The term Parement and notes from interviewing Bernard Elliott and Chesley Knowlton.
Bernard Elliott lived in Advocate all of his life and Chesley Knowlton grew up in Advocate.
Interview
Sods, cut from the salt marsh with a special knife called a dyking spade, are used in the construction of dykes. On separate occasions I asked Bernard Elliott and Chesley Knowlton questions regarding the use of sods in dyke building. Both men had been part of the work teams on the Advocate dyke. To my surprise both men informed me that the term sod was not used in Advocate. Advocate used a word that sounded to me like "permong". I had to consult Sherman on this matter. Sherman’s reply was:
“I know the word that Elliott and Knowlton were using when referring to sods. It is "parement", an old French term for such things as facing, sleeve, curb stone. It could well refer to the surface facing sods that cover the finished dyke wall, because each one had to be precisely cut and fitted. The French pronunciation of "parement" would be very close to Knowlton's "permong" of your e-mail. I find it very interesting that the Advocate British (are they?) retained the French terminology well into the 20th century. Is that your interpretation?”
Pronunciation
Louise Dulude, a retired Montreal French and Latin professor, told me that “parement” is pronounced: Pa like papa; Re like Revoir; Ment like maMAN.
I also asked Bernard LeBlanc, Université de Moncton, for his comments :
”Yes, "parements" is the Acadian name given to sods that covered the dykes. This is recorded in an interview by Father Anselme Chiasson with Adolphe LeBlanc of Memramcook in the late 1950s and published in Les Cahiers of the Société Historique Acadienne (vol. 19, no 1-2, January-June 1988, p. 52). I suspect that the English pronunciation "permong" is likely from the old Acadian French in which many words ending with the sound of an "n" ("in", "ain", "an"...) was pronounced with a "g": lapin (rabbit) = laping; foin English as "LeBlong". The surname Babin was also pronounced in English as "Babang". Ironically, it appears that the English kept the old pronunciations whereas among the Acadians, we were taught "proper" French pronunciation in grade school.”