The city of Nashua, New Hampshire, is home to the Dis-Moi French Group. (Dis-moi means “tell me” in French.) When the group was founded in 2006 as an offshoot of a Boston-based group, little did the founders know that they would serve to contribute to the rich cultural history of the town, which was once home to a thriving French-speaking community.
Nashua was originally home to the fourteen tribes of the Algonquin Nation. The town became part of Massachusetts in 1652 and was settled permanently in 1673 as the town of Dunstable. In 1741, Dunstable became part of New Hampshire. The town was re-baptized with the Algonquin name of Nashua in 1837. Between 1865 and 1900, the textile industry in Nashua (and the Merrimack Valley in general) attracted immigrants from the four corners of the globe including Ireland, Eastern Europe, and Canada. Eventually, French-Canadians comprised the largest “ethnic group” population in the city. After the closure of the textile mills shortly after World War II, Nashua’s economy became diversified and the city eventually evolved into a regional commercial and industrial center.
When Dis-Moi was founded in modern Nashua, its purpose was to provide members an opportunity to speak the French Language. While the Boston-based group was comprised mostly of bilingual Americans, Dis-Moi attracted (in addition to bilingual Americans), members from countries including Romania, Haiti, and France as well as the descendants of French-Canadian immigrants. Today, most members speak English at home with their families. While Dis-Moi hosts interesting activities throughout the year such as movie and restaurant outings, the most important aspect of the group is linguistic. When asked at a recent meeting about the purpose of the group, members unanimously replied “to keep the language alive….”
Shared by Ann from New England.
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