Jèrriais is a form of Norman language spoken in Jersey in the Channel Islands. However, it has been in decline over the past century, as English has increasingly become the language of education, commerce and administration. A similar language, Dgèrnésiais is spoken in neighbouring Guernsey; the language of Sark is a descendent of the Jèrriais brought by the Jersey colonists who settled Sark in the 16th century; and there is inter-comprehension with the Norman language of mainland Normandy. The Norman language is a Romance language, one of the Oïl languages. ... New Jersey and Jersey (disambiguation). ... Alternative meaning: Channel Islands of California The Channel Islands are a group of islands off the coast of Normandy, France, in the English Channel. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Dgèrnésiais tops this list of welcome messages at Guernseys tourism office in St. ... For the garment with this name, see guernsey. ... Sark is a small island of the Channel Islands, part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... 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. ...

Jèrriais is often called “Jersey French” or “Jersey Norman French” by English-speakers (who lack an adjective for Jersey in the English language) and “jersiais” or “normand de Jersey” by French-speakers. Care should be taken to distinguish between Jèrriais and the Jersey Legal French used for legal contracts, laws and official documents by the government and administration of Jersey. New Jersey and Jersey (disambiguation). ... ISO 639 is one of several international standards that lists short codes for language names. ... SIL International is a non-profit, faith-based, scientific organization with the main purpose to study, develop and document lesser-known languages for the purpose of expanding linguistic knowledge, promoting world literacy and aiding minority language development. ...

Status

Jersey Airport greets travellers with Welcome to Jersey in Jèrriais

The latest census figures (2001) show that approximately 3% of the Island’s population speak Jèrriais in their personal interactions, although research suggests that up to 15% of the population have some understanding of the language. The latest census figures also showed an increase in declarations of children speaking the language: the first such increase recorded in census figures (although this may be due to greater consciousness among parents than to language use), doubtless encouraged by the introduction of a Jèrriais teaching programme into Jersey schools.

The States of Jersey fund the teaching programme in schools and provide some support in terms of signage, e.g. welcome signs at harbours and airport. Ratification of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages is under discussion. The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages is a European convention (CETS 148) adopted in 1992 under the auspices of the Council of Europe to protect and promote historical regional and minority languages in Europe. ...

There is newspaper and radio output in the language.

Literature

Main article Jèrriais literature

The literary tradition is traced back to Wace, the 12th century Jersey-born poet, although there is little surviving literature in Jèrriais dating to before the introduction of the first printing press in Jersey in the 1780s. The first printed Jèrriais appears in the first newspapers at the end of the 18th century, and the earliest identified dated example of printed poetry is a fragment by Matchi L’Gé (Matthew Le Geyt 1777 - 1849) dated 1795. Wace (c. ... (11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. ... Events and Trends 1787 United States Constitution 1788 Great Britain established the prison colony of New South Wales in Australia. ... (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... Events The Cornish language died out 2nd edition of Encyclopædia Britannica published January 3 - American general George Washington defeats British general Charles Cornwallis at the Battle of Princeton. ... 1849 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Events January 16 - French occupy Utrecht, Netherlands. ...

An astonishing boom in competing newspapers and journals throughout the 19th century provided a platform for poets and writers to publish regularly - typically, satirical comment on the week’s news, elections, Jersey politicians and notables.

The first printed anthology of Jèrriais poetry, Rimes Jersiaises, was published in 1865. 1865 is a common year starting on Sunday. ...

Influential writers include “Laelius” (Sir Robert Pipon Marett 1820 - 1884, Bailiff of Jersey 1880 - 1884), “A.A.L.G.” (Augustus Aspley Le Gros 1840 - 1877), "St.-Luorenchais" (Philippe Langlois 18?? - 1884). 1820 was a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... 1884 is a leap year starting on Tuesday (click on link to calendar). ... In the Channel Islands of Guernsey the Bailiff is the first civil officer, serving as president of the legislature and the Royal Court. ... 1880 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1884 is a leap year starting on Tuesday (click on link to calendar). ... 1840 is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1877 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1884 is a leap year starting on Tuesday (click on link to calendar). ...

Elie (Edwin J.Luce 1881-1918) was editor of the French-language newspaper La Nouvelle Chronique de Jersey and a poet who wrote topical poems for the newspaper. He was also active in promoting the development of drama in Jèrriais and organised performances, ultimately leading to the establishment of a Jèrriais section of the Jersey Eisteddfod in 1912. Events January - April January 16-24 ? Siege of Geok Tepe ? Russian troops under general Skobeleff defeat Turkomans January 25 - Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell form the Oriental Telephone Company February 5 - Phoenix, Arizona is incorporated. ... 1918 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

During the Occupation, little original writing was permitted to be published by the German censorship. However very many older pieces of literature were re-published in the newspapers as an act of cultural self-assertion and morale-boosting.

After the Occupation and with the re-establishment of a free press, Edward Le Brocq (1877-1964) revived a weekly column in 1946 with a letter from Ph'lip et Merrienne, supposedly an traditional old couple who would comment on the latest news or recall time past. 1877 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

The most influential writer of Jèrriais in the 20th century was a U.S. citizen, George Francis Le Feuvre (1891 - 1984) whose pen-name was “George d’la Forge”. He emigrated to North America after the First World War but for almost forty years maintained a flow of articles in Jèrriais back to Jersey for publication in newspapers. Selections of his articles have been published in book form. (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... 1891 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ...

Frank Le Maistre (1910-2002), compiler of the dictionary, maintained a literary output starting in the 1930s with newspaper articles under the pseudonym Marie la Pie, poems, magazine articles, research into toponymy and etymology. 1910 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...

History

Some bilingual (or trilingual) signage may be seen in Jersey, such as this welcome sign at a supermarket

Although Jèrriais is now the language of a minority, until the 19th century it was the everyday language of the majority of the population, and even until the Second World War up to half the population could communicate in the language. However, there is no complete Bible in Jèrriais (although there are versions of favourite Bible texts in Jèrriais) as French was, until the 20th century, the predominant language of the Church in Jersey (although sermons would be preached, or explained, in Jèrriais in country areas). Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the...

Awareness of the decline of language use became apparent in the 19th century in scholarly circles. Among foreign linguists, Louis Lucien Bonaparte visited Jersey and interested himself in the language and its literature. Victor Hugo, during his exile in Jersey, took an interest in the language and numbered some Jèrriais writers among his circle of acquaintances and supporters. Louis Lucien Bonaparte (January 4, 1813 - November 3, 1891) was the third son of Napoleons second surviving brother, Lucien Bonaparte. ... Victor Hugo Victor Hugo (February 26, 1802 - May 22, 1885) was a French author, the most important of the Romantic authors in the French language. ...

Sir Robert Pipon Marett’s prestige and influence helped to reinforce the movement towards standardisation of the writing system based on French orthography, a trend which was also helped by the nascent Norman literary revival in the neighbouring Cotentin area of mainland Normandy where writers, inspired by the example of the Norman writers of Jersey and Guernsey, began their own production of literary works. However, differing (if mutually comprehensible) writing systems have been adopted in Jersey, Guernsey and mainland Normandy. The question is sometimes raised as to whether Jèrriais should move to a writing system based on English orthography, however this would have implications for the continuity of the literary tradition over two centuries or more (note though, that the digraph “th” for the typical dental fricative of Jèrriais has evidently been borrowed from English orthography). The Cotentin Peninsula juts out into the English Channel from Normandy towards England, forming part of the north-west coast of France. ... 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. ... 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. ... The orthography of a language is the set of rules of how to write correctly in the writing system of a language. ...

As English became dominant in Jersey in the 20th century, efforts were made to preserve the language. Associations undertook measures; 19th century manuscript glossaries, the work of Philippe Langlois, A. A. Le Gros and Thomas Gaudin, were revised and expanded into the Glossaire du Patois Jersiais (published in 1924 by the Société Jersiaise); a quarterly magazine has been published (with the occasional hiatus) since 1952; a comprehensive Jèrriais-French dictionary was published (1966); an English-Jèrriais vocabulary published (1972); a standard grammar appeared in 1985; cassettes, booklets and other materials have also been produced. (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... A manuscript (Latin manu scriptus written by hand), strictly speaking, is any written document that is put down by hand, in contrast to being printed or reproduced some other way. ... This is a list of glossaries (pages containing terms and their definitions or explanations). ... Categories: Dictionaries | Lists | Technical communication tools ... -1... 1972 was a leap year that started on a Saturday. ...

George d’la Forge's maintenance of the language in North American diaspora is not as surprising as it might seem, as considerable numbers of Jersey people had been involved in the economic development and exploitation of the New World (hence New Jersey), although much of the concentration focused on the cod fisheries of the Gaspé peninsula in Quebec, Canada, which were controlled into the early 20th century by Jersey-based companies or companies of Jersey origin employing Jersey labour. The common language of business was Jèrriais, and it is reported that there were still some Jèrriais-speakers in Gaspé villages in the 1960s. State nickname: The Garden State Other U.S. States Capital Trenton Largest city Newark Governor Richard Codey Official languages None defined Area 22,608 km² (47th)  - Land 19,231 km²  - Water 3,378 km² (14. ... Binomial name Gadus morhua Linnaeus, 1758 The Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) is a well-known foodfish belonging to the family Gadidae which in ancient greek means a whales uteris. ... This article describes the Canadian province. ... Canada is a sovereign state in northern North America, the northern-most country in the world, and the second largest in total area. ... Centuries: 19th century - 20th century - 21st century Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s - 1960s - 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s Years: 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 Events and trends The 1960s was a turbulent decade of change around the world. ...

The use of Jèrriais is also to be noted during the German Occupation of the Channel Islands during the Second World War; the local population used Jèrriais among themselves as a language neither the occupying Germans, nor their French interpreters, could understand. However the social and economic upheaval of the War meant that use of English increased dramatically after the Liberation. Occupation may refer to: the principal activity (job or calling) that earns money for a person (see profession, business) the periods of time following a nations territory invasion by controlling enemy troops (see belligerent occupation) any activity that occupies an important portion of a persons attention (see fan...

It is considered that the last monolingual speakers probably died in the 1950s. Events and trends Technology United States tests the first fusion bomb. ...

Famous Jèrriais speakers include Lillie Langtry and Sir John Everett Millais, the Pre-Raphaelite painter. Lillie Langtry (née Emilie Charlotte Le Breton, nicknamed the Jersey Lily) (13 October 1853 - 12 February 1929) was a British actress born on the island of Jersey in 1853. ... John Everett Millais (June 8, 1829–August 13, 1896) was a painter. ... The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was a group of English painters, poets and critics, founded in 1848 by John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and William Holman Hunt. ...

Vocabulary

Although Jèrriais is occasionally misleadingly described as a mixture of Norse and French, it would be more linguistically accurate to state that when the Normans conquered the territory that is now called Normandy they started speaking the langue d’oïl of their new subjects. The Norman language is therefore basically a Romance language with a certain amount of vocabulary of Norse origin, plus later loanwords from other languages. Old Norse or Danish tongue is the Germanic language once spoken by the inhabitants of the Nordic countries (for instance during the Viking Age). ... French (français, langue française) is one of the most important Romance languages, outnumbered in speakers only by Spanish and Portuguese. ... This article talks about the Norman people. ... 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. ... 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. ... The Romance languages, also called Romanic languages, are a subfamily of the Italic languages, specifically the descendants of the Vulgar Latin dialects spoken by the common people evolving in different areas after the break-up of the Roman Empire. ... A loanword (or a borrowing) is a word taken in by one language from another. ...

Influence of Norse

Norse origins can be seen in Jèrriais words such as these:

• mielle (sand dune)
• mogue (mug)
• bel (yard)
• gradile (blackcurrant)
• mauve (seagull)
• graie (to prepare)
• hèrnais (cart)
• bète (bait)
• haûter (to doze)

Influence of Breton

Jèrriais has also adopted a small number of words from the Breton language (e.g. pihangne - spider crab, from Breton bihan - small; quédaine - fast, from Breton gaden - hare), although the influence on today’s language has overwhelmingly been from French and, increasingly, English. This page is about the Breton language. ...

Influence of French

A large number of gallicisms have been introduced into the language due to the use of French as an official language and the cultural influence of France and French literature. Some French words have displaced in modern usage Jèrriais words that can still be found in older texts from the 18th and 19th centuries, for example: Gallicism is a mode of speech peculiar to the French; a French idiom; also, in general, a French mode or custom. ...

• French leçon (in the form léçon) has displaced native lichon (lesson)
• French garçon has displaced native hardé (boy)
• French chanson has displaced native canchon (song)

Efforts are being made to maintain some Jèrriais words which are competing in usage with French forms, for example:

• native hielle is being promoted over French huile (oil)
• native huiptante is being promoted over French quatre-vingts (eighty)

Influence of English

Some maritime vocabulary was borrowed from English at an early date, for example baûsouîn (boatswain), but by the late 18th century some domestic vocabulary, such as: (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ...

• bliatchinner (to polish shoes, from blacking)
• coutchi (to cook)
• grévîn (gravy)
• ouâchinner (to rub in soapy water, from washing)
• scrobbine-broche (scrubbing brush)
• sâsse-paine (saucepan)
• stchilet (skillet)
• ticl'ye (from tea-kettle)

was entering the language through the employment of Jèrriais-speaking servants in the houses of bourgeois English-speaking immigrants.

Other words borrowed from English before 1900 include:

• chârer (to share)
• drâses (underpants, from drawers)
• ouothinner (to worry)
• ouadinne (cotton wool, from wadding)
• nosse (nurse)
• souîndgi (to throw, from swing)
• sténer (to stand, to endure)

Care however needs to be taken in identifying anglicisms as some words such as mogue (mug) or canne (can) which are often assumed to have been borrowed from English were in fact Norman words exported to England in the wake of the Norman Conquest, and words such as fliotchet (flock) and ridgi (rig) are Norman cognates of English words. An anglicism is a word borrowed from English into another language, but considered by a fair part of the influential speakers of that language to be substandard or undesirable. ... Bayeux Tapestry depicting events leading to the Battle of Hastings The Norman Conquest was the conquest of England by William the Conqueror (Duke of Normandy), in 1066 at the Battle of Hastings and the subsequent Norman control of England. ... Cognates are words that have a common origin. ...

More recently, words such as boutchi (to book), partchi (to park) and tyeur (tyre) have been absorbed into the language, although current initiatives in creating neologisms for technological and social innovations prefer to avoid wholesale borrowing where possible. Among recent coinings are words such as textéthie for texting, maître-pêtre for webmaster (literally master-spider) and mégabouochie for megabyte. In linguistics, a neologism is a recently coined word, or the act of inventing a word or phrase. ... A received SMS being announced on a Nokia phone. ... Webmaster or Webmistress is a commonly used term that refers to the person or persons responsible for a specific website. ... This article is about a unit of data measurement. ...

Phonology

The phonological influence of Norse is debated, although the aspirated “h” may be due to Norse influence.

Palatalization

The palatalization of Latin /k/ and /g/ before /a/ that occurred in the development of French did not occur in northern dialects of Norman, including Jèrriais: Palatalization means pronouncing a sound nearer to the hard palate, making it more like a palatal consonant; this is towards the front of the mouth for a velar or uvular consonant, but towards the back of the mouth for a front (e. ... Latin - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ...

However the palatalization of /k/ before front vowel produced different results in the Norman dialect that developed into Jèrriais than in French: A front vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. ...

At a later date surviving /k/ and /g/ underwent a secondary process of palatalization:

This palatalization continues to operate (except in initial position) as can be seen by recent borrowings from English:

Dental fricative

One of the features of Jèrriais that is immediately noticeable and distinguishes it from neighbouring languages is the voiced dental fricative - written th - that typically occurs in intervocalic position: The voiced dental fricative is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. ...

Or in final position:

The fricative devoices to assimilate with a neighbouring unvoiced consonant in words such as paqu'thie (packing) or malaûc'theux (disgusting).

The fricative developed from /r/ + front vowel, but evidently after the 16th century as this feature is unknown in the language of Sark (colonised by Jersey families). Although the voiced dental fricative is standard in the literary language, it is not found in the eastern dialects.

Grammar

Verbs

Aspect

Jèrriais distinguishes between simple, progressive and perfect aspect: The progressive or continuous tenses of a verb are those denoting an incomplete action in progress at a specific time. ... The perfect tenses are verb tenses showing actions completed at or before a specific time. ... In linguistics, grammatical aspect is a property of a verb that defines the nature of temporal flow (or lack thereof) in the described event or state. ...

Past:

Future: This article is about the grammatical term. ...

Present:

Iterative

Verbs can be made iterative in aspect by prefixing èr- (long form) or r' (short form):

Gerunds

Verbs can be transformed into gerunds, which are commonly used: In linguistics a gerund is a kind of verbal noun. ...

Examples

See also

• Culture of Jersey

The culture of Jersey is the culture of the Bailiwick of Jersey, formed by its indigenous Norman language and traditions and by French and British cultural influences to which have been added cultural trends from immigrant communities such as the Bretons and the Portuguese. ...

References

• Lé Jèrriais Pour Tous by Paul W. Birt, 1985
• Dictionnaire Jersiais-Français, 1966
• Jèrriais: Jersey's Native Tongue by Mari C. Jones, 2003 ISBN 1-904210-3-1
• Dictionnaithe Jèrriais-Angliais, 2005 ISBN 0-901897-40-X

External Links

• La Société Jersiaise - La Section de la langue Jèrriaise (http://www.societe-jersiaise.org/langsec/)
• La Société Jersiaise - Les Pages Jèrriaises (http://www.societe-jersiaise.org/geraint/jerriais.html)
• BBC Radio Jersey - Jèrriais (http://www.bbc.co.uk/jersey/about_jersey/general_info/about_jerriais.shtml)