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| http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doucet |
Every day I'm reminded about the rarity of my heritage, because I carry my name with me everywhere I go. And every single day of my life, it's mispronounced or misspelled, either from ignorance or spite. Some of it's prejudice against the French left over from WWII, or news items that depict France as a spoiled Euro child who hates the evil American McDonald's, valid points both. I write this in the hopes that it will bear repeating among my readers, so that I won't have to deliver such a speech again: I AM NOT FRENCH. Let me tell you who I am.
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| http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acadians |
I am descended from The Huguenots http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugenots who were expelled from France for political reasons,
to settle in Nova Scotia as Acadians, then after The Expulsion, were dispersed through force. Some became the Cajuns of New Orleans ("Cajun" is a corruption of the term "Acadian"), some went south to the Colonies (hello, me), and some disappeared into the woods, never to be heard from again, becoming a blend of European and Native American called The Métis. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Métis_people
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| http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acadians |
This is the history of a people so brutalized, oppressed, and terrorized, that for many of us, our name is all we have left, after every trace of our culture and history was burned or destroyed or taken from us. I'm fortunate that my ancestor, Pierre Doucet, was an indentured servant to a wealthy sea captain, granting him the freedom to determine his fate in a somewhat better measure. He died, leaving behind a diary, which my family is blessed to have. http://homepage.ntlworld.com/pitretrail/myline/paternal/pdoucet.htm
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| http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nova_Scotia |
So the next time you are tempted to try an "exotic" name, ostensibly to show your worldly sophistication, I would ask that if you have any lingering doubts as to the correct pronunciation, ask first. Because you just might be addressing a fighter, who takes questions later.
