海角大神

A bright blue sky highlights the leaves of oak trees and white birches that line the clearing where La F锚te d鈥橝utomne is underway. It鈥檚 a yearly fall festival that honors the French roots here in the Old Mines region, an hour south of St. Louis. The comforting smell of French donuts and hot cider hangs in the air. Hundreds of festivalgoers rummage through displays of聽wicker baskets, fabric, artwork, and books.

Soon all eyes fasten on Dennis Stroughmatt and his fiddle as he takes center stage with L鈥橢sprit Cr茅ole, his folk band that鈥檚 been performing at the festival for more than two decades.

Mr. Stroughmatt, his hair pulled into a ponytail and the sleeves of his calico shirt聽rolled up to the elbow, smiles at the crowd as he lifts his bow and begins to play toe-tapping French Creole music as he sings in Missouri French. He鈥檚 doing what he loves,聽and in the process raising awareness of a fast-disappearing dialect and culture.

鈥淗e plays, he sings in French, and everyone comes,鈥� says Natalie Villmer with pride in her voice. She鈥檚 one of the directors of the local historical society that runs the festival.

鈥淣ot everybody understands [French], but they still like it,鈥� she says. 鈥�C鈥檈st une jolie聽箩辞耻谤苍茅别.鈥� (It鈥檚 a beautiful day.)

Since first visiting Old Mines three decades ago as a student at Southeast Missouri State University, Mr. Stroughmatt has fiddled and lectured his way to becoming one of the foremost experts on Missouri French, also called pawpaw French after a local fruit. His efforts are gaining regional and national recognition. In 2012, he was a featured performer at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress and the Kennedy Center in Washington. He received an award from the Missouri governor in 2014 and was inducted into the National Oldtime Fiddlers Hall of Fame in 2015.

Mr. Stroughmatt sees himself as a musical ambassador who aims to transcend language barriers and show the richness of the local heritage.

鈥淚鈥檓 doing my part, and I鈥檓 proud of that,鈥� he says when asked about his motivation for preserving a dialect spoken by fewer than 20 people. 鈥淚鈥檓 a big believer in the people and this pawpaw French culture; it鈥檚 a representation of who we are,鈥� he adds. 鈥淪o we need to protect that.鈥�

In Old Mines, or La Vieille Mine, the first French settlers came to extract lead as early as 1723. The rural community, which will be celebrating its 300th anniversary next year, spoke French decades before any English or Spanish word was heard. Today, Mr. Stroughmatt鈥檚聽efforts come at a time of increasing national awareness around marginalized American cultures.

鈥淚鈥檓 originally from Vincennes, Indiana. We didn鈥檛 really call it Missouri French or聽pawpaw French. Just French,鈥� says Mr. Stroughmatt. 鈥淢y interest grew from ...聽my fascination with the area鈥檚 heritage.鈥�

Fabrice Jaumont, a researcher on bilingualism and co-editor of 鈥淔rench All Around Us,鈥� a 2022 book that focuses on the presence of Moli猫re鈥檚 language in the United States, says that emphasizing community roots reflects the spirit of our times.

鈥淜eeping this connection with our linguistic heritage and passing it on, that鈥檚 growing in importance,鈥� he notes. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a combination of people recognizing how valuable bilingualism is today while also striving for dignity and wanting to honor their past through the language.鈥�

There are signs of growing acceptance in the U.S. for languages other than English,聽adds Mr. Jaumont. Efforts to promote local languages are happening across the U.S.,聽from the French-speaking communities of Louisiana to the Native tribes of Alaska.

Research shows that bilingualism can be beneficial to a child鈥檚 development and facilitates cultural understanding. In a globalized world, it鈥檚 a skill that helps connect with聽other mindsets and ideas, says Mr. Jaumont. Now, more than 40 states offer the Seal of聽Biliteracy, an award given to high school students who have gained mastery in two聽or more languages by graduation.

When Mr. Stroughmatt was in his 20s, he wanted to learn to play his great-grandfather鈥檚 fiddle. That鈥檚 when music helped him reconnect with his family鈥檚 past.

During a trip to Old Mines, he met local Missouri French musicians Charlie Pashia and聽Roy Boyer who became his teachers. They saw a future for their language and culture聽in Mr. Stroughmatt鈥檚 passion to learn. In 1997, Mr. Boyer pushed him to perform at聽La F锚te d鈥橝utomne. He belted out 鈥淟e Rossignol Sauvage鈥� and 鈥淐hevaliers de la Table聽Ronde鈥� 鈥� and he鈥檚 been doing it ever since.

The more he performed, the more he wanted to share the region鈥檚 unique history. Soon he聽was visiting schools with his fiddle to lecture about Missouri French and share the songs聽that have resonated for three centuries. Mr. Stroughmatt has given nearly 1,000 school聽performances over the past 24 years.

Robert Green, a horn player and conductor, is part of the Alpine Artisans nonprofit 鈥� an organization that provides western Montana schools with live musical performances. 鈥淲e鈥檝e invited Mr. Stroughmatt three times, and each time it鈥檚 a hit,鈥� says Mr. Green. 鈥淚n his case, we have some wonderful applications for social studies, history, and music classes, because he knows a lot about the upper Mississippi French culture,鈥� he adds. 鈥淗e鈥檚 been a tremendous asset to us in many ways, singing of course, but also even sharing his insights on French Creole cuisine in a high school culinary class.鈥�

Mr. Stroughmatt and his band mostly perform in Missouri French. The language is a combination of French and Native American vocabulary that emerged when French聽settlers came to North America in the 18th century, followed the Mississippi River聽downstream, and traded with the Missouria, Illinois, and Osage Native American tribes.

Pockets of French language remained for centuries in what used to be called Nouvelle-France, a territory that stretched along the Mississippi River all the way from the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River regions. Some 17th-century French words still linger today in Missouri French, like ouaouarons (bullfrogs) and聽chats-chouages (raccoons). But with the emergence of the middle class in the U.S. after World War II, speaking English was associated with success and prosperity, often leaving non-English speaking communities, like those of the Missouri French, behind, says Mr. Jaumont, the researcher.

At La F锚te d鈥橝utomne, Mark Boyer is selling vintage novels and history books, including his own 鈥�300 Years of the French in Old Mines.鈥� He鈥檚 a Roman Catholic priest, a historian, and a teacher at the University of Springfield, Missouri. Mr. Boyer grew up in the Old Mines region and recalls a time when he was discouraged from speaking French in school as a boy, even though at least four generations of his family had spoken it at home.

鈥淢y generation never learned it,鈥� says Mr. Boyer. 鈥淚n the mid-to-late 20th century,聽English was required in the schools,鈥� he adds. 鈥淔rench was not well perceived, and聽bilingualism became simply English,鈥� he says. But he鈥檚 encouraged by the possibility聽that Old Mines French could be known to a new generation of French speakers. 鈥淒ennis聽is the new representative for that,鈥� he says.

The vibrancy of the annual La F锚te d鈥橝utomne spurs that hope. A sign near the cider聽stand announces in Missouri French, 鈥�On est toujours icitte鈥� 鈥� 鈥淲e鈥檙e still here.鈥� And聽as long as Mr. Stroughmatt is lifting his fiddle to his chin, folks here are reassured聽that they will dance, sing, and laugh in the autumn air for some time to come.

鈥淢usic itself ... can transcend verbal language,鈥� says Mr. Stroughmatt. 鈥淎nd I聽hope it shows one thing: that French is not a foreign language. It鈥檚 part of this land.鈥�