Dgèrnésiais tops this list of welcome messages at Guernsey's tourism office in St. Peter Port

Dgèrnésiais, also known as Guernésiais, Guernsey French, Guernsey Norman French, or patois is the variety of Norman language spoken in Guernsey. As one of the Oïl languages, it has its roots in the Latin language. This is a map of Guernsey. ... Patois, although without a formal definition in linguistics, can be used to describe a language considered as nonstandard. ... The Norman language is a Romance language, one of the Oïl languages. ... For the garment with this name, see guernsey. ... The langue doïl language family in linguistics comprises Romance languages originating in territories now occupied by northern France, part of Belgium and the Channel Islands. ... Latin - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ...

The 2001 census showed that 1,327 (1,262 Guernsey-born) or 2% of the population speak the language fluently while 3% fully understand the language. However most of these, 70% or 934 of the 1,327 fluent speakers are aged over 64. Among the young only 0.1% or one in a thousand are fluent speakers. However, 14% of the population claim some understanding of the language.

There is intercomprehension (with some difficulty) with Jèrriais-speakers from Jersey and Norman-speakers from mainland Normandy. Dgèrnésiais most closely resembles the Norman dialect of La Hague in the Cotentin Peninsula. A pair of languages is said to be mutually intelligible if speakers of one language can readily understand the other language. ... New Jersey and Jersey (disambiguation). ... Mont Saint Michel is a historic pilgrimage site and a symbol of Normandy Normandy is a former country (a Duchy) situated in northern France occupying the lower Seine area (upper or Haute-Normandie) and the region to the west (lower or Basse-Normandie) as far as the Cotentin Peninsula. ... A dialect (from the Greek word διάλεκτος) is a variety of a language used by people from a particular geographic area. ... The Cotentin Peninsula juts out into the English Channel from Normandy towards England, forming part of the north-west coast of France. ...

Dgèrnésiais has been influenced less by French than has Jèrriais, but conversely has been influenced to a greater extent by English. French (français, langue française) is one of the most important Romance languages, outnumbered in speakers only by Spanish and Portuguese. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...

History

• Guernsey poet, George Métivier (1790-1881) - nicknamed the Guernsey Burns, was the first to produce a dictionary of the Norman language in the Channel Islands, the Dictionnaire Franco-Normand (1870). This established the first standard orthography - later modified and modernised. Among his poetical works are Rimes Guernesiaises published in 1831.

• Prince Louis Lucien Bonaparte published a translation of the Parable of the Sower in Dgèrnésiais in 1863 as part of his philological research.

• Like Métivier, Tam Lenfestey (1818-1885) published poetry in Guernsey newspapers and in book form.

• Denys Corbet (1826-1910) described himself as the Draïn Rimeux (last poet), but literary production continued. Corbet is best known for his poems, especially the epic L'Touar de Guernesy, a picaresque tour of the parishes of Guernesy. As editor of the French-language newspaper Le Bailliage, he also wrote prose columns in Dgèrnésiais under the pen name Badlagoule ("chatterbox").

• Thomas Henry Mahy (born 1862) wrote Dires et Pensées du Courtil Poussin, a regular column in La Gazette Officielle de Guernesey, from 1916. A collection was published in booklet form in 1922. He was still publishing occasional pieces of poetry and prose by the start of the 1930s.

• Thomas Alfred Grut (1852-1933) published Des lures guernesiaises in 1927, once again a collection of newspaper columns. He also translated some of the Jèrriais stories of Philippe Le Sueur Mourant into Dgèrnésiais.

• Marjorie Ozanne (1897-1973) wrote stories, published in the Guernsey Evening Press between 1949 and 1965. Some earlier pieces can be found in La Gazette de Guernesey in the 1920s.

• Métivier's dictionary was superseded by Marie de Garis' (born 1910) Dictiounnaire Angllais-Guernésiais; first edition published in 1967.

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Current Status

• L'Assembllaïe d'Guernesiais, an association for speakers of the language founded in 1957, has published a periodical. Les Ravigoteurs, another association, has published a storybook and cassette for children.

• The annual Eisteddfod provides an opportunity for performances in the language, and radio and newspaper outlets furnish regular media output.

• There is some teaching of the language in voluntary classes in schools in Guernsey.

• Dgèrnésiais is recognised (along with Jèrriais, Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, Manx and Scots (in Scotland and Northern Ireland)) as a regional language by the British and Irish governments within the framework of the British-Irish Council.

1957 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Eisteddfod (literally sitting) is a Welsh festival of literature, music, and song. ... Note: This page contains phonetic information presented in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) using Unicode. ... Note: This page contains phonetic information presented in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) using Unicode. ... Welsh redirects here, and this article describes the Welsh language. ... Manx (Gaelg or Gailck), also known as Manx Gaelic, is a Goidelic language spoken on the Isle of Man. ... Scots (or Lallans, meaning Lowlands), properly Lowland Scots, is used in Lowland Scotland, as well as parts of Northern Ireland and border areas of the Republic of Ireland, where it is known in official circles as Ulster Scots or Ullans but by speakers simply as Scotch or Scots. On the... Ulster Scots (also known more recently as Ullans) are recent terms for the varieties of Lowland Scots spoken in parts of Ulster in Ireland. ... A regional language is a language spoken in a part of a country - it may be a small area, a federal state or province, or a wider area. ... The British–Irish Council (sometimes known as the Council of the Isles) is a body created by the Belfast Agreement (also known as the Good Friday Agreement). ...

References

• Dictiounnaire Angllais-Guernésiais (most recent edition 1982) ISBN 0-85033-462-4

See also

• Sarnia Cherie

Sarnia Cherie is used as the anthem of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands. ...

External links

• What is Dgernesiais? (http://user.itl.net/~panther/dguern.htm)