Richard Caumartin
Hamilton’s Congolese community gathered on April 6 in the parish hall of Our Lady of Perpetual Help church for a gala celebrating the French language. French was at the heart of a panel discussion with community speakers, who shared the importance of the French language in Canadian society today.
The “French in Our Homes” evening was hosted by the managing director of the region’s Congolese community, Nancy Muinda-Ishibola. The welcome address was given by Nanou Kalombo, who spoke about the importance of speaking French at home.
“We all know that language realities are a daily challenge in our schools, in our families and in our social gatherings. According to the 2021 census, French is the mother tongue of 6,195 Hamilton residents, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the leading source country of francophone immigration, followed by France and Haiti. We are currently witnessing a globalization of exchanges that is intensifying the use of English. This reality puts the French language at risk of disappearing in Hamilton, at least within the municipality’s ethnocultural communities. If we do nothing to preserve or promote it, we will have nothing left,” says Ms. Kalombo.
This somewhat alarmist cry from the heart nonetheless reflects a certain reality of the language situation, not only in Hamilton but in all the major cities of Central and Southwestern Ontario. Over the past five years, the Congolese community has noted a significant decline in the use of French as the first language of instruction among families from the minority francophone population of African origin.
“This situation does not make it easier for newcomers to integrate, as most of them find themselves at the crossroads of French and English and end up abandoning French in favour of English.
“In 2022, we identified about ten families in Hamilton’s Congolese community, with four children on average, who decided to switch their children’s language of instruction to English. It is true that we are a minority in this city, and this situation is a major challenge.
“We must make up for this shortfall with a constant presence, through promotions and other activities aimed at Congolese residents, so that they value and take pride in speaking and using French as a way to support development and better integration,” concludes Nanou Kalombo.
This testimony was followed by remarks from guests who support the community’s francization efforts, including Ghayt El Gouach, project officer with Welcoming Francophone Communities (the gala’s sponsor), and Frédéric Bergeron, superintendent of education at the CSC MonAvenir school board.
Then, before dinner and dancing, the panellists discussed the topic of the day. They were Sylvie Korolenchuk (co-founder of the Mwinda Foundation in the DRC), Hugues Hervé Kenhefa (vice-president of the Cameroonian community), Darling Alexandre (a Haitian high school teacher), Chairh Guei (an Ivorian manager at Collège Boréal), Didier Mpiana (a technology professional with the CS Viamonde school board), Micheline Kinzola (Congolese, and an employee of the Centre francophone du Grand Toronto) and Hilda N’sele Mukele (Congolese, who works with children with special needs).
Preserving the French language in a multicultural environment was at the heart of the various testimonies, and to close the discussion, everyone agreed that the future of the French language lies in Africa, where 500 million Africans will speak French by 2030. It remains important for parents to teach their mother tongue to children from the various cultural communities and to keep French at home as a second language.
“Strengthening cultural identity is essential for young people to identify with the Franco-Ontarian community,” stresses Mr. Kenhefa.
“We would like the French language to become second nature for our children. We should speak to them in French and get them interested in reading in this language, which is cultural capital for each of us. We should ask for more French-language books in public libraries,” adds Ms. Alexandre.
In conclusion, social media plays a dominant role in the anglicization of children from francophone immigrant families. The panellists agreed that there should be more opportunities on social media for young people to express themselves in French. More engaging French-language apps, discussion groups and online reading for young francophones will need to be created.
Source: Le régional.com
