On a chilly afternoon in January, we met with Guyaume Boulianne, one of the spokespersons for the 2025 Rendez-vous de la Francophonie (RVF). Quintessentially Acadian in his accent, his music and his poetry, Guyaume radiates the serenity and joy of a person who fills his life with the things he loves. While he defines himself first and foremost as a musician, he’s also a proud ambassador for Acadjonne, the French spoken in St. Mary’s Bay, Nova Scotia. He even transported a folk tale from Acadia all the way to Kinshasa! The theme for this year’s RVF, “Cultivate your roots,” suits him right down to the ground, because it’s his roots that nourish his life and his work.
Roots imbedded in the sands of St. Mary’s Bay
Guyaume Boulianne grew up in a family where music was a part of everyday life: his two sisters and his parents are all musicians. So when it came time to decide what he should study at university, he didn’t need to think twice before enrolling in a music program. He might not have known much about theory, but he was an experienced entertainer who had been performing publicly with his friends for some years. And in fact he still performs with those same friends today. They share a common heritage, marked by two defining elements: they grew up in the same region of the country and were taught by the same teacher, who passed on traditional songs to her students.
Bridges connecting past and present
Guyaume believes that recontextualizing traditional instruments like the banjo, the fiddle and the mandolin creates a bridge that brings past and present into harmony. Another bridge between past and present is Acadjonne. This dialect, still very much alive today, incorporates elements of the French spoken in past centuries in the region of Poitou, France. For example, in Acadjonne, the only adverb used for negation is point, never pas. And Acadjonne is far from being a language frozen in time; Guyaume has noticed differences between his mother’s vocabulary and his own, a sure sign that the language is very much alive and continues to evolve!
Guyaume has published a poetry collection, Nâ, in Acadjonne, thus contributing to the vitality of the language. He’s proud, of course, to see his book on display in bookshop windows; but his pride also lies in the fact that he has provided visibility for his language. As he explains, “In Nova Scotia, Francophones make up about 4% of the population, and Acadians about 2%. I feel that the publication of my book is a way for me to help give the population greater access to Francophone books.” He notes that when he was a child, Acadjonne, which is far removed from the French espoused by the Académie française, never found its way into books. Today’s generation, in contrast, can see itself reflected in the culture promoted in his region (and elsewhere).
Bridges across borders
Acadjonne music is also becoming widely known and has many fans in the Francophonie, both here and in Europe. Over the last decade or so, Guyaume has been part of the group accompanying Acadian singer P’tit Belliveau, so he’s had several opportunities to observe the success of this style of music. He recalls one performance the group gave in France, where the audience sang along enthusiastically in spite of the significant linguistic differences. Up on stage, the musicians were delighted to see that music has no borders and brings people together regardless of differences in accent.
Acadjonne has travelled with Guyaume across the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Aboard the Hermione, as part of the Libres ensemble project (an initiative of the International Organisation of La Francophonie), Guyaume joined other Francophones in an odyssey that had a tremendous impact on him. What impressed him the most was the exchanges he had with others and the openness they showed.
In 2023, at Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, he promoted Acadjonne at the Games of La Francophonie. Once again, his encounters with Francophones from all over the world impressed him and made the experience a very rewarding one for him. On that occasion, he drew upon his Acadian roots and transported the audience to the Magdalen Islands through the magic of a folk tale. He was a finalist for Team Canada in the storytelling category.
Pride and authenticity
When asked what legacy he would like to leave through the medium of his work, Guyaume simply responds, “Pride.” The pride of creating something completely authentic that transcends stereotypes; the pride of conveying what he feels inside, what inspires him, through his music and his poetry. During a memorable discussion with Zachary Richard about identity, Guyaume asked his advice on how to avoid falling into caricature. The well-known singer from Louisiana replied, “A typical Cajun is someone who eats meat, drinks alcohol and is Catholic. I’m a vegetarian, I quit drinking a long time ago, and I’m Buddhist. Does that make me any less a Cajun?” Guyaume has never forgotten that lesson; and through his art, he continues to express the aspects of culture that matter to him, the ones that shape his authenticity and that spring, most importantly, from his roots.
