Portal:Language/Language of the month/May 2009
Jersey Norman
Jersey Norman
Jèrriais is the form of the Norman language spoken in Jersey, in the Channel Islands, off the coast of France. It has been in decline over the past century as English has increasingly become the language of education, commerce and administration. There are very few people who speak Jèrriais as a mother tongue and, owing to the age of the remaining speakers, their numbers decrease annually. Despite this, efforts are being made to keep the language alive.
A similar language,
Dgèrnésiais is spoken in neighbouring Guernsey; the language of Sark, Sercquiais, is a descendant 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
.
Jèrriais is often called "Jersey French" or "Jersey Norman French" in English (though this may give the mistaken impression that the language is a
Jersey Norman
" to avoid ambiguity and to disassociate the language from standard French.