and when they spoke French in that part of Louisiana, I had an extremely difficult time to follow their conversation. I realized that they were speaking hillbilly French, and I would have the same problem if I tried to listen to some Hill Billy in Appalachia speak English.
Thanks for sharing info. about Missouri French! I’ve lived in St. Louis my whole life and I’ve never heard of this dialect before. I hope historians/linguists can record audio/video of it being spoken before it’s too late. Great video!
I found this video especially interesting as I just finished a novel called *Pelican Girls* about the French sending women to the Louisiana territory to ensure the continuation of the colony. Great historical novel, and this really helps clarify how widely French was used at the time. Yay for the great info!
I’m originally from the STL area and I’ve never heard of Missouri French! So interesting! Thank you.
Hello from St. Louis! I'm a transplant from Texas (married a "South City Dutch") It is an interesting city with a strong sense of identity and history. I honed in on the found the Missouri French history when I moved here because it is really fascinating - thanks for this informative video. Glad you enjoyed your visit!
Nice to see a shout about about St. Louis! Very rare for educational content not about the city! I am from St. Louis so thanks!
I wish the different European Immigrants in the US conserved their languages and passed them generations down up until today
I'm sure Missouri was glad of your visit. Missouri loves company, after all.
I'm glad you enjoyed your trip to Saint Louis! I'm always happy when people visit my hometown; it's a great place. Fun fact, Saint Louis also had a unique dialect in English that is slowly dying, a variant of Midland American.
hell yeah brother, im from saint louis and have looked in to pawpaw french a little bit. super excited when i saw this video pop up in my feed. thanks for bringing this to a wider audience!
I almost choked with your pronunciation of voiture lmao
Great video!
You are my new favorite youtuber. Lifelong St. Louis native and I love the topics you make videos about. Also someone who has studied French in the past.
Finding this video has been a blessing! Thank you so much for showing any type of interest in our state. Hearing anyone from Europe say anything nice about St. Louis is magical. I live in St. Louis and my family before I was born lived in Florissant. The French influence was everywhere and it's pretty sad we never made any effort to pronounce the street names correctly haha. The north side of the city and northern counties have a negative connotation now but the history there and in St. Charles is truly interesting if you're any history fan. I'd love yo buy you a Blues ticket if you ever make it to town during the season. I am now a subscriber. Thank you for this informative video. I knew very little about this before your video
¿Did you see another reminder of of the early French presence: Most log cabins extant have the logs laid horizontally; the early French log cabins have the logs standing vertically. (The French also appear in the recent PREY movie with Agnes Midthunder.)
Theres actually different styles of french colonial construction "Poteaux en Terre" meaning post in earth where the logs were laid straight up in the soil as well as "Poteaux sur sole" meaning post on a sill. Because timber rots when its placed directly on exposed dirt many examples of french colonial architecture we have today are poteaux sur sole.
Some of my favorite french architectural buildings include the Pierre Menard Home in Illinois, The Cahokia Courthouse in Illinois, and the Amoreaux House in Ste Geneviève Missouri.
@@paysdillinoues My experiences are in St. Genevieve and Cahokia Mounds.
@@SewolHoONCE There are many different places, and it's very cool that you had the chance to go!
I've been to Cahokia, Fort Massac, and Starved Rock before but I haven't ever had much of a chance to visit Old Mines, St Genevieve, Kaskaskia, Prairie du Rocher, and Vincennes Indiana.
"Patate" is the usual French term. "Pomme de terre" is formal. Bad example
I found this interesting because there are a lot of French names arounds St. Louis and St Charles, MO - downtown even has an area called Frenchtown. My Grandma's family came here from Prairie du Rocher, IL in the early 1900s and I'm told they only spoke French until then. I'm surprised the term is "Missouri French" since basically the French residents from Illinois spilled over into Missouri in towns such as St. Genevieve, Florissant and St. Charles. I would love to know more about the French heritage of Randolph County, Illinois. Kaskaskia and Prairie du Rocher were settled by French immigrants long before it part of the USA.
Yes--I live near the suburb of Des Peres (where there used to be a monastery) and I used to work in Florissant (flowery). Also there are the areas called Carondelet, Bellefontaine, Soulard, and others.
The proper name is really Illinois Country French from the french name "Pays des Illinouès" which was an area that included every village and city from Vincennes on the Ouabache (Wabash) River, to small settlements in the Ozarks and on the Missouri River. Illinois, Missouri, and Indiana all were part of the Illinois Country and spoke their own dialects of "Missouri French." My guess is the name is mostly centered on Missouri because the language in the other two states has completely died out.
surreal having watched you for a couple years at this point and seeing you talk about being in my city
Stop by Michigan if you ever get the chance, there’s a dialect of French on the way out here as well called Muskrat French named for the muskrat suppers that speakers traditionally eat during lent. I’d love to see a video about that!
Where in Michigan is Muskrat French spoken? I am descended on one side from French-Canadians who immigrated to the UP. I believe my great-grandfather Alphonse Charron (who died before I was born) spoke French. He was from Crystal Falls in Iron County. Would he have spoken Muskrat French? I know Grampa had quite the accent but I figured it was because he was speaking a variant of the Yooper Dialect. Never heard of Muskrat French.
Great recap!
While French on this continent started with the French colonisation, I think that Louisiana French and New England French have different origins of why they came to be.
Louisiana French has its roots from the colony Nouvelle France that was there before 1763 (when the British got it in a peace treaty), including the Expulsion of the Acadians.
However, I am under the feeling that most New English French are coming from the "mass" exodus of Quebec following the lost Patriot Rebellion in 1838 and the following Act of Union 1840, which was made in part to assimilate culturally the French Canadian.
Fascinating, Patrick, I've lived in Missouri my entire 59 years & didn't know anything at all about Missouri French, and I'm something of a history buff! Awesome video, keep up the good work, and next time you come to Missouri, visit Kansas City and have some barbecue 😉
Bonjour de France à vous ! 🇫🇷
once he explained that Pawpawfrench has a lot of influence with languages of indigenous tribes, then tells us that kids who spoke the francophone dialect during the 20th century were shamed/harassed. thats messed up, just another subtle way to suppress native americans way of life, by severing their past cultural links to society.
indeed, and it seems it was pretty common to shame also "French" descendants all around the continent for that reason : since it was decently known that historically virtually all "French" communities were resulting from at least non-negligeable (or even deep) cultural and genetical intermingling with Native Americans, for any proud WASP it was another great reason to look down upon
The native part doesn't matter. At the time of colonization it was mostly English protestant who were anti french catholic and viewed them as inferior.
Thank you for making this video, from a St. Louisian! Our city is one with such a rich, forgotten history at the crossroads of American settlement. Missouri French is something I’ve wanted to learn for quite a while now but now I’m feeling very compelled to do it
I’m from St. Louis! So glad you enjoyed your time
thanks for visiting stl, i love hearing people talk about my city
Fantastic! I knew exactly none of this! Great video!
Can you do a video on French Foreign Legion French? Some considered it as a dialect yet it's constantly changing.
Hello from STL. I hope you have good memories from your stay. At home we speak German!
So, the Missouri German FID survive the WW1 purge? That's so cool! It is such an important language to our state's history. It was probably the biggest help in making sure that Missouri didn't leave the Union during the Civil War.
Great video man. I have family in New Orleans and I live in Boston. It's things like this that make my ancestry more understandable
Nice to see you in St. Louis! It is a beautiful place.
Check out Frontier Patriot where they talk about Pawpaw French (occasionally) and reenact life from the era 1800s-1830s Missouri.
Merci mon ami, je vais euregarde ça!
Thank you, I'll be sure to check it out!
My favorite french US story are the pirates vs US navy up and down rivers and ports over slave trading. Some really cool stories. There were a lot of french speaking people that couldn't even talk to militias that came to the territory after the Louisiana purchase
St.Louisian here, did you go to the city museum or Grants farm?
Went to the City Museum but not Grants Farm
@@NameExplain I recommend grants farm.
There are still a handful of people left in Missouri who still speak Paw-Paw French, but you must travel about 100 miles to the southwest of St Louis to rural Washington County, Missouri, to find them. My grandmother's family still lives there. That area of the state was settled by Frenchmen from Quebec about 300 years ago and pre-dates St. Louis. The French culture in St. Louis was wiped out more than 100 years ago as it grew into another melting-pot city.
Hello from st louis! Glad you were able to have some gooey butter cake! One of my favorite desserts
Old Mines was pretty much cut off, even radio wasn't widely available until the1960's. Language evolves on it's own, like places in Appalachia where older forms of English are spoken. Another interesting thing is we have street names that are pronounced in pre-revolution French, Gravois being a prime example. There is a short, but funny video on 'Teaching French to St. Louisans'. Kind of a history nerd myself, took French in 4th and 5th grade. Also heard stories from grandma about how her mother's family spoke high German, from Bavaria. Her father's, low German, from Alsace. They could understand each other, unless they got excited. Also some French phrasing was in the low German. Such as why we had fancy paper napkins; for the invites. Por la invitees. Seems interesting that 'vois' pronunciation changed from an oye to a wha. As if from I to we. Sometimes I over think things.
Hey, bo zou mon vieux, I'm a St. Louisian and I casually study Missouri French, albeit on my own for fun. I like to throw in phrases with my friends to add to that STL identity. Glad you liked our toasted ravs.
Very interesting! My grandmothers were both 100% of Germanic ancestry and my grandfathers were both approx. 50% Germanic (Germany did not exist as a nation when 3 of their families arrived in MO). Central Missouri primarily spoke German up into the 20th Century. My grandmothers spoke it exclusively at home. It wasn’t until WWII that it really started to diminish due to anti-German bias and hatred. My mom’s ancestors were among those that founded Hermann, MO and the surrounding farms (a wine-producing area for about 180 years). She spoke with a German accent but I never heard her speak it until we were walking the streets of Hermann during Maifest. A childhood friend saw her and they immediately started conversing in German.
Gooey butter cake and Ted Drewes frozen custard! I'm envious! My family is from St. Louis and those are delicacies to me. I've never heard of Old Mines or Missouri French before. Thanks!
Hello from St Louis! French heavily contributed to place names around here. It's funny, but native French speakers tend to be horrified by how we pronounce words and names that they can recognize. I'm thrilled you got to come enjoy the things we are most proud of: the Cards, gooey butter cake, t-ravs and Ted Drewes. Did you get to try provel? It's popular on pizza here, but I love it in a salad.
Actually, the current pronunciation of the French names still reflects the original pronunciation from several hundred years ago. France changed, not Missouri.
Hey thanks for visiting my hometown! Did you notice the many French named streets while you were traveling the city? For example Gravois, Chouteau, Laclede, etc.
Tiff and Old Mines, Mo. are about 10 minutes drive from each other. I had no idea of the French language in Missouri and I was born, raised, and still Iive about 2 hours south of those 2 towns.
I grew up not far from this part of the country. My mom taught elementary school in Richwoods, Missouri; I went to Kindergarten there in 1980. I remember that some of my friends in school spoke French on the playground. I now live in Michigan but want to learn pawpaw French. I remember all the tiff mines along the road between Richwoods and DeSoto; there were mountains of tailings.
5:43 there’s a French Canadian restaurant in my hometown called La Belle Patate. They serve poutine. Even though the school system teaching me Canadian French always taught “potato” as pomme de terre
We have to take into account that 1)the French generally taught as second language, as well as the basis for the "proper" French is Parisine, with most speakers even in France speaking different varieties (both closely related dialects and dialects influenced by other languages), and 2) even parisines tend to do away from "proper" French.
I believe way more people say "septante" than "soixante-dix".
Aucun Français ne dit "septante" au lieu de "soixante-dix", ça n'existe pas.
@@jorgelotr3752 vanishingly few French speakers in this world use septante, I assure you.
@@francoislegallio4238 I meant French speakers there, sorry if I explained myself poorly. As far as I'm aware, "septante" is said, at the very least, in Belgian French and Swiss French, and I have been told by French speakers from outside the Hexagon (and those two places) that they say it like that too, not sure if it's universal in non-France French or not.
What I have been told by a witness, however, is that the "au" combination has a different (older) pronunciation at least in parts of Southeast France.
@@partiellementecreme went to check if I could find some info and yes, seems like most French speakers say "soixante-dix", in particular those from France, Canada and West Africa, rarely in East Africa, where they mostly use "septante" alongside Swiss and Belgium; also, it seems like there are some rural places in France where they use (incresingly less) "trè-vingt-dix" instead.
Leaving aside the archaic "trois-vingts", the very rare "octante", and the Swiss "huitante", the area differentiation for "soixante-dix" and "septante" seemingly matches with the one for "quatre-vingt-dix" and "nonante".
So glad you made it to my home city of St. Louis. I live just outside of Ste. Genevieve MO now. Oldest settlement west of the Mississippi and a French settlement.
If you come back at some point, check out St. Charles Main Street. It was founded by a frenchman and used to have a French name “Les Petite Cotes”. It’s also just the prettiest place in the entire county and its less than an hour drive from St. Louis.
Im 20 yros and a new England french speaker and my dialect is specifically from woonsocket for us it similar most of the younger folk dont speak it but parents and grand parents do just not open in the streets
I’m from a town in central Missouri named “Auxvasse”. Nobody pronounces it right. The story is the French got stuck in Auxvasse creek with their wagons. It’s said to mean “mud hole”. The translation I’ve gotten via the net is “miry place” or place that holds water. At any rate you should visit the actual Missouri in between KC and St. Louis 🇺🇸
"La vase" in French means: a kind of watery mud... I think the original expression might have been: A la vase (in the mud), which evolved into Allvase then Auxvasse... But I might be mistaken... This is actually a case where the word gender is important: "Le vase" means "the vase".
I've seen a lot of French words and expressions in the US topography that have been rewritten by English speakers who had a very shallow understanding of French. For instance, names such as Leblanc, Legrand have been renamed as LeBlanc, LeGrand, with a capital B and a capital G, which does not make a lot of sense in French, since blanc (white) and grand (tall) are common nouns.
@@lesfreresdelaquote1176 Awesome! I appreciate your reply. The town is unique as its name 🇺🇸
It may still be pronounced in the original French.
Yes, & St. Genevieve is the oldest permanent European settlement in Missouri, founded by French Canadian colonists. It’s located south of St. Louis, on the Mississippi River. There are many remnants of the French settlements, people & place names in eastern Missouri & as a St. Louis native, I’m a descendant of the French who migrated through Tennessee into Missouri. Actually, there are still some descendants of old French families around who were founders of St. Louis & sometimes our paths cross.😊
A friend of mine came from Old Mines and he told me that his mother spoke French when she was growing up. Not too far from there is a community in the Frohna and Altenberg area where many people there grew up speaking German.
My mother learned some French in school about 45 minutes from old mines/potosi because it was the only other spoken language in the area at the time.
As a Cardinals fan, love the pic with the ball cap.
I love this video so much. STL on top
Ayy, I grew up in Hannibal and St.Louis and I've always wanted to see more documentation on Missouri's minority German and French communities.
Thanks for this video!
You add "uh" on to the end of a lot of words.
"Too"uh
"Technology" uh
"Speaking"uh
"City"uh
Ridiculously annoying
I did speak French with several super old people (mostly farmers and ranchers) in Louisiana, about 18+ years ago (all dead now no doubt), and I could only understand because it was similar to many different ways people speak the language in the Province of Québec.
In the same way we were separated from mainland France (them by the Louisiana Purchase, us by losing the 7 years war against the Brits. So new words for a ton a new things and concepts had to be translated from English, etc.
The one conversation that I've never forgotten felt very sad. Talking to them really felt like the last breath of a culture. They said nobody around wanted to learn or promote their legacy.
That they tried but are now at peace with it.
He was definitely insinuating, although very gracefully, that we'd be next back home in Qc...
Cool video. As someone who has spent my whole life living in Missouri (albeit in Kansas City), I had no clue Missouri French was a thing.
I’m glad you enjoyed St. Louis! It really is a cool place. I miss it!
In 2007 at the NOLA International airport, in the main domestic flight terminal, all announcements were repeated in French. I couldn't believe it.
Le vol en partance pour Montréal décollera à 15 heures 35, les voyageurs sont priés d'attacher leurs ceintures ...
I lived in the St Louis area until mid-teens; but still consider it my home. Although I my love for the French language and culture started there, I can't remember ever hearing about Missouri French.
Thanks so much for this video. I can't wait to learn more about Missouri French dialect.
I love how every state is a culture in its own right. It's tragic when any culture dies, and I'm happy to see you trying to keep more cultures alive via their unique language/dialect .
Hi from STL!
The story of Missouri french and its decline is sadly not unique. French used to be much more widely spoken in many places along the Mississippi river, including in Illinois and even places like Michigan and Ohio. Although New England and Louisianian French have fared a bit better, they too have been declining in number of speakers and could become endangered in the near future.
Its the same thing that happened in Ireland and Wales, where the native languages almost went extinct, although they've most recently gone through a revival.
Same thing happened in France when the regional dialects of french were suppressed and replaced by Parisian french in the name of national unity. In some cases you can even find that the french spoken in North America is a lot closer to those lost regional french dialects.
Don't let people bully you for how you speak, wear your accent of dialect proudly. And to those who would tell you to "speak proper", you can give them the finger for no one but yourself should decide who you are.
I think Americans have to try and revive these regional dialects. They're an immense source of cultural wealth and are ultimately a part of the complicated heritage that has been passed down to them.
Grew up in Southeast Missouri, now in STL. Had learned about the colonial French language hanging on in the Viburnum area. Have ancestors around here that came from France in the early 19th century. I suspect they adapted to the local dialect. The interesting thing is that Eastern MO has a lot of French place names and architecture, even remnants of French "long lot" land parcels. But the area is heavily populated by descendants of German settlers from the early 19th century onward. They were mostly Saxons who split off from the Lutheran Church. Have a few ancestors from that bunch, too.
bien sur .Je suis française et j'ai vu St Louis St Charles .Il y a Prairie et Desmoines....etc
Once traveling through Missouri I heard on a radio announcement in the car the reference to El Dorado which they pronounced El Da-RAY-do.
Can’t remember exactly where but I also came across Marseilles pronounced Mar-SayLLs
French is also spoken in the Caribbean.
I went to Washington University in St. Louis in the late '70s, and one woman I knew was from a New Hampshire French family named Jacques, which they pronounced like "Jakes". But she was offered a scholarship by a foundation that thought she was a Latina named "Hawkez".
Americans’ interpretations of written French words are amazing.
You should check out Sainte Genevieve, the oldest city in Missouri. They do have a day (Dec 31)which celebrates their founding by the French by celebrating La Guiannee.
Potato is also referred to as "patate" in French : it is the case in Belgium where we also call them "canada" in some places like Charleroi.
I heard a long time ago that the pronunciation “Missour-uh” was the “more correct way due to the French roots of the name of the state”. Not sure if that’s actually true but it’d be interesting given this video’s content
Is there a particular British accent that calls for appending a schwa to the end of sentences that finish with a downward tone, as you do? I don't recall hearing that before.
I'd heard of paw paw French but didn't really understand what it was. Very cool. I live just south of another French Missouri town. Cape Girardeau
Thank you for sharing some of the interesting history of our state! We're proud to have both French and German history, especially in St. Louis and its surrounding areas.
--A St. Louisan
Hello from St. Louis!! What was your favorite part of the city?
Speaking of language 😉. Your vocal fry is intense! You even add extra croaking syllables at the end of words. Wow. Where are you from?
There are places that still bear the indigenous name, but with a french spelling. Moniteau (county) is a French spelling of Manitou, Algonquian for the Great Spirit.
The next county over contains the bonne femme river, a tributary of the Missouri river. Very good fishing.
my great grandma moved from missouri to oregon (where our family lives) and next time i go to visit her ill be sure to ask if she knew anyone who spoke Missouri french. je parle français alors je suis intéressé avec ça langue ! 😊
Across the river in Illinois there are still some small towns that celebrate french traditions
Ah bon et comment s'appellent ces villes ?
@@francoislegallio4238 C'est Prairie du Rocher (avait Fort du Chartres) aussit le petite ville Kaskaskia sur la fleuve Mississippi pis Cahokia à côté de St Louis. Aussit Vincennes en Indianne sur la fleuve Ouabache.
La langue Français morir, premier dans Indianne (1950s,) pis en Illinouès (1980s.) La ville avec le côutume Français est Prairie du Rocher, icitte, on célèbre la Guiannée (une tradition du Nouvel An française au moyen âge.)
Theres a dialect of German that exists in Texas, particularly around Fredricksberg that's pretty interesting.