His Behaviour

Original Acadian French

C.C. : Il a jamais…

Informateur: Il a jamais fait autchun signe, si on y montrait d’quoi. Il’ avont ‘té, il’ avont montré ain portrait et i’ r’gardait tout de même coumme si il arait pu r’garder ain autre chouse pis i’ s’loutait la vue de d’ssus, ça l’intéressait pas. Ouai. Et Didier à Marin avait ain fusil et il avait apporté l’fusil, et i’ montrit l’fusil, tu sais, et c’était tout de même coumme s’i’ y avait montré ain boute de bois. Autchune expression qu’il arait vu ain fusil, autchune chouse coumme ça.

C.C. : Il arait dû pâtir. Ç’arait dû d’être misérable pour lui.

Inf.: J’chai pas s’il savait s’il était malade. J’chai pas s’il savait que, tu sais, qu’autchune chouse était pas coumme qu’ç’arait dû être. I’ paraissait content. I’ mangeait, i’ boivait, i’ s’mettait d’boute, i’ s’chauffait, i’ s’couchait, i’ dormait. Ça c’était sa vie. Ouai. Yoù c’qu’i’ d’venait, quoi c’était, il’ ont jamais découvrit sa race, ni yoù c’qu’i’ d’venait, ni rien du tout. Ouai. I’ s’arait point changé. Faulait qu’ils l’changirent.

C.C. : De hardes, ouai.

Inf.: Ah ouai. Il’ y ariont dounné ses hardes, i’ s’arait pas changé d’hardes. Faulait qu’ils l’changirent de hardes zeux.

C.C. : I’ s’arait-i’ lavé ?

Inf: Non, pas s’ils, l’alliont pas quitté.

English

C.C.: He never…

Inf.: He never gave a sign, if you showed him something. They went, they showed him a picture and he just looked at it like he was looking at no matter what and then he looked away, it didn’t interest him. Yeah. Didier à Marin [Didier son of Marin] had a gun and he’d brought the gun, and he showed him the gun, you know, it was just like he’d just shown him a piece of wood. No expression that he’d seen a gun, nothing like that.

C.C.: He must have suffered. He must have been miserable.

Inf.: I don’t know if he knew if he was sick. I don’t know if he knew, you know, that things weren’t as they should’ve been. He seemed happy. He’d eat, he’d drink, he’d get up, he’d warm himself, he’d go to bed, he’d sleep. That was his life. Yep. Where he came from, what he was, they never found out what race he was, or where he came from, anything at all. Yep. He would never get changed. They had to change him.

C.C.: His clothes, yes.

Inf.: Oh, yeah. Even if they’d have given him his clothes, he wouldn’t have gotten changed. They had to change him themselves.

C.C.: Would he have washed himself?

Inf.: No, not even if they’d... They never left him.