My mom’s side of the family is all Cajun, which means they came from France, went to Canada, and then settled in Louisiana (where I was born). Considering how long ago all this happened there is likely exactly zero documentation about this. What can I do?
I’ve taken french, spanish and latin. None of which would help me with much older English. I’m pretty good with figuring out context but I’d probably have a really hard time with anything older than 1400-1500. Canterbury tales for example in the original English is really hard to read and there’s a lot of words that make no sense to a modern only English speaker.
Whan that Aprille with his shoures sote
The droghte of Marche hath perced to the rote,
And bathed every veyne in swich licour,
Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
Whan Zephirus eek with his swete breeth
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
Hath in the Ram his halfe cours y-ronne,
And smale fowles maken melodye,
That slepen al the night with open yë,
(So priketh hem nature in hir corages):
Than longen folk to goon on pilgrimages
(And palmers for to seken straunge strondes)
To ferne halwes, couthe in sondry londes;
And specially, from every shires ende
Of Engelond, to Caunterbury they wende,
The holy blisful martir for to seke,
That hem hath holpen, whan that they were seke.
I hadn’t actually considered that. That very likely makes me ineligible actually. Thinking about it like that, I doubt any of my ancestors were ever actually Canadian. I’d forgotten about the fact Canada wasn’t an independent country yet so they wouldn’t qualify and therefore I wouldn’t either.