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The Montz Family of Louisiana 1721 - Present |
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by Monty Montz |
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Page 37 |
DEILER STATES THAT THERE WERE MANY GERMANS MARRIED INTO
French families. And because of this, the French language became more predominant. Usually, it was
a German boy who married a French girl, and the girl was more fluent in the use of her language, and the
German language was soon displaced.
BESIDES THIS, GERMAN NAMES WERE SOON ERADICATED AND FRENCH
names were initiated for the newborn. Instead of the customary German names as Hans or Adolph, these
became Achille, Anatole, Macel, Maurice, or some other French name.(48)
THIS AUTHOR CAN REMEMBER THAT MANY PERSONS RESIDING ALONG THE Mississippi River have French sounding names such as
"Zeolid, Chet, Taut-Noon, and Daudoot."
TODAY, HOWEVER, THE FRENCH (OR GERMAN) LANGUAGES ARE ALL BUT forgotten. Today's generations do not know the language
passed down from a generation ago. Only a few of the older persons still remember the French language spoken along the Mississippi River. Even this was a
special dialect of the French formally spoken in France. Many slangs and "different" words were used taken up
by tradition by those persons speaking their own "brand of French."
ANOTHER FACTOR INVOLVED THE LOCAL OFFICIALS AND record keeping. Since most of the priests and the government
officials were French, the French language soon overtook Church sermons, court recordings, and other formal
documents, including the spelling of German names (Manz to Montz). The entire lower Mississippi River
Delta was under French rule, as well as New Orleans, and so it was only natural to assume that the French
would be the predominant people. And, because a learned French priest could not understand the
pronunciation of a German settler trying to indicate his name,
but not knowing how to spell it, the name came out wrong in spelling, and stuck over the years.
IT IS INTERESTING TO NOTE THAT DEILER INDICATES THAT THE change of name from "Kamper, Kammer, Campert, Camper,
Camfer, Cambra (Spanish), and today, this name is known as "Cambre." (49)
48 Deiler, pp. 118-119
49 Ibid., p. 211