Council promotes French language

We need many more bilingual people in our country. The Counsel for the Development of French in Louisiana is promoting the French language in Louisiana schools. - - Donna Poisl

Special to The News-Star • Louisiana State University •

BATON ROUGE — In 1956 Earlene Broussard Echeverria, an Acadian from Vermilion Parish, attended her first day of school and did not know a word of English.

With the controversy over immigration and the English language, it is hard to imagine that only 50 years ago there was a large French-speaking population that did not know "the American language."

Acadians are descendants of French colonists who were living in Acadia, Nova Scotia. Because the settlers refused to pledge allegiance to the British monarchy during times of tension with France, thousands of Acadians were expelled from this region between 1755 and 1763. Many settled in Louisiana and began a new French culture in America.
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