Re: When did Doucette become Doucet ?
-
In reply to:
Re: When did Doucette become Doucet ?
5/04/01
Dear friends!
Reading all the comments about the Doucet family name show me how this question is hard to understand for many. Especially about the pronounciation. Well has a french-speaking I can give you a small understanding of this complex puzzle. It will probably help you to clarify some important points.
First of all, somebody wrote that the name signify "soft" or "mild" in french. That is true. But I also read in old dictionaries that Doucet could had other meanings. It was also a flower name for example. But I don't have the references with me at the moment and I don't want to emphasize that point now!
A long time before Germain Doucet dit Laverdure came to Canada, The name Doucet was spelt in different ways in France. The reason are probably numerous. In Canadian records the name Doucet for Germain is written "Doucet". It's true that in the french language Doucet is pronounced "Doo-say" and Doucette is pronounced "Doo-set". But in the french comun language everybody is pronouncing the name "Doucet" differently. For example, in our family, we write "Doucet" but everybody is pronouncing "Doo-set". Personaly I say "Doo-say" to be more accurate. It's a personal choice.
I suppose nobody knows how Germain was pronoucing himself his name: "Doo-say" or "Doo-set". It's possible that it was "Doo-say" with the real way to pronounce it in french. I personally believe that the "Doo-set" pronounciation is coming from the english pronounciation of the "T" for Canada. But I don't know about the case in France.
So more than 95% of Doucet in America are coming from Germain Doucet and some have change their way of spelling here for their own reason. But it's still the same name and the same family! Salutations to all of you, Marc.