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== Jèrriais  ==


Historically, the local spoken language in Jersey was Jèrriais. This is best understood as the Jersey branch (or branches) of the wider Norman language; the branches spoken in Guernsey, Sark and Alderney are recognisably of similar origin but differ considerably in detail.<br>  
Jersey has been multilingual throughout its history. Nowadays, most business is conducted through the medium of English, which is the first language of most of the inhabitants; historically, i.e. up until the 20th century, this would have been in various forms of Norman French. There is also a substantial difference between the legal French used in Jersey, and the local spoken dialect known as Jèrriais. Records may, however, be difficult to read because of unique local words, Latin words, or different handwriting styles.
 
Jèrriais was never the language of the Royal Court; documentation from there (and subsequently from the States) was always written in Jersey Legal French. Equally the business of the church (and later the chapels) was done in French. But for most of the latter part of the 19th and early 20th century, most people in rural Jersey were trilingual or at least triglossic - English was the language of commerce, Legal French the language of church and law, and Jèrriais the language that did for everything else.
 
==Jersey Legal French==
Legal French is still used to some extent in the administration of the island. It is closer to standard Parisian French than Jèrriais, the local spoken form, but also contains some words and phrases which are local to the islands.
 
A number of terms from Jersey Legal French are used by local English speakers when discussing administrative issues, and can still be heard in the States (the local parliament.
 
Select Jersey legal French. Parisian French equivalents are shown in brackets.
 
{| class="wikitable" style="width:45%"
|-
! style="width:25%" |Jersey legal Words
! English Translation
|-
| Connétable
| constable (maire, elected head of parish)
|-
| écrivain
| notary or solicitor (notaire)
|-
| en désastre
| bankrupt (en banqueroute)
|-
| greffier
| clerk to the States of Jersey
|-
| Messire
| Sir (title of knighthood)
|-
| septante
| seventy (soixante dix)
|-
| nonante
| ninety (quatre-vingt-dix)
|-
| principal
| principal (rate payer of a certain value)
|-
| Procureur du Bien Public
| elected attorney of a parish
|-
| vingtaine
| a division of a parish (literally a twentieth)
|-
| Vingtenier
| honorary police officer
|-
| voyeur
| sworn witness
|-
|}
 
 
==Jèrriais==
Historically, the local spoken language in Jersey was Jèrriais. This is still alive, and is sometimes referred to as "patois", although some consider this name disparaging. This is best understood as the Jersey branch (or branches) of the wider Norman language; the branches spoken in Guernsey, Sark and Alderney are recognisably of similar origin but differ considerably in detail.<br>  


The Norman language is a curious fusion: the structure is that of a Romance language (derived from Latin), but to this was added considerable Nordic vocabulary - bear in mind that the Normans were so called because they were by origin ''Norse-men'' - Vikings who had come south.<br>  
The Norman language is a curious fusion: the structure is that of a Romance language (derived from Latin), but to this was added considerable Nordic vocabulary - bear in mind that the Normans were so called because they were by origin ''Norse-men'' - Vikings who had come south.<br>  
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There is a considerable corpus of written Jèrriais, including over 900 articles written for the ''Jersey Evening Post'' by George Le Feuvre (who wrote as ''George d'La Forge''), and proceedings of ''L'Assembliée d'Jèrriais'', a group founded in 1952 which gathered speakers of the language from across the island.<br>  
There is a considerable corpus of written Jèrriais, including over 900 articles written for the ''Jersey Evening Post'' by George Le Feuvre (who wrote as ''George d'La Forge''), and proceedings of ''L'Assembliée d'Jèrriais'', a group founded in 1952 which gathered speakers of the language from across the island.<br>  
Jèrriais was never the language of the Royal Court; documentation from there (and subsequently from the States) was always written in what might be called "proper French". Equally the business of the church (and later the chapels) was done in French. But for most of the latter part of the 19th and early 20th century, most people in rural Jersey were trilingual - English was the language of commerce, French the language of church and law, and Jèrriais the language that did for everything else.<br>


The rise of the school certificate and broadcast media changed this, and Jèrriais was largely squeezed out (although it had a brief renaissance during the Occupation, as the German forces could not understand what was being said!). Thanks to the efforts first of L'Assembliée d'Jèrriais and subsequently of&nbsp; L'Office du Jèrriais, the language has not yet become extinct, and it is thought that several thousand local inhabitants can speak at least a minumum amount of Jèrriais, with thousands more able to recognise it and gist its meaning. However, the number of people who are first-language speakers continues to decline, and is now believed to be barely above one hundred.<br>  
The rise of the school certificate and broadcast media changed this, and Jèrriais was largely squeezed out (although it had a brief renaissance during the Occupation, as the German forces could not understand what was being said!). Thanks to the efforts first of L'Assembliée d'Jèrriais and subsequently of&nbsp; L'Office du Jèrriais, the language has not yet become extinct, and it is thought that several thousand local inhabitants can speak at least a minumum amount of Jèrriais, with thousands more able to recognise it and gist its meaning. However, the number of people who are first-language speakers continues to decline, and is now believed to be barely above one hundred.<br>  
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The use of French was not entirely limited to law and the church. There were a series of migrations to Jersey from France: the last and largest of these began in about 1850.<br>  
The use of French was not entirely limited to law and the church. There were a series of migrations to Jersey from France: the last and largest of these began in about 1850.<br>  


The vast majority of immigrants were agicultural labourers who had left Brittany and western Normandy in search of better wages and working conditions. By working hard they began to acquire property and became farmers employing labourers rather than hired men and women, and naturally some of these were French also (it was noted many years ago - by a Jerseyman - that the French were prepared to work for each other, but the Jerseyman was only prepared to work for himself). At its peak, between 1890 and 1914, the French-born population numbered about one in ten.<br>  
The vast majority of immigrants were agricultural labourers who had left Brittany and western Normandy in search of better wages and working conditions. By working hard they began to acquire property and became farmers employing labourers rather than hired men and women, and naturally some of these were French also (it was noted many years ago - by a Jerseyman - that the French were prepared to work for each other, but the Jerseyman was only prepared to work for himself). At its peak, between 1890 and 1914, the French-born population numbered about one in ten.<br>  


The population was significantly reduced in 1914 - many men were called up to the French Army and never returned - and in 1920 the States clamped down hard on further immigration, allowing only a strictly-controlled flow of seasonal labour. Gradually the remaining population integrated into the existing population of Jersey.<br>  
The population was significantly reduced in 1914 - many men were called up to the French Army and never returned - and in 1920 the States clamped down hard on further immigration, allowing only a strictly-controlled flow of seasonal labour. Gradually the remaining population integrated into the existing population of Jersey.<br>  
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More recently, in line with the rest of the UK there has been a significant influx of "new Europeans", most of them originating in Poland and Romania.<br>  
More recently, in line with the rest of the UK there has been a significant influx of "new Europeans", most of them originating in Poland and Romania.<br>  
==See also==
* [[Guernsey Languages]] for the closely related dialects of the other Channel Islands.


{{Place|Jersey}}
{{Place|Jersey}}


[[Category:Jersey|Language and Languages]] [[Category:Language and Handwriting]]<br>
[[Category:Jersey|Language and Languages]] [[Category:Language and Handwriting]]<br>
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