Raising kids in Creole outside of Louisiana
I don’t live in Louisiana. I wasn’t raised in Louisiana. I am not from Louisiana. Really, I’ve never touched the ground in Louisiana. But I am Creole and I was raised in a very Creole household. My grandparents left New Orleans a long time ago, after World War II during the Second Great Migration. They brought with them my father and my aunt. I have a cousin whom I know was learning to speak Creole with her grandmother, my great aunt, some years ago. That is the only person I have ever heard of speaking Creole in my family.
I already knew that our language was disappearing. During Covid, but not via Covid, I lost several people important to me in my family. One day, just before my first child was born, I decided I wanted them to learn to speak Creole. The next morning, I went and bought a copy of Ti Liv Kreyol online. When I had finished reading it, I started to look for everything I could that would help me learn. I only had just a little bit of time to learn before my child arrived. I knew that they had some time before they could talk, but I also knew that I had to stay ahead of them with as much knowledge as I could gather.
Since his first day alive I spoke to him only in Creole. As I was learning also, I would just chatter to them about anything and everything. Since I was still learning, I couldn’t really speak well. I felt like I needed to put on tv shows in French to fill in the gaps. Luckily, Boudini et Ses Amis had just been released in Louisiana French. They loved it. We watched Boudin every day for a long time. We also watched Mimi Soleil, Trotro and Simon Super Rabbit in French. Each of those shows are also good for helping adults who are just starting to learn. Currently my kids like to watch Didou, Bluey, Spidey and Friends and PJ Mask in French. Those shows are great for helping beginner adults to learn also.
I would pay close attention to words I would need throughout the day with them. They like to read Latær Lèv at night. We also have books in English and if they’re easy books then I translate them as I read. If they’re too advanced, I just read them in English. We also read books in Louisiana French and international French. At the moment it’s just them and I who can speak Creole. They hardly can speak any English but speak Creole very well. My youngest child is just starting to speak. Already we can see that they are picking up Creole very well also. So, if you want to raise your kids speaking Creole you don’t have to already know how to speak Creole. All of you can learn together at the same time.
There are problems with not having your children speak the community language. No one looks at us weird when they hear us talking together, but it is difficult to find other kids they can play with that understand what they’re saying. I try to find people who have kids that speak French but even that is hard if you live far from a big city. What worries me the most is what will happen when they go to school with other kids who only speak English. I know one day they’re going to want to start speaking English instead of Creole since that’s what everyone around them speaks. I can show them how to speak, but really it depends on them if they want to continue to speak Creole as they get older.
Teaching someone at the same time as you are learning is difficult. Learning a language while there is no one around you to talk with is difficult. If you want to start teaching your kids but they already have a strong English foundation, then start by teaching them one word at a time. Play time is the best time for kids to learn. They can see what the word or phrase means in context, and see it repeated over and over several times. Start slowly but continue advancing to the point that you only speak to them in Creole. Don’t be afraid to supplement with things in Louisiana French because there are more resources than for Creole.
Phillip Williams
Raised in California, Phillip is a full-time teacher and a full-time dad. He translates stories for kids at the Bloom Library and make whatever resources that can help that he didn’t have when he learned
