Page "Pierre Part, Louisiana" Paragraph 6

The people of Pierre Part are predominantly of French ancestry, of families who either came directly from France or those whose came from Canada ( Acadia ), and before that, France.

Until the early-to mid-twentieth century the people almost exclusively spoke Cajun French at home.

This caused the people of Pierre Part and the rest of the Cajun community to be labeled as " backwards " or " ignorant " by outsiders, and in many cases from the 1910s to the 1970s, students whose first language was French were punished corporally in school for speaking it.

By the 1970s onward extremely few children were taught Cajun French as a first language since the previous generations were taught to be ashamed of their heritage.

In the 1990s an effort was made to reintroduce French into the school systems.

This became somewhat controversial as the French taught in school was not Cajun French.

Many of the teachers brought in were Belgian, French, and Canadian who taught their own dialect of French.

However, there are still many who contend that the " Standard French " taught in French Immersion classes at Pierre Part Elementary School is the best chance that local Cajuns have at preserving their language and culture, since there is no written standard for teaching the Cajun dialect of the French language.