Template:Short description Template:Distinguish Template:Use dmy dates {{#invoke:Infobox|infobox}}Template:Template otherTemplate:Main other

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (Template:Langx {{#invoke:IPA|main}}; also known as the Jersey language, Jersey French and Jersey Norman French in English) is a Romance language and the traditional language of the Jersey people. It is a form of the Norman language spoken in Jersey, an island in the Channel Islands archipelago off the coast of France. Its closest relatives are the other Norman languages, such as {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, spoken in neighbouring Guernsey, and the other {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.

Use of {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} has been in decline over the past century, as English has increasingly become the language of education, commerce and administration on Jersey. 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.

The language of Sark, Sercquiais, is a descendant of the Jèrriais brought by the Jersey colonists who settled Sark in the 16th century, with mutual intelligibility with the Norman language of mainland Normandy.

Jèrriais is often called "Jersey French" or "Jersey Norman French" in English (though this may give the impression that the language is a dialect of French) and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} or {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} in French. Jèrriais is distinct from the Jersey Legal French used for legal contracts, laws and official documents by the government and administration of Jersey. For this reason, some prefer using the term "Jersey Norman" to avoid ambiguity and to dissociate the language from standard French.

HistoryEdit

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

Although few now speak Jèrriais as a first language, until the 19th century it was used as the everyday language for the majority of the population of Jersey; even as late as the beginning of the Second World War, up to half the population could still communicate in the language.Template:Efn Despite this, 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.

Sir Robert Pipon Marett's prestige and influence helped to reinforce the movement toward standardisation of the writing system based on French orthography, a trend which was also helped by the Norman literary revival beginning in the neighbouring Cotentin Peninsula of mainland Normandy, where writers inspired by the example of the Norman writers of Jersey and Guernsey, also began to produce literary works. However, differing (if mutually comprehensible) writing systems have been adopted in Jersey, Guernsey, and mainland Normandy. It is sometimes asked whether Jèrriais should move to a writing system based on French orthography; however, this would have implications for the continuity of the literary tradition over two centuries or more, though some features of the language's writing system, such as the digraph "th" for the typical dental fricative of Jèrriais, have evidently been borrowed from English orthography.

As English became dominant in Jersey in the 20th century, efforts were made to preserve the Jèrriais language. The Jersey Eisteddfod has included a Jèrriais section since 1912. Associations were founded; {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} was founded in 1951, while {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} is a trust set up in accordance with the will of Arthur E. Balleine (1864–1943), who bequeathed funds for the promotion of the language. {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} launched a quarterly magazine in 1952, which has been published since (with the occasional hiatus, and latterly under the editorship of {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}); a standard grammar {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (by Paul Birt) appeared in 1985; cassettes, booklets and other materials have also been produced.

George d'la Forge's maintenance of the language in the 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 (see New Jersey). 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 reportedTemplate:By whom that there were still some Jèrriais-speakers in Gaspé villages in the 1960s. The Gaspesian expression {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (to go and work outside the region) comes from the Jèrriais word "run" applied to a fishing station.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

File:Libethes inscription St Helier, Jersey.jpg
lang}} in St. Helier in 2005 to mark the 60th anniversary of the Liberation.

The use of Jèrriais is also noted during the German occupation of the Channel Islands during the Second World War; the local population used it among themselves as a language which 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.

It is considered that the last monolingual adult speakers probably died in the 1950sTemplate:Citation needed, although monolingual children were being received into schools in St. Ouen as late as the late 1970s.Template:Citation needed

Famous Jèrriais speakers include Lillie Langtry and Sir John Everett Millais, the Pre-Raphaelite painter, who are reported to have spoken to each other in the language when he was painting her portrait.

DictionariesEdit

The history of Jèrriais dictionaries goes back to 19th century manuscript glossaries of Philippe Langlois, A. A. Le Gros, and Thomas Gaudin. These were later revised and expanded into the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} published in 1924 by {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}. The 1960 Glossary of Jersey French (Nichol Spence) recorded Jèrriais in a phonetic script. The 1924 {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} inspired the research by Frank Le Maistre that culminated in the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} published in 1966 to mark the 900th anniversary of the Norman Conquest of England. The first practical English–Jèrriais dictionary was the English-Jersey Language Vocabulary (Albert Carré in collaboration with Frank Le Maistre and Philip de Veulle, 1972) which was itself based on the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}. A children's picture dictionary, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, was published by {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} in 2000. In 2005, a Jèrriais–English dictionary, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} was published by {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, in collaboration with {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}. A revised, modernised and expanded English–Jèrriais dictionary, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, was published in 2008 by {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.<ref>Dictionnaithe Angliais-Jèrriais, Jersey 2008, Template:ISBN</ref>

StatusEdit

File:Jersey Airport signage in Jèrriais.jpg
Jersey Airport greets travellers with "Welcome to Jersey" in Jèrriais.
File:Jersey Evening Post Jersey Norman-French.jpg
Local newspaper Jersey Evening Post hosts a Jersey Norman-French feature, with Jèrriais texts accompanied by their translation into English.

The latest figures come from the Jersey Annual Social Survey issued on 5 December 2012.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The survey of 4200 households took place in June 2012 and resulted in 2400 returns. It showed that 18% of the population could speak some Jèrriais words and phrases, with more than 7% of those over 65 being fluent or able to speak a significant amount of Jèrriais. Two-thirds of adults said that they could not understand spoken Jèrriais, but more than a quarter were able to understand some, and 5% could usually or fully understand someone speaking Jèrriais. 4% of people said that they could write some Jèrriais, although under 1% could write fluently. Just under a third (32%) said that they could understand something written in Jèrriais.

These figures update those of the census of 2001, which showed that approximately 3% of the island's population spoke 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 rather than to language use), doubtless encouraged by the introduction of a Jèrriais teaching programme into Jersey schools.

The parish with the highest proportion of Jèrriais speakers (8%) is Saint Ouen, and the parish with the lowest proportion (2.1%) is Saint Helier, although that is the largest parish and has the highest number of Jèrriais speakers. The number of census respondents who stated that they "usually" spoke Jèrriais was 113; 2,761 respondents stated that they "sometimes" spoke it. A survey carried out among a sample of Jèrriais speakers in 1996 found that 18% spoke the language more often than English, 66% spoke it as often as English, and 16% spoke it less often than English.<ref>Jèrriais: Jersey's Native Tongue, Jones 2003</ref>

The States of Jersey fund the teaching programme in schools and provide some support in terms of signage, such as welcome signs at harbours and the airport. Ratification of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages is under discussion. In September 2005, the States approved the development of a cultural strategy, one of whose strategic objectives was as follows:

Jersey almost lost its language in the 20th century. By 2001 there were less than 3,000 speakers of Jèrriais. In the 21st century strenuous efforts are being made to re-establish it. {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, funded by the States, is leading a programme in schools teaching Jèrriais. {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} promotes the language generally. Language brings distinctiveness, a sense of localness and a whole new set of skills all of which are important qualities in attracting the creative economy. It is fundamental to the Island's identity. This objective is to work with these organisations to help in the revival and status of the language.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

In September 2009, a partnership agreement was signed by the Minister for Education, Sport and Culture and the President of {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} to formalise the role of {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} in protecting and promoting Jèrriais and to develop a language plan to help make the language more prominent on a daily basis; there is newspaper and radio output in the language, and as part of the language's promotion, from 2010, Jersey banknotes carry the value of the note written out in Jèrriais.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Jèrriais is currently classified as "threatened" by the Endangered Languages Project.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Template:Clear left

Jèrriais is recognised as a regional language by the British and Irish governments within the framework of the British–Irish Council. On 13 February 2019, the States of Jersey adopted Jèrriais as an official language, and the language is set to be used on signage and official letter headings.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

LiteratureEdit

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} The tradition of literature in Jèrriais can be traced back to Wace, a 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 appeared in the first newspapers at the end of the 18th century, and the earliest identified dated example of printed poetry is a fragment by {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (Matthew Le Geyt 1777 – 1849), dated to 1795. A 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.

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), and "St.-Luorenchais" (Philippe Langlois, 1817–1884). "Elie" (Edwin J. Luce, 1881–1918) was editor of the French language newspaper {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, 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.

During the German occupation of the Channel Islands, Nazi censors permitted little original writing to be published. However, many older pieces of literature were re-published in the newspapers as an act of cultural self-assertion and morale-boosting. Following the end of Occupation, and with the re-establishment of the free press, Edward Le Brocq (1877–1964) revived a weekly column in 1946 with a letter from {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, supposedly a traditional old couple who would comment on the latest news or recall times past.

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.

Frank Le Maistre (1910–2002), compiler of the dictionary {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, maintained a literary output starting in the 1930s with newspaper articles under the pseudonym {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, poems, magazine articles, research into toponymy and etymology. Since Le Maistre, Geraint Jennings has been influential in preserving the language by compiling thousands of pages of Jèrriais text online in {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, including parts of the Bible.

VocabularyEdit

Although Jèrriais is occasionally misleadingly described as a mixture of Old Norse and French, it is more linguistically accurate to describe the language as Norse adapted to langue d'oïl; when Norse-speaking Normans (lit. "North-man") conquered the territory now known as Normandy, they began speaking the language of their new subjects, leading to its influence on the language. The Norman language is therefore in essence a Romance language with a certain amount of vocabulary of Norse origin, with the inclusion of later loanwords from other languages.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Influence of NorseEdit

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

  • {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (sand dune)
  • {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (mug)
  • {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (yard)
  • {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (blackcurrant)
  • {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (seagull)
  • {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (to prepare)
  • {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (cart)
  • {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (bait)
  • {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (to doze)

Influence of BretonEdit

Jèrriais has also adopted a small number of words from the Breton language (e.g. {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 'spider crab', from Breton {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 'small'; {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 'fast', from Breton {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 'hare'), although the influence on today's language has overwhelmingly been from French and, increasingly, English.

Influence of FrenchEdit

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:

  • French {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (in the form {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) has displaced native {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (lesson)
  • French {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} has displaced native {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (boy)
  • French {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} has displaced native {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (song)

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

  • native {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} is being promoted over French {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (oil)
  • native {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (eighty) is being promoted over French {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (fourscore)

Influence of EnglishEdit

Some maritime vocabulary was borrowed from English at an early date, for example {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (boatswain), but by the late 18th century some domestic vocabulary, such as:

  • {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (to polish shoes, from blacking)
  • {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (to cook)
  • {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (gravy)
  • {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (to rub in soapy water, from washing)
  • {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (scrubbing brush)
  • {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (saucepan)
  • {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (skillet)
  • {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (from tea-kettle)

entered 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:

  • {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (to share)
  • {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (underpants, from drawers)
  • {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (to worry)
  • {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (cotton wool, from wadding)
  • {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (nurse)
  • {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (to throw, from swing)
  • {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (to stand, to endure)

However, care needs to be taken in attempting to identify anglicisms because some words, such as {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (mug) and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (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 {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (flock) and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (rig) are Norman cognates of English words.

More recently, words such as {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (to book), {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (to park) and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (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 {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} for texting, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} for webmaster (literally master-spider) and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} for megabyte.

PhonologyEdit

Jèrriais Consonants<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Labial Dental/
Alveolar
Post-
alveolar
Palatal Velar/
glottal
plain sibilant
Nasal Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link
Plosive/
affricate
Template:Small Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link
Template:Small Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link
Fricative Template:Small Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link
Template:Small Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link
Rhotic Template:IPA link
Approximant Template:Small Template:IPA link Template:IPA link
Template:Small Template:IPA link Template:IPA link

Template:IPAslink may also be heard as an approximant sound Template:IPAblink.

The phonological influence of Norse is debated, although the aspirated "h" may be due to Norse influence.Template:Citation needed

Jèrriais Oral Vowels
  Front Back
Template:Small Template:Small
Close Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link
Close-mid Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link
Open-mid Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link
Open Template:IPA link Template:IPA link
Nasal Vowels
Front Back
Template:Small Template:Small
Close-mid Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link
Open-mid Template:IPA link Template:IPA link
Open Template:IPA link Template:IPA link

PalatalisationEdit

The palatalisation of Latin {{#invoke:IPA|main}} and {{#invoke:IPA|main}} before {{#invoke:IPA|main}} that occurred in the development of French did not occur in northern dialects of Norman, including Jèrriais:

Jèrriais English French
lang}} to buy lang}}
lang}} cat lang}}
lang}} cow lang}}
lang}} warm lang}}
lang}} garden lang}}
lang}} leg lang}}
File:La Pieche de l'Av'nin, St Helier, Jersey.jpg
lang}} (though they are not cognate) in this bilingual placename sign.

However the palatalisation of {{#invoke:IPA|main}} before front vowels produced different results in the Norman dialect that developed into Jèrriais than in French. (Many developments are similar to those in Italian, cf. {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} "hundred" and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} "face").

Jèrriais English French
lang}} basin lang}}
lang}} face lang}}
lang}} fashion lang}}
lang}} hundred lang}}

At a later date surviving {{#invoke:IPA|main}} and {{#invoke:IPA|main}} underwent a secondary process of palatalisation:

Jèrriais English French
lang}} to mock lang}}
lang}} packet lang}}
lang}} guide lang}}
lang}} idiot lang}}
File:Sign English Jèrriais at La Hougue Bie.jpg
lang}} ("park") is a result of palatalization.

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

Jèrriais English
lang}} to busk
lang}} to cook
lang}} to plug
lang}} bragger

Dental fricativeEdit

A feature of Jèrriais that is immediately noticeable and distinguishes it from neighbouring languages is the voiced dental fricative {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, written th, that typically occurs in intervocalic position:

Jèrriais French English
lang}} lang}} barrel
lang}} lang}} to measure
lang}} lang}} (payment office) payment
lang}} lang}} pillow
File:La Nethe Rue road sign Jersey.jpg
lang}} road name (meaning the black road) shows the th digraph representing the voiced dental fricative.

Or in final position:

Jèrriais French English
lang}} lang}} mother
lang}} lang}} (bray) to cry

The fricative devoices to assimilate with a neighbouring unvoiced consonant in words such as {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (packing) or {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (disgusting).

The fricative developed from {{#invoke:IPA|main}} + 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.

File:George Francis Le Feuvre grave.jpg
lang}} with final dental fricative is represented.

Some older speakers in St. Ouen use a dental fricative in positions where other dialects show a {{#invoke:IPA|main}}. This may be represented in the orthography of particular writers.

standard Jèrriais St. Ouennais English
lang}} lang}} house
lang}} lang}} birds (collective)
lang}} lang}} chair
lang}} lang}} anglicise

The dental fricative in the dialect of such speakers may also be heard in liaison:

standard Jèrriais St. Ouennais English
lang}} lang}} you are
lang}} lang}} these tools
lang}} lang}} one has

LengthEdit

Length is phonemic in Jèrriais. Long vowels are usually indicated in writing by a circumflex accent. A noun ending in a vowel lengthens the final vowel to indicate the plural (shown in writing by adding an s).

Gemination occurs regularly in verb tenses, indicated by a consonant-apostrophe-consonant trigraph, for example: {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (she will speak); {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (we will begin); {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (he would give). Gerunds will also regularly contain geminate consonants, for example: {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (doing, making); {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (singing); {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (shooting); {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (sweeping); {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (winning).

OrthographyEdit

Consonants
IPA English equivalent Examples
b Template:IPAblink b lang}}
c Template:IPAblink k lang}}
c (before e, i, y) Template:IPAblink s {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}
ç
ch Template:IPAblink sh lang}}
d Template:IPAblink d lang}}
dg Template:IPAblink j lang}}
f Template:IPAblink f lang}}
g Template:IPAblink g lang}}
main}} silent lang}}
g (before e, i) Template:IPAblink zh (French j; s as in measure or vision) lang}}
h main}} silent lang}}
Template:IPAblink h lang}}
i Template:IPAblink y lang}}
j Template:IPAblink zh (French j; s as in measure or vision) lang}}
k Template:IPAblink k lang}}
l Template:IPAblink l lang}}
l (before i or y)

except l'ye

main}} silent lang}} meubl'ye
-ill Template:IPAblink y lang}} (ex. {{#invoke:Lang|lang}})
m Template:IPAblink m lang}}
n Template:IPAblink n lang}}
ngn Template:IPAblink ny (onion); think Spanish "ñ" lang}}
p Template:IPAblink p lang}}
main}} silent lang}}
qu Template:IPAblink k lang}}
r Template:IPAblink rr in Spanish lang}}
main}} silent lang}}
s Template:IPAblink s lang}}
Template:IPAblink z lang}}
sc Template:IPAblink s lang}}
t Template:IPAblink t lang}}
tch Template:IPAblink ch lang}}
ti(on) Template:IPAblink s lang}}
th Template:IPAblink "hard" or "voiced" th-sound (as in that) lang}}
Template:IPAblink "soft" or "voiceless" th-sound (as in thin) lang}}
v Template:IPAblink v lang}}
w Template:IPAblink w loan words
x Template:IPAblink/Template:IPAblink s or z lang}}
y Template:IPAblink y lang}}
z Template:IPAblink z lang}}
Vowels Template:Citation needed
IPA English equivalent Examples
Template:IPA link i
Template:IPA link î
Template:IPA link u
Template:IPA link û
Template:IPA link ou
Template:IPA link
Template:IPA link é
Template:IPA link ée
Template:IPA link oe
Template:IPA link
Template:IPA link o
Template:IPA link
Template:IPA link è
Template:IPA link ê
Template:IPA link òe
Template:IPA link òê
Template:IPA link a
Template:IPA link â
Template:IPA link in
Template:IPA link în
Template:IPA link un
Template:IPA link ûn
Template:IPA link on
Template:IPA link ôn
Template:IPA link en
Template:IPA link ên
Template:IPA link an
Template:IPA link ân


GrammarEdit

VerbsEdit

AspectEdit

Jèrriais distinguishes between simple, progressive and perfect aspect:

Past:

preterite lang}} we spoke
progressive lang}} she was speaking
perfect lang}} you have spoken
imperfect lang}} I spoke

Future:

simple lang}} I will speak
progressive lang}} you will be speaking
perfect lang}} she will have spoken

Present:

simple lang}} I speak
progressive lang}} they are speaking

IterativeEdit

Verbs can be made iterative in aspect by prefixing {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (long form) or {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (short form):

lang}} have
lang}} have again
   
lang}} be
lang}} be again
   
lang}} clean
lang}} clean again
   
lang}} hide
lang}} hide again
   
lang}} watch
lang}} watch again
   
lang}} phone
lang}} phone again

GerundsEdit

Verbs can be transformed into gerunds, which are commonly used:

lang}} sing
lang}} singing
   
lang}} make
lang}} making
   
lang}} pull
lang}} hauling, haulage
   
lang}} park
lang}} parking
   
lang}} read
lang}} reading
   
lang}} fax
lang}} faxing

ExamplesEdit

Jèrriais French English
lang}} lang}} Jersey
lang}} lang}} welcome
lang}} lang}} garden (yard)
lang}} lang}} beauty
lang}} lang}} hello
lang}} lang}} trousers
lang}} lang}} brush
lang}} lang}} dear
lang}} lang}} compare
lang}} lang}} abroad
lang}} lang}} never
lang}} lang}} link
lang}} lang}} bag
lang}} lang}} chair
lang}} lang}} dog
lang}} lang}} kettle
lang}} lang}} journeys
lang}} lang}} eye

See alsoEdit

Template:Sister project

NotesEdit

Template:Notelist

ReferencesEdit

Template:Reflist

LiteratureEdit

  • Lé Jèrriais Pour Tous by Paul W. Birt, 1985.
  • Dictionnaire Jersiais–Français, 1966.
  • A Grammar of the Norman French of the Channel Islands: The Dialects of Jersey and Sark by Anthony J. Liddicoat, 1994. Template:ISBN
  • Jersey Norman French: A Linguistic Study of An Obsolescent Dialect . Mari C. Jones, 2001
  • Jèrriais: Jersey's Native Tongue by Mari C. Jones, 2003. Template:ISBN
  • Dictionnaithe Jèrriais-Angliais. 2005. Template:ISBN
  • Les Chroniques du Don Balleine/Les Nouvelles Chroniques du Don Balleine (magazine). Jersey 1979 – current.

External linksEdit

Template:Jersey topics Template:Norman language Template:Gallo-Romance languages and dialects Template:Romance languages Template:Authority control