{"id":709,"date":"2025-01-21T08:17:58","date_gmt":"2025-01-21T13:17:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev2.hostinghappisoft.xyz\/letat-du-francais-inquiete-les-congolais-de-hamilton\/"},"modified":"2026-09-29T08:29:23","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T12:29:23","slug":"letat-du-francais-inquiete-les-congolais-de-hamilton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lacch.ca\/en\/letat-du-francais-inquiete-les-congolais-de-hamilton\/","title":{"rendered":"The state of French worries Hamilton\u2019s Congolese community"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Richard Caumartin<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Hamilton\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p>The \u201cFrench in Our Homes\u201d evening was hosted by the managing director of the region\u2019s Congolese community,\u00a0<a>Nancy Muinda-Ishibola<\/a>. The welcome address was given by Nanou Kalombo, who spoke about the importance of speaking French at home.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe 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\u2019s ethnocultural communities. If we do nothing to preserve or promote it, we will have nothing left,\u201d says Ms. Kalombo.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis 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.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn 2022, we identified about ten families in Hamilton\u2019s Congolese community, with four children on average, who decided to switch their children\u2019s language of instruction to English. It is true that we are a minority in this city, and this situation is a major challenge.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe 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,\u201d concludes Nanou Kalombo.<\/p>\n<p>This testimony was followed by remarks from guests who support the community\u2019s francization efforts, including Ghayt El Gouach, project officer with Welcoming Francophone Communities (the gala\u2019s sponsor), and Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Bergeron, superintendent of education at the CSC MonAvenir school board.<\/p>\n<p>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 Herv\u00e9 Kenhefa (vice-president of the Cameroonian community), Darling Alexandre (a Haitian high school teacher),\u00a0<a>Chairh Guei\u00a0<\/a>(an Ivorian manager at Coll\u00e8ge Bor\u00e9al), Didier Mpiana (a technology professional with the CS Viamonde school board),\u00a0<a>Micheline Kinzola\u00a0<\/a>(Congolese, and an employee of the Centre francophone du Grand Toronto) and Hilda N\u2019sele Mukele (Congolese, who works with children with special needs).<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStrengthening cultural identity is essential for young people to identify with the Franco-Ontarian community,\u201d stresses Mr. Kenhefa.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe 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,\u201d adds Ms. Alexandre.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Source:<\/strong> Le \br\u00e9gional.com<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Richard Caumartin La communaut\u00e9 congolaise de Hamilton s\u2019est r\u00e9unie le 6\u00a0avril dans la salle paroissiale de l\u2019\u00e9glise Notre-Dame du Perp\u00e9tuel-Secours pour un gala mettant en vedette la langue fran\u00e7aise. En effet, le fran\u00e7ais \u00e9tait au c\u0153ur des discussions d\u2019un panel d\u2019intervenants communautaires qui ont partag\u00e9 l\u2019importance de la langue fran\u00e7aise dans la soci\u00e9t\u00e9 canadienne d\u2019aujourd\u2019hui. La soir\u00e9e \u00ab\u00a0Le fran\u00e7ais dans nos foyers\u00a0\u00bb \u00e9tait anim\u00e9e par la directrice gestionnaire de la communaut\u00e9 congolaise de la r\u00e9gion,\u00a0Nancy Muinda-Ishibola. Le mot de bienvenue, Nanou Kalombo qui a abord\u00e9 l\u2019importance de parler fran\u00e7ais \u00e0 la maison. \u00ab\u00a0Nous savons tous que les r\u00e9alit\u00e9s linguistiques sont un d\u00e9fi au quotidien dans nos \u00e9coles, dans nos familles ou dans nos rencontres sociales. Selon le recensement de\u00a02021, le fran\u00e7ais est la langue maternelle de 6195\u00a0r\u00e9sidents de Hamilton et la R\u00e9publique d\u00e9mocratique du Congo est le premier pays source de l\u2019immigration francophone, suivi de la France et d\u2019Ha\u00efti. Nous assistons actuellement \u00e0 une mondialisation des \u00e9changes intensifiant la langue anglaise. Cette r\u00e9alit\u00e9 met la langue fran\u00e7aise en risque de dispara\u00eetre \u00e0 Hamilton, du moins dans les communaut\u00e9s ethnoculturelles de la municipalit\u00e9. Si nous ne faisons rien pour la pr\u00e9server ou la promouvoir, il ne nous restera plus rien\u00a0\u00bb, affirme Mme\u00a0Kalombo. Ce cri du c\u0153ur un peu alarmiste refl\u00e8te n\u00e9anmoins une certaine r\u00e9alit\u00e9 de la situation linguistique non seulement \u00e0 Hamilton, mais dans toutes les grandes villes du Centre-Sud-Ouest. Au cours des cinq derni\u00e8res ann\u00e9es, les Congolais ont not\u00e9 une baisse significative de l\u2019usage du fran\u00e7ais comme premi\u00e8re langue d\u2019enseignement par les familles issues de la population francophone minoritaire d\u2019origine africaine. \u00ab\u00a0Cet \u00e9tat de fait ne facilite pas une meilleure int\u00e9gration des nouveaux arrivants, dont la plupart se retrouvent au carrefour des langues fran\u00e7aise et anglaise, et finissent par abandonner le fran\u00e7ais au profit de l\u2019anglais. \u00ab\u00a0En 2022, nous avons identifi\u00e9 une dizaine de familles avec quatre enfants, en moyenne, au sein de la communaut\u00e9 congolaise de Hamilton qui ont d\u00e9cid\u00e9 de changer la langue d\u2019enseignement de leurs enfants pour l\u2019anglais. Il est vrai que nous sommes minoritaires dans cette ville et cette situation constitue un d\u00e9fi majeur. \u00ab\u00a0Il faut compenser ce d\u00e9ficit par une visibilit\u00e9 permanente avec des promotions et autres activit\u00e9s qui ciblent les r\u00e9sidents congolais pour appr\u00e9cier et \u00eatre fiers de parler et d\u2019utiliser le fran\u00e7ais comme moyen de faciliter le d\u00e9veloppement ou une meilleure int\u00e9gration\u00a0\u00bb, conclut Nanou Kalombo. Ce t\u00e9moignage a \u00e9t\u00e9 suivi de t\u00e9moignages d\u2019invit\u00e9s qui appuient les efforts de francisation de la communaut\u00e9, dont Ghayt El Gouach, agent de projet des Communaut\u00e9s francophones accueillantes (commanditaire du gala), et Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Bergeron, surintendant de l\u2019\u00e9ducation au Csc\u00a0MonAvenir. Puis, avant le souper et la danse, les pan\u00e9listes ont d\u00e9battu du sujet du jour. Il s\u2019agissait de Sylvie Korolenchuk\u00a0(cofondatrice de la fondation Mwinda en RDC), Hugues Herv\u00e9 Kenhefa (vice-pr\u00e9sident de la communaut\u00e9 camerounaise), Darling Alexandre (Ha\u00eftienne enseignante au secondaire),\u00a0Chairh Guei\u00a0(Ivoirienne gestionnaire au Coll\u00e8ge Bor\u00e9al), Didier Mpiana (professionnel dans le domaine des nouvelles technologies pour le Cs\u00a0Viamonde),\u00a0Micheline Kinzola\u00a0(Congolaise et employ\u00e9e du Centre francophone du Grand Toronto) et Hilda N\u2019sele Mukele (Congolaise et travailleuse avec les enfants ayant des besoins particuliers). La pr\u00e9servation de la langue fran\u00e7aise dans un milieu multiculturel \u00e9tait au c\u0153ur des divers t\u00e9moignages et pour conclure la discussion, tous \u00e9taient d\u2019accord sur le fait que l\u2019avenir de la langue fran\u00e7aise passe par l\u2019Afrique dont 500\u00a0millions d\u2019Africains parleront le fran\u00e7ais d\u2019ici\u00a02030. Il reste important pour les parents d\u2019enseigner la langue maternelle aux enfants issus des diverses communaut\u00e9s culturelles et de conserver le fran\u00e7ais \u00e0 la maison comme deuxi\u00e8me langue. \u00ab\u00a0Le renforcement de l\u2019identit\u00e9 culturelle est primordial pour que les jeunes s\u2019identifient \u00e0 la communaut\u00e9 franco-ontarienne\u00a0\u00bb, insiste M.\u00a0Kenhefa. \u00ab\u00a0Nous voudrions que la langue fran\u00e7aise devienne un r\u00e9flexe naturel chez nos enfants. Nous devrions communiquer avec eux en fran\u00e7ais et les int\u00e9resser \u00e0 lire dans cette langue qui est pour chacun d\u2019entre nous un capital culturel. Nous devrions demander d\u2019avoir plus de livres de langue fran\u00e7aise dans les biblioth\u00e8ques publiques\u00a0\u00bb, ajoute Mme\u00a0Alexandre. En conclusion, les m\u00e9dias sociaux jouent un r\u00f4le pr\u00e9dominant dans l\u2019anglicisation des enfants issus de l\u2019immigration francophone. Les pan\u00e9listes s\u2019entendent sur le constat qu\u2019il devrait y avoir plus d\u2019opportunit\u00e9s sur les m\u00e9dias sociaux pour que les jeunes puissent s\u2019exprimer en fran\u00e7ais. Il faudra cr\u00e9er plus d\u2019applications int\u00e9ressantes en fran\u00e7ais, des groupes de discussion et de la lecture en ligne pour les jeunes francophones. \u00a0 Source : Le \br\u00e9gional.com<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":710,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_breakdance_hide_in_design_set":false,"_breakdance_tags":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-709","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nouvelles"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lacch.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/709","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lacch.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lacch.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lacch.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lacch.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=709"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lacch.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/709\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":711,"href":"https:\/\/lacch.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/709\/revisions\/711"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lacch.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/710"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lacch.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lacch.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lacch.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}