Raised mostly in New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Minnesota, Sylvain grew up speaking English only, though he heard his father speak French with his own parents. About the time the notebook came to light, Sylvain was starting to get interested in his own Acadian heritage. The lyrics became a gateway to that severed part of his family history.

On Monday, Sylvain spoke with BDN Portland about the project.

Q: The last time you spoke with us about this project was back in 2013, when you were just starting to sing some of the songs in public. Now, you’re planning on making a double-CD set, with one disc of the songs in French and the second disc with the same songs translated into English. Why?

A: I realized these particular songs are mostly ballads. They’re long-ish, like six to eight verses with no chorus. They tell a story. They’re beautiful but if you don’t speak French, then after the second or third verse you think: “That’s a nice melody but I really wonder what is going on.” To bring them to my generation, to my [English-speaking] peers, to my audience, I thought they should be translated. I started that process three or four years ago after sitting with these songs in French for about 15 years.

Q: You don’t see that as a kind of cheating, of watering down the culture?

A: My father spent most of his life trying to assimilate into Anglo culture and I’ve spent a good part of my life trying to get back into Franco culture. But I realized that Acadian culture lives in Maine with — or without — the language. I know a lot of people in heritage preservation are adamant about keeping the language as a link to the past, to the culture, to old Acadia and to Quebec. I understand that but there’s [already] Acadian culture here in Maine but it’s hidden by multiple generations of oppression and assimilation, the idea of the “melting pot.” Yet, you can still feel, and see and hear the echoes of that culture across the language barrier.