His Silence

Original Acadian French

Coll.: I’ parlait-i’ ?

Inf.: Non, oh non, il a jamais parlé. Il’ avont jamais su yoù c’qu’i’ d’venait ni rionne. Bin, ils l’aviont pris d’su’ la côte pis c’était tout c’qu’i’ ont su. Il a jamais voulu dire une… jamais, il a jamais parlé. Il’ ont essayé à l’faire parler, i’ parlait pas.

Coll.: Rien du tout ?

Inf.: Non.

Coll.: I’ lisait-i’ ?

Inf.: Non, il était là dârriére, assis dârriére le poêle-là et çâ, pis hallions là, il était là, i’ parlait pas. On pouvait pas l’faire parler.

Coll.: Point du tout ?

Inf.: Non.

Coll.: Si vous parliez, vous contiez des jokes, et çâ, i’ riait-i’ ?

Inf.: Non, i’ riait pas, non, tu sais…

English

Coll.: Did he talk?

Informer: No, oh no, he never talked. They never found out where he came from or anything. Well, they’d picked him up along the coast and that was all they knew. He never wanted to say a… never, he never talked. They tried to get him to talk, he wouldn’t talk.

Coll.: Nothing at all?

Inf.: No.

Coll.: Did he read?

Inf.: No, he was there in the back, sitting behind the stove. And there he sat. He wouldn’t talk. He couldn’t be made to talk.

Coll.: Not at all?

Inf.: No.

Coll.: If you talked, told jokes, did he laugh?

Inf.: No, he didn’t laugh, no, you know…