SÉQUENCE 3 - REMEMBERING OUR HERITAGE

Part 2: Genealogical tourism

CORRIGES

Activity 1: Vocabulary building

a. Definitions

1) generation
2) lineage
3) kinship
4) relative
5) family tree

b. Finding synonyms

1) lineage
2) ancestors
3) connection
4) resources
5) genealogist

c. Filing vocabulary

Family members:
grandfather; brother; mother; father; grandchildren; grandmother…
Professions:
historian; researcher; genealogist…
Fields of study:
History; ancestry; genealogy…
Documents:
archives; records…

d. Checking pronunciation

HISTory (UK and US) /ˈhɪstərɪ/ ou /ˈhɪstrɪ/

ANcestry (UK and US) /ˈænsestrɪ/
ReSEARCH (UK and US) /rɪˈsɜːtʃ/
ARCHives (UK and US) /ˈɑːkaɪvz/
ANcestors (UK and US) /ˈænsestə(r)z/

CNED PREMIÈRE ANGLAIS 1

ResOURCE (UK) (the’s’ is pronounced like a ‘z’) /rɪˈzɔːs/
Resource (US) (the ‘s’ is a non-vibrant consonant) /rɪˈsɔːrs/
Note that the pronunciation of the letter ‘r’ in standard American is far more pronounced than in British
English. However, it is not a rolled ‘r’, as it is in Scottish.

Activity 2: Compréhension de l’oral

Ian’s story
a. Étape 1 : Anticipation à partir du titre :
Nous pouvons supposer qu’une personne qui n’est probablement pas un personnage connu étant
donné que nous ne connaissons que son prénom (Ian) fait un récit, raconte une histoire. L’emploi du
génitif nous indique qu’il s’agit peut-être d’une histoire personnelle.
b. Étape 2 : Première écoute ; vérification des hypothèses et compréhension globale :
Une première écoute confirme qu’Ian est en effet le locuteur. En revanche, il ne relate pas une histoire
personnelle, mais le rôle qu’il joue dans la transmission des histoires personnelles des gens qui
s’adressent à lui.
Nature du document : Il s’agit d’un témoignage.
Nombre de locuteurs : 1 seul.
Lieux mentionnés : L’Écosse ; en ligne ; chez soi ; le champ de bataille de Culloden ; carrefour ; ce beau
pays.
Dates ou époques évoquées : On fait allusion à l’histoire en général, mais on ne mentionne pas de date
précise. « Culloden » est décrit comme un tournant dans l’histoire de l’Écosse ; il sera donc utile de
vérifier la date de cette bataille. Nous pouvons supposer que la vidéo elle-même est récente.
Personnes ou personnages mentionnés : Un expert, comme Ian lui-même ; des visiteurs ; leurs
ancêtres ; votre clan ; vous (les auditeurs).
Thème principal : La généalogie ; la recherche de ses ancêtres écossais.
c. Étape 3 : Compréhension détaillée :
Nous comprenons qu’Ian est généalogiste et que son travail consiste à aider les gens à rechercher
leurs ancêtres écossais. Il précise qu’il est facile de retrouver ses ancêtres en Écosse grâce aux
nombreuses archives et aux ressources numériques. Il cite la bataille de Culloden parce que c’est une
date marquante, mais également parce que les personnes qui descendent des clans des Highlands ont
certainement des ancêtres qui ont participé à cette bataille.
d. Étape 4 : L’implicite :
Nous comprenons qu’Ian est passionné d’histoire et de généalogie. Il le dit de façon explicite, mais
nous pouvons également percevoir l’enthousiasme dans le ton employé. Nous pouvons noter qu’il est
fier d’être Écossais ; il qualifie son pays de « beau » et il précise que c’est un « privilège » de trans-
mettre l’héritage culturel et historique de ce pays. Il semble penser que la généalogie nous permet
d’affirmer notre identité ; il suggère que l’identité écossaise est bien définie puisque les personnes
qui se rendent dans ce pays à la recherche de leurs ancêtres se sentent chez eux. A travers les adjec-
tifs qui font allusion aux émotions (« expérience émouvante », « impressionnante ») l’auditeur perçoit
la richesse et la grandeur du patrimoine historique écossais. Ce témoignage pourrait servir à inciter
les personnes qui ont du sang écossais à entreprendre des recherches généalogiques. Le document
pourrait aussi faire partie d’une campagne publicitaire pour l’Écosse car les images de la vidéo ainsi
que l’enthousiasme et l’émotion qui se dégagent de ce témoignage peuvent susciter un vif intérêt pour
le patrimoine historique écossais.

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e. Étape 5 : Compte rendu en français :
Le document est un témoignage. Un généalogiste écossais parle de son métier pour inciter les gens
à rechercher leurs origines écossaises, étant donné toutes les ressources disponibles sur place et
en ligne. Il fait allusion à la bataille de Culloden, événement marquant de l’histoire de l’Écosse pour
préciser que la plupart des personnes qui ont des ancêtres écossais originaire des Highlands doivent
se sentir concernées. Nous pouvons supposer qu’il s’agit d’une bataille connue de tous les Écossais.
Nous percevons l’émotion et la fierté d’Ian par rapport à l’héritage qu’il transmet, et il réussit à nous
faire partager son enthousiasme pour ce beau pays au passé dramatique.

Script

Researching Scottish ancestry: Ian’s story.

I’ve always been passionate about history and ancestry because it’s something that gives you a sense of who
you are.
It’s so easy to research your family heritage in Scotland because the resources available are second to none.
Pretty much everyone’s births, deaths and marriages are available in our archives, but also online. You’ll
almost certainly be able to find your ancestors. I think the benefit of hiring an expert like myself is that we
can do the work for you. We know exactly where to look and what to look for. I hear so many visitors describe
the feeling of coming home when they arrive in Scotland. It’s always such an emotional experience for them
to walk in the footsteps of their ancestors. I always find visiting Culloden battlefield very humbling because it
marks such an important crossroads in Scottish history. If you’ve got Highlander ancestry in you, then there’s
a fair chance that your clan fought at Culloden.
It’s not just my job, it’s my privilege to share with people the history and the culture of my beautiful country.

Activity 3: More on pronunciation

• La prononciation d’Ian correspond à l’exemple d’accent écossais standard que nous avons écouté dans
la séance découverte et la partie 1. Nous pouvons noter en particulier la prononciation de ‘footsteps’,
le son de la voyelle se rapproche du ‘u’ de ‘blue’, plutôt que des deux ‘oo’ de ‘book’. Nous avons déjà
noté cette même prononciation pour ‘look’ (séance découverte). Par ailleurs, Ian prononce le ‘h’ (‘h’
aspiré) dans ‘where’ et ‘what’ tandis qu’il est muet en anglais britannique standard. Le ‘i’ de ‘birth’ est
prononcé comme le ‘u’ de ‘murder’ (cf la vidéo The murder of Glencoe, Part 1). Nous entendons le même
son triphtongué dans ‘work’.
• Les sons les plus caractéristiques de l’anglais parlé en Écosse sont donc les sons de voyelles dans
les mots : births / work; footsteps / look. Notons également le ‘h’ aspiré après un ‘w’ et le ‘r’ roulé : are,
archives, births, marriages, fair.
• Nous pouvons remarquer également la prononciation du ‘o’ de home qui est une triphtongue (son de
voyelle constitué de trois éléments vocaliquesdans la même syllabe). En effet, les Écossais allongent la
plupart des diphtongues de l’anglais britannique.
• Notons l’accent tonique qui diffère parfois en Écossais, par exemple ‘arCHIVES’.
Anglais standard = /ˈɑːkaɪv/ mais en Écosse = /ɑːˈkaɪv/

Activity 4 : Culture file

a. As we have already noted, Ian alludes to the Battle of Culloden.
People who are tracing their ancestors would be interested in this event since, as Ian points out, most
b. 
Highlanders had fought in this battle.

CNED PREMIÈRE ANGLAIS 3

c.
1) The battle of Culloden was waged in1745.
2) It was a battle between the English oppressors who had forced the allegiance of Scottish noblemen
in the Lowlands against the rebel Highlanders.
3) The battle was a landmark in Scottish history since, from this point onwards, Scottish resistance to
English oppression was quelled.

Activity 5: The issue at stake: thinking about the question ‘Remembering

our heritage’

Proposition de corrigé sous forme de notes.

1st quote / resonance with sequence /James E. Faust-American>ancestors immigrants, maybe Scottish
roots/ religious leader>virtues in religious teachings imported to America by ancestors ( Elizabeth
II> values and virtues inculcated by family )/ strength referring to immigrants’ courage>build new life
/ challenges, maybe build a New America? based on principles of Founding Fathers : equality and
brotherhood / Scotland more Republican spirit ( Elizabeth II-nation=monarchy / As a lawyer James
E. Faust concerned with legitimacy-question raised : Is Great Britain still a legitimate nation? A study
of Scottish history sheds light on this question. A study of different communities in the UK and the
Commonwealth today may provide answers as to whether common virtues and values are practised.

son 1

Script

The first quote resonates with the unit (séquence). It implies that our characters are built around our heritage.
As James E Faust was American, his ancestors must have been immigrants. They may have been Scottish. As
a religious leader, he must have believed in those virtues embodied in the religious teachings of the Founding
Fathers of America, virtues that must have been imported into America by his ancestors. Conversely, Elizabeth
II’s values and virtues were inculcated by her immediate family. James E Faust evokes the virtue of ‘strength’
which brings to mind immigrants’ courage in building a new life. The reference to ‘challenges’ could mean
the need to build a New America based on the principles of the Founding Fathers: equality and brotherhood.
Indeed, Scotland’s history points more to a republican spirit, whereas Elizabeth II’s vision of a nation can’t
be dissociated with monarchy. As a lawyer, James E Faust was certainly concerned about legitimacy. We can
wonder whether Great Britain is still a legitimate nation, and a study of Scottish history sheds light on this
issue. Finally, a study of different communities in the UK and the Commonwealth today may provide answers
as to whether common virtues and values are still practised.

Activity 6 : Written comprehension

1) Anticipation:
The title informs us that the text is likely to be about genealogy, from the slant of an individual looking
for his ancestors (not from the genealogist’s standpoint). Since the experience involves complicated
emotions, ups and downs (‘highs and lows’), so it is likely to be an emotional roller coaster for the
characters involved, who will probably be referred to in this text. The source of the document indicates
that this is an excerpt from a work of fiction, probably a novel, as we are given the title (Reunion), the
name of the author (Ryan Littrel) and the number of the chapter the excerpt is taken from. As it is
Chapter 7, we can suppose that the reader has already learnt about the main characters and the plot.

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2) First reading:
Narrator:
’I’; this is a first-person narrative, and we are given the narrator’s point of view.
Information about the narrator:
We don’t know the narrator’s gender or occupation. We learn a little about his/her family. We unders-
tand that he/she is American since she calls her mother ‘Mom’. We understand too that he/she is
called ‘MacDonald’, and is bent on tracing his/her Scottish ancestors.
Characters or people mentioned and what we learn about them:
‘Clan Donald’, a Scottish Highland clan; ‘three hundred members’: people who think they descend from
the Clan Donald, and who have subscribed to a website. They have sent a sample of their DNA to check
if they do in fact descend from the Clan Donald.
‘Chuck’: Chuck is the narrator’s great-uncle, his/her mother’s uncle. We learn that he had been in the
army or the Marines (‘military guy’) and that he had been involved in bar fights.
‘Mom’: the narrator’s mother.
‘Mark MacDonald’: the person co-ordinating the research into Clan Donald and its descendants (‘the
co-ordinator for Clan Donald DNA Project’)
The narrator’s ‘great-granpa Lee’.
The narrator’s ‘great-great grandpa Will’.
The narrator’s ‘great-great-great grandpa William Duncan.’
The narrator’s ‘great-great-great-great grandpa Hiram’.
‘Norse Vikings’: Somerled’s ancestors.
‘Somerled’: a particular DNA signature.
‘Clan Donald Chiefs’: leaders of the clan, Scottish noblemen.
Places mentioned: ‘Chatham’-we understand that Chatham is in the USA; ‘various parts of the world’-
places that Chuck went to when he was in the army of the Marines; ‘Scottish Highlands.’
Dates mentioned: We aren’t given any time references, but we can suppose that the scene takes place
nowadays, in the past 30 to 40 years because of the references to DNA testing and the website.The
numerous references to Clan MacDonald leads us to imagine Scotland in the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries, before the Union with England.
Main theme: The experience of searching for Scottish ancestors.

3) 2nd reading:
Construction of the text:
Part 1 :
• 1 paragraph: The narrator easily googles a useful website.
st

• 2 paragraph: Portrait of Uncle Chuck who will submit his DNA sample.
nd

• 3 paragraph: The narrator involves his/her mother to convince her brother to help
rd

• 4 paragraph: The narrator’s mother takes a sample of Uncle Chuck’s DNA.

th

• 5 paragraph: The narrator sees the email with the results of the DNA sample.
th

• 6 paragraph: The narrator discovers the DNA signatures of four generations of ancestors.
th

• 7 paragraph: The narrator realizes he/she is not related to the Clan Donald chiefs.
th

• 8 paragraph: The narrator’s first reaction.

th

• 9 paragraph: An insight into the narrator’s roller coaster feelings.The narrator continues his/her
th

research and finds a lead and a potential relative to contact.

• Paragraphs 10, 11, 12: The narrator is led to believe that he/she is related to another famous
MacDonald.

CNED PREMIÈRE ANGLAIS 5

4) 3rd reading: Implicit elements:
As this is a first-person narrative, we follow the narrator’s feelings throughout the text: interest, excite-
ment, hope, suspense, disappointment, further hope and suspense. The author’s aim seems to be,
in effect, to show that genealogy is an exciting and emotional pursuit, but that it may be dangerous
or misleading. He demonstrates how easy it is to find our ancestors in the Age of the Internet. (We
compare mentally the images seen in the video Ian’s story of archives, records and tombstones, and
we realize the difference the Internet has made).The register is colloquial which makes the story more
convincing, as do the details of Uncle Chuck’s belligerence and the narrator’s mother’s bossiness. The
story is therefore plausible. This could be an autobiography. Of course the ending is full of suspense,
and the reader can’t help but wonder whether the narrator is related to the founder of ‘McDonald’s’
(‘historically prominent family’), or, bearing in mind what we have learnt about Glencoe, what had
happened to his/her ancestors at the time of the massacre. We can note the use of the free indirect
style (‘What did that mean?’) which enables the reader to have direct access to the narrator’s thoughts,
thus creating a certain empathy.

Activity 7: Recap
The narrator has become interested in genealogy, probably on account of his/her name. We follow his/
her excitement and then his/her disappointment as he/she uncovers new information about his/her
ancestors. We share the renewal of hope and disappointment when he/she finds a contact who leads her
to think that she may be related to a famous MacDonald. We want to read on as we have been involved in
this compelling story and wish to learn who the famous MacDonald was, all the more so as we have learnt
that Scottish history is full of drama and that official history has not always been recorded accurately.

Activity 8: Tenses and chronology

a. Re-ordering

The narrator spent time with his/her uncle. The narrator looked up a website dealing in Scottish ancestry.
The narrator found a post by Mark MacDonald. The narrator received an email about his/her ancestors.
The narrator had spent time with his/her uncle in the past before he /she looked up a website in Scottish
ancestry.
The narrator had received an email about his/her ancestors before he/she found a post by Mark
MacDonald

b. Translation

Le narrateur avait passé du temps avec son oncle avant de faire des recherches par rapport à un site web
consacré aux ancêtres écossais.
Le narrateur avait reçu un courriel avant de trouver ce que Mark MacDonald avait posté.
Nous remarquerons que la conjugaison du pluperfect est calquée sur la construction française (had+participe
passé)
Mark s’enquérait de ma famille/Mark cherchait des informations sur ma famille.

Activity 9: Médiation
Comme la généalogie est devenue une véritable mode, l’industrie du tourisme en Écosse en bénéficie. En
effet, de nombreux Écossais ont dû quitter leur pays au moment des ‘Highland Clearances’ (politique du
gouvernement britannique qui consistait à chasser les nationalistes écossais de leurs terres), et ils ont

6 CNED PREMIÈRE ANGLAIS

trouvé refuge dans le Nouveau Monde. Actuellement, grâce à Internet, ils peuvent retrouver les traces
de leurs ancêtres. Par conséquent, de nombreux touristes se rendent en Écosse à la recherche de leurs
racines. L’attrait du pays sur le plan touristique (pays mythique, riche en histoire, paysages d’une beauté
exceptionnelle, traditions, films cultes…) contribue à l’engouement pour la généalogie.

Activity 10: Writing an email

a. Formal: Dear Mr MacDonald/ Could you? ( demande polie) / I look forward to hearing from you ( formule
de clôture ) / Kind regards ( courriels professionnels ) / Sign with the first and last name.
b. Informal: hey (registre familier); d’ya, ain’t (très familier, langue parlée), love from xx (cf bises)

Activity 11: Writing an email to a Scottish relative

• Rendez votre courriel plausible. Il est toujours recommandé de s’appuyer sur les documents étudiés.
• Revoyez les adjectifs appris tout au long de la séquence, par exemple : thrilled; uplifted; in awe; upset;
disappointed; angry; amazed; guilty.
• Révisez l’emploi du prétérit, du pluperfect, du prétérit en -ing.
• Vérifiez les dates et les faits par rapport aux événements étudiés.

Proposition de corrigé
September 10th, 2020.
Dear Aunt Agnes,
Thank you for making today one of the most memorable days in my life. I had read a lot about Glencoe
online, and of course seen Daniel Craig in Skyfall in this breath-taking landscape. This morning this
mythical place became real. As I was walking through the glen, I could imagine my forefathers being
shaken out of their sleep and managing to escape. I’m so glad they had succeeded in fleeing to America
or I wouldn’t be here today. I was deeply moved all the time I was listening to the BBC video about the
massacre that you kindly showed me after lunch. I’m so grateful for today.
Kind regards,
Flora.

CNED PREMIÈRE ANGLAIS 7