A more detailed examination of Clare and Argyle surname territories reveals remarkable concentration of many Acadian surnames, and comparison of 1976 or 1985 telephone listings with 1914 data suggests that the single most important change in distribution has been a pronounced tendency for Acadians to move to Yarmouth, the nearest large town and opportunity center. In 1914 Yarmouth was a predominantly English town --about 8% of the individuals (heads of household and single persons) listed by MacAlpines had French surnames. In 1976 Acadian surnames accounted for about 15% of the telephone listings on the Yarmouth exchange, and for about 25% of the households in Yarmouth itself. The summary maps reflect this shift of distribution, but also index a number of other important spatial proccesses within the set of 26 most comon Acadian surnames: it is quite clear that there were in both 1914 and 1985 several separate concentrations --in other words, "the French Shore" was and is not one area but 3 or 4-- and that these conscentrations were and are separated by areas in which few Acadians live. The most strikig of these 'non-Acadian' zones is that in the vicinity of Port Maitland, in northwestern Yarmouth county and adjacent to the District of Clare, the 25-mile stretch described above. Even today there are very few Acadian names to be found south of the county line and there is almost no evidence of cultural contact; paté de rap&circumu;re or rappie pie, the centerpiece of southwest Nova Scotia Acadian cuisine, is all but unknown in the vicinity of Port Maitland ("that's French food!" was a comment of a fifth-grader, who had never tasted it and was not about to try). Just waht the social and cultural boundaries are and how they are maintained in this area is an interesting empirical question. Both linguistic and religious distinctions are evident, and it is clear that in most things the two populations have kept their backs turned to one another.
This is not to say that the various Acadian areas of southwestern Nova Scotia are in close contact with one another; there is some visiting back and forth, but each subregion has its own distinctive set of surnames, and comparison of 1914 and 1985 distributions reveals a strong tendency for the maintenace of territorial integrity. This may be a simple matter of post-marital residence rules (i.e., a patrilocal preference), but there is at least an indication that Meteghan and Pubnico and Wedgeport young people are even now most likely to seek and find spouses in their own communities. Analysis of parish records would establish this matter clearly. there is now a tendency for acadians from the several areas to see themselves as a single people with common problems, such as the threat to their distinctive culture posed by assimilation to English culture, and Université Ste. Anne certainly serves to some extent as a common rallying point for the reassertion of the validity and value of Acadian culture. Many of the Acadians in Yarmouth town are Anglophone, and the Acadian dialect has suffered a pronounced invasion by English lexical items; monolingual Francophones are to be found only among the old people.
Examination of patterns of migration and settlement of Clare and Argyle Acadians in other parts of the province makes it clear that migration destinations and pathways are quite limited; with very few exceptions it is to Halifax that internal migrants are drawn, although a few have 'stopped off' in the Annapolis Valley (which lies between Digby and Halifax) and small numbers can be found in other centers like Truro. Acadian names are quite rare along the South Shore, although industrial developments in the Bridgewater area have drawn a few migrants. The primacy of Halifax as a destination is found for other subregions as well, but Acadians seem particularly to have perceived other parts of the province as offering few opportunities. It would be very interesting to examine the patterns of emigration to the Boston States over the last century; Acadian proximity to the overnight boats that connected Yarmouth and Boston probably led to a sizeable movement of ambitious young people along that corridor, but the migration stream is largely unstudied. The Boston telephone directory for 1976 shows the following numbers of distinctively Acadian names: Comeau 33, D'Entremont 18, Deveau 17, Saulnier 9, and Surette 19.
A number of other predominantly Acadian areas are readily identifiable: in Cape Breton, both the Cheticamp area and Isle Madame are dominated by French surnames, and smaller enclaves are found in eastern Antigonish and in the Tor Bay area of Guysborough county. Each of these pockets shows the same territorial concentration seen in Clare and Argyle, with fairly clear boundaries and little evidence of penetration by non-Acadian settlers. Perhaps more surprising is the degree to which the Acadian communities seem to have been independent of one another; in general, names concentrated in one area are very scantily represented even in relatively nearby neighboring areas. thus, Aucoin and Chiasson are common names in Cheticamp, but are completely unknown on Isle Madame; Benoits are to be found in Pomquet and Tracadie (Antigonish county), but scarcely anywhere else (except Halifax); Landrys are found in Pomquet and Isle Madame but not in Cheticamp; Poiriers are found in Cheticamp and Isle Madame, but not in Pomquet. Boudreaus and LeBlancs are more ubiquitous, but probably represent separate families whose common connections are many generations in the past.
A closer look at any of the several Acadian areas reveals a pattern of local concentration in which adjacent communities may have quite different arrays of surnames.