THE GRANITE STATE.
♪ KAREN: BRUCE BROWN KNOWS HIS WAY AROUND THE LOBSTER TANK.
H AS THE LONGTIME OWNER OF BROWN’S LOBSTER POUND IN SEABROOK, HE’S SERVED UP MILLIONS OF LOBSTERS.
>> NOW, LET’S SEE.
KAREN: THE 81-YEAR-OLD BEGAN WORKING AT HIS FAMILY’S RESTAURANT WHEN HE WAS JUST 13.
EVENTUALLY TAKING IT OVER FROM HIS FATHER.
>> 1.86.
KAREN: BROWN’S LOBSTER POUND GOES WAY BACK, 70 YEARS.
THE BROWN FAMILY, CENTURIES.
>> MY ANCESTOR CAME TO HAMPTON IN 1638.
HIS NAME WAS JOHN BROWN.
AND I’M THE 10TH GENERATION FROM HIM.
KAREN: BRUCE SPEAKS MUCH THE SAME WAY AS HIS FOREBEARERS DID HUNDREDS OF YEARS AGO.
>> I GUESS I’VE BEEN TOLD BY PEOPLE THAT IT’S THE CLOSEST THING TO THE KING’S ENGLISH . KAREN: IN SEABROOK, THERE’S A NICKNAME FOR IT.
>> A BROOKAH, YES, SURE.
WE’D QUALIFY, WOULDN’T WE?
[LAUGHTER] >> THE ROOTS GO WAY BACK TO THE ORIGINAL SETTLERS.
THE EATON’S.
THE FOWLERS.
THE DOWL’S.
THE BECKMAN’S.
THE BOYD’S.
KAREN: HENRY BOYD, A DIRECT DESCENDANT OF THREE OF THESE ORIGINAL FAMILIES.
>> IF YOU’RE A SEABROOKAH THEN YOU HAVE THE ABILITY TO SPEAK PROPERLY.
KAREN: AND DON’T TELL HIM HE HAS AN ACCENT.
>> I DON’T THINK WE HAVE AN ACCENT.
I THINK YOU HAVE AN ACCENT . BECAUSE IT’S BEEN DESCRIBED AS AN ELIZABETHAN DIALECT.
ENGLISH IS A GERMANIC LANGUAGE . AND IF YOU LISTEN TO A GERMAN PERSON SPEAK, THEY DON’T PRONOUNCE A HARD R AT THE ENDS OF THEIR WORDS
IF THEY ORDER A BEER, IT’S A BEEAH.
JUST THE SAME WAY A SEABROOKAH WOULD SAY BEER.
KAREN: BRUCE’S DIALECT CAUGHT THE ATTENTION OF HIS HIGH SCHOOL ENGLISH TEACHER.
>> THIS IS MY YEARBOOK FROM AMESBURY HIGH SCHOOL.
KAREN: 1955.
>> 1955.
KAREN: MR. WOODWELL REGULARLY CALLED ON BRUCE TO READ OUTLOUD IN SHAKESPEARE CLASS.
>> FOR A CHARM OF POWERFUL TROUBLE, LIKE A HELL BROTH BOIL AND BUBBLE.
[LAUGHTER] THAT’S PRETTY GOOD.
KAREN: SINCE THEN, BRUCE HAS SOUGHT TO PRESERVE THE ELIZABETHAN DIALECT.
>> IT THINK IT’S PART OF THE HISTORY OF THE TOWN.
WE JUST HAD OUR 250TH ANNIVERSARY.
KAREN: AS PEOPLE COME AND GO, THE DIALECT BECOMES DILUTED.
>> I THINK THE DESIRE TO PRESERVE IT IS ALIVE IN ME BUT THE REALITY THAT IT WILL BE PRESERVED IS GONE.
>> WHEN YOU HAVE US ROUTE 1 RUNNING THROUGH YOUR TOWN, IT’S VERY, VERY DIFFICULT TO PRESERVE THE PAST.
>> WE CAN STILL FIND A FEW PEOPLE, THOUGH, COULDN’T WE HENRY?
KAREN: DID YOU CATCH THAT SHORTENED WORD BRUCE USED FOR COULDN’T?
>> WHEN WE GET TOGETHER, WE SPEAK DIFFERENTLY.
HIS SON JUST LEFT, WHO’S MY BEST FRIEND.
HE SAYS I MIGHT SEE YOU MORREY.
MORREY IS AN ANCIENT, ANCIENT TERM FOR TOMORROW.
KAREN: SEABROOKAHS HOPE THEIR DIALECT SEES MANY MORE MORREYS.
♪ KAREN: THE FRANCO HERITAGE RUNS DEEP IN NEW HAMPSHIRE.
ON MANCHESTER’S WEST SIDE, YOU’LL FIND FRENCH FLAIR AROUND EVERY CORNER.
>> OF COURSE, THE WEST SIDE WAS KNOWN AS BEING THE FRANCO-AMERICAN WEST SIDE.
KAREN: ROBERT PERREAULT, BORN IN MANCHESTER, TRACES HIS ANCESTRAL ROOTS BACK TO NEW FRANCE, TODAY’S CANADA.
AND NOW WORKS TO PRESERVE HIS FRENCH HERITAGE.
>> NOBODY KNOWS ABOUT OUR EXISTENCE.
IF YOU SAY I’M FRANCO-AMERICAN, OH, LIKE THE SPAGHETTI.
KAREN: HE AND HENRI VAILLENCOURT -- [SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE] KAREN: ARE CRISS-CROSSING THE STATE GIVING PRESENTATIONS ON HOW THE FRENCH-CANADIAN LANGUAGE
SPOKEN IN QUEBEC IS BASED ON OLD DIALECTS FROM DIFFERENT REGIONS IN FRANCE, WHERE THE FIRST SETTLERS ORIGINATED.
FOR THE LONGEST TIME, HENRI, RAISED IN GREENVILLE, THOUGHT HIS FRENCH WAS SLANG.
>> THE TERM WAS JARDON.
AU PAUVRE DE JARDON.
YOU KNOW, WHICH IS KIND OF SLANG.
THAT’S HOW THE PEOPLE THOUGHT OF THEIR OWN LANGUAGE.
KAREN: HIS AH-HA MOMENT CAME ON A BICYCLE TRIP THROUGH FRANCE WHEN HE WAS TOLD HE SPOKE AN OLD DIALECT FROM NORTHERN FRANCE.
>> BUT LITTLE DID I KNOW THAT THE WORDS WE THOUGHT WERE SLANG , LIKE [SPEAKS FRENCH] -- THAT’S ALL OLD FRENCH.
I THOUGHT, BOY, HOW INTERESTING THAT THAT CAN SURVIVE THE CENTURIES AND PEOPLE STILL SPEAK IT.
KAREN: ROBERT, AN AUTHOR AND FRENCH TEACHER, ENCOUNTERS SIMILAR PREJUDICES.
>> PEOPLE ASK ME SOMETIMES WHAT KIND OF FRENCH DO YOU TEACH UP THERE AT ST. ANSELM’S COLLEGE ? AND THEY’LL SAY IT IS THAT CANADIAN STUFF OR REAL FRENCH
? WHICH I FIND KIND OF INSULTING . AND I TOLD THEM, LOOK, IF KING LOUIS XIV OF FRANCE, WHO WAS LIVING IN THE 17TH CENTURY CAME
BACK TO LIFE, HE WOULD PROBABLY BE BETTER UNDERSTOOD IN MANCHESTER THAN HE WOULD IN PARIS.
KAREN: THE FRANCO DIALECT HAS WANED OVER TIME, YET ITS ROOTS ARE EVER PRESENT, A MONUMENT OF THE FIRST FRENCH LANGUAGE JOURNALIST STANDS TALL IN THE WEST END’S LAFAYETTE PARK,
AND A HISTORICAL MARKER-BOTH IN ENGLISH AND FRENCH-COMMEMORATES THE FIRST CREDIT UNION IN THE U.S.
>> IT’S IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT’S PART OF OUR HERITAGE.
>> TO BE ABLE TO SPEAK THAT LANGUAGE, TO USE THE EXPRESSIONS THAT YOUR ANCESTORS USED, THAT YOU’VE HEARD SINCE BIRTH, THAT TOUCHES YOUR SOUL IN A WAY THA SPEAKING IT IN A MODERN WAY DOES
NOT.