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Jersey French: La Langue Jčrriaise Jersey French: La Langue Jčrriaise
Jčrriais is a minority language, a Norman dialect with an ancient heritage, spoken on the island of Jersey. It is spoken by several thousand inhabitants of Jersey, often alongside English and French, the predominant languages of modern Jersey life.
Jčrriais v. French
Jčrriais distinguishes itself from modern French in a number of ways. Jčrriais's phonology includes sounds, such as 'tch' and 'dg', that do not exist in French.
| French | Jčrriais |
|---|---|
| chien (dog) | tchian |
| dix (ten) | dgięx |
| guerre (war) | dgčrre |
There are also significant orthographic differences between the two languages. Jčrriais abounds in such letter combinations as: 'ouo' and 'aithe':
| pour (for) | pouor |
| cochon (pig) | couochon |
| histoire (story) | histouaithe |
| vocabulaire (vocabulary) | vocabulaithe |
In French, adjectives mostly go after the noun, but in Jčrriais the opposite can be true.
| eune rouoge flieur; ŕ haute vouaix |
| une fleur rouge; ŕ voix haute |
| (a red flower; in a high voice) |
Vocabulary
Other than French and Latin, many Jčrriais words are borrowed from English:
- pot (pot)
- gamme (game)
- tyeur (tyre)
Jčrriais Today
The language continues to be spoken in parts of Jersey by several thousand people. Jersey's department of education supports a scheme which teaches Jčrriais in the island's primary schools on a voluntary basis.
Periodicals, poems, rhymes and other literature continue to be produced in Jčrriais, and a trust - Le Don Balleine Trust - supports their publication. There are occasional radio programmes broadcast in Jčrriais through BBC Radio Jersey (check schedules).
The Web has represented an opportunity for supporters of Jčrriais to broaden the promotion of their language; there now exists a significant body of on-line material on the language, its history and culture. You can even purchase books and tapes on-line.
http://www.societe-jersiaise.org/geraint/jerriais.html A very comprehensive introduction to the Jčrriais language: lots of vocabulary and grammar resources and links to purchase books / tapes on-line.
You can also download a word version of this exercise.
