Let’s Raise $10K for CODOFIL
Oct 7th, 2010 | By admin | Category: Cajun French Language
I’m trying to do a good thing for a wonderful organization. I can’t do it alone, and that’s why I’m posting this here. I have a personal goal of raising $10K for CODOFIL (Council for Development of French in Louisiana – http://www.codofil.org/) over the next 12 months. I wish I could just hand them money out of my pocket, but that’s impossible. What I will do is donate 50% 100% of the profits I generate from the sales of the Cajun French merchandise I have available at Cafe Press – http://www.cafepress.com/cajunfrench.
For those who are interested in “why” I’m doing this:
My Grandfather was a die-hard Cajun. He spoke Cajun French as his first language. He was a very simple guy, and also very intelligent. He realized that the Cajun minimalistic lifestyle was a choice rather than a burden. He hated how outsiders automatically assumed Cajuns to be of lesser class, lesser intelligence, lesser socioeconomic status. He was proud of his culture and wished that more Cajuns were. If you watch the documentaries on ( http://www.cajunfrenchblog.com/2009/01/swamp-pop-cajun-rock-and-roll/) about Swamp Pop, you’ll see beginnings of the end of the real Cajun Culture. My PaPaw saw this first hand but fought it as best as he knew how – by continuing to play his accordion and fiddle and embracing other Cajun lifestyle ideals.
One thing he and my Grandmother did not do was pass the language down to us. They used it to speak in secret… and my generation missed out on possibly the most important part of our culture… For this reason, I think CODOFIL is important. The language is an important part of the re-growth of our culture. Teaching our children takes money, and I don’t have money I can give them… that’s where the merchandise comes in.
Hopefully you’ll consider helping out. Go to the CODOFIL website, and learn about them. Feel free to donate to them directly, or to purchase any product at
http://www.cafepress.com/cajunfrench.
This is great. I feel the same way you do. I did however learn to speak Cajun French but due to the limited amount of useage, I am slowly forgetting lots of words, etc. It is time we take a stand to protect the Cajun French Culture. It is time for us to be pround and not try to hide our roots.
I talked with Rosetta Stone about a year ago and they will put out a Cajun French program if someone would be willing to finance it. At the time they wanted $200,000 and at least one person that spoke the language to work with them to develope the program. I personally couldn’t come up with the money, so I contacted people in our state government as well as others that claim that they want to keep our cajun language alive but they didn’t seem interested. $200,000 is not a lot of money if the government and others could pitch in. Once the the Cajun French learning software program would be completed, Rosetta Stone would give the first 25 programs probably valued from $250 – $300 each for free to the donor.
i’m glad there are still folks fighting to preserve Cajun French and the Cajun culture. i visited your neck of the woods a month or so back and was thrilled to hear some french here and there (i’m of quebecois descent).
if you have family or friends who speak Cajun French, start learning from them and start recording them!!
This is a wonderful thing you’re doing! I too am of Cajun decent. My mamaw and papaw were Cajun. I grew up in New Orleans and have watch the Cajun culture and language slowly fade away sadly. I was fortunate enough to learn most of the language, but it is so rarely used now a days. I hope that Codofil and others like us can reawaken the Cajun culture in Louisiana before it’s too late.
I would very much in deed like this software to come out, I to am one of the decendents that did not learn this language when I was young and missed out because my family was ashamed to teach it to us. I would very much like to educate myself in this langauge and pass it down to my children. I am missing the oppurtunity to pass this culture down to my children unless I can preserve something of it. Recently moving to Texas due to the Oil Spill I noticed how proud the spanish speaking south texans were proud of there language. Although we had a small group of cajuns at work mostly older than myself we stuck together where most of the people in south texas could not even understand the english we were speaking, but noticed the bonding we had for each other. I also saw some of the people from south texas take intrest in the few words that I could speak in french from noticing how we spoke and acted in groups instead of individuals they started to as-seem-a-late the cajun culture. I am gathering my english dialect is from french origion which others outside cannot understand and felt a since of pride when questioned about it. Even though I would like my children and myself to learn other langauges to communicate with the outside world in this day in age, Cajun French is the one langauge I wish I could speak while at home and pass down so they know were the come from and feel the bond all of us from South Louisiana feel when we are together. Please Please push to have this software come out, I feel as once as our grandparents are gone this language will be lost forever.
This is a great idea! I just had someone at work ask me how to say something in Cajun French and was very dismayed to find out that I couldn’t find anything on the web for the word in question.
I would also be willing to personally donate funds if it helps to make this happen.