Channel Island English
Encyclopedia
Channel Island English refers to Alderney English, Guernsey English and Jersey English and similar dialects of English found in the other Channel Islands.
, distinguished by the fact that it has considerable influence from Auregnais
, the variety of Norman
spoken on the island. Differences from more standard English include vraic (seaweed fertiliser
), and the pronunciation of certain local surnames, Dupont and Simon as dipõ and [symõ] respectively, rather than the standard Parisian pronunciation.
It is in many ways similar to Guernsey English, as Guernésiais and Auregnais
differ only slightly.
, distinguished by the fact that it has considerable influence from Guernésiais, the variety of Norman
indigenous to Guernsey.
The dialect contains terms such as "buncho" (from Dgèrnésiais: bond d'tchu) for the English "somersault"; "it picks" instead of "it stings", from the Guernsey equivalent of the French "il pique"; "chirry" for "goodbye"; and "Budlo Night" instead of Bonfire Night on November 5th. Guernsey people will also say "Is it?" in answer to almost any statement, just as the French say "n'est-ce pas?", but also use it as a stand alone phrase. For example: "She was out until midnight last night!" "Is it?"
of English
spoken in Jersey
, Channel Islands
. The accent is similar sounding to Dutch or South African accents. It is influenced by the use of Jèrriais
and Jersey Legal French
.
(clerk-of-Court or the States), bâtonnier (lawyer in charge of Bar, particularly for legal aid
), mandataire, autorisé (returning officer
at elections, or other functions), projet (parliamentary bill), vraic, côtil, temps passé (time past), vin d'honneur
(municipal or official reception), Centenier, Vingtenier, Chef de Police (senior Centenier), branchage
' onMouseout='HidePop("39400")' href="/topics/Cognate">cognate
even though spelt in the French manner - trimming hedges and verges on property border; also used jocularly for a haircut), Seigneur (feudal lord of the manor).
and /d/ are dental and unaspirated.
Examples of structures used by people in the Channel Islands are:
Alderney English
Alderney English is the dialect of English spoken in AlderneyAlderney
Alderney is the most northerly of the Channel Islands. It is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown dependency. It is long and wide. The area is , making it the third-largest island of the Channel Islands, and the second largest in the Bailiwick...
, distinguished by the fact that it has considerable influence from Auregnais
Auregnais
Auregnais, Aoeur'gnaeux or Aurignais is the Norman dialect of the Channel Island of Alderney . It is estimated that there are now possibly only 20 people still fluent in the language....
, the variety of Norman
Norman language
Norman is a Romance language and one of the Oïl languages. Norman can be classified as one of the northern Oïl languages along with Picard and Walloon...
spoken on the island. Differences from more standard English include vraic (seaweed fertiliser
Seaweed fertiliser
Seaweed fertiliser, also spelt seaweed fertilizer, several of the 12,000+ varieties in the ocean have been shown to be valuable additions to the organic garden and can be abundantly available free for those living near the coast...
), and the pronunciation of certain local surnames, Dupont and Simon as dipõ and [symõ] respectively, rather than the standard Parisian pronunciation.
It is in many ways similar to Guernsey English, as Guernésiais and Auregnais
Auregnais
Auregnais, Aoeur'gnaeux or Aurignais is the Norman dialect of the Channel Island of Alderney . It is estimated that there are now possibly only 20 people still fluent in the language....
differ only slightly.
Guernsey English
Guernsey English is the dialect of English spoken in GuernseyGuernsey
Guernsey, officially the Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy.The Bailiwick, as a governing entity, embraces not only all 10 parishes on the Island of Guernsey, but also the islands of Herm, Jethou, Burhou, and Lihou and their islet...
, distinguished by the fact that it has considerable influence from Guernésiais, the variety of Norman
Norman language
Norman is a Romance language and one of the Oïl languages. Norman can be classified as one of the northern Oïl languages along with Picard and Walloon...
indigenous to Guernsey.
The dialect contains terms such as "buncho" (from Dgèrnésiais: bond d'tchu) for the English "somersault"; "it picks" instead of "it stings", from the Guernsey equivalent of the French "il pique"; "chirry" for "goodbye"; and "Budlo Night" instead of Bonfire Night on November 5th. Guernsey people will also say "Is it?" in answer to almost any statement, just as the French say "n'est-ce pas?", but also use it as a stand alone phrase. For example: "She was out until midnight last night!" "Is it?"
Jersey English
Jersey English is a dialectDialect
The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
of English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
spoken in Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
, Channel Islands
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...
. The accent is similar sounding to Dutch or South African accents. It is influenced by the use of Jèrriais
Jèrriais
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...
and Jersey Legal French
Jersey Legal French
Jersey Legal French, also known as Jersey French, is the official dialect of French used administratively in Jersey. Since the anglicisation of the island, it survives as a written language for some laws, contracts, and other documents. Jersey's parliament, the States of Jersey, is part of the...
.
Influence of Jersey Legal French on Jersey English
Jersey English has imported a number of Jersey Legal French titles and terminology. Many of these, in turn, derive from Jèrriais. The following are examples likely to be encountered in daily life and in news reports in Jersey: rapporteur, en défaut (in default, i.e. late for a meeting), en désastre, au greffe, greffierGreffier
In the Channel Islands, the Greffier is the clerk to the legislature or a court. The word Greffier is French in origin. The word Greffe refers to the records kept by the Greffier or the department of government under the Greffier's management....
(clerk-of-Court or the States), bâtonnier (lawyer in charge of Bar, particularly for legal aid
Legal aid
Legal aid is the provision of assistance to people otherwise unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. Legal aid is regarded as central in providing access to justice by ensuring equality before the law, the right to counsel and the right to a fair trial.A number of...
), mandataire, autorisé (returning officer
Returning Officer
In various parliamentary systems, a returning officer is responsible for overseeing elections in one or more constituencies.-Australia:In Australia a returning officer is an employee of the Australian Electoral Commission or a State Electoral Commission who heads the local divisional office...
at elections, or other functions), projet (parliamentary bill), vraic, côtil, temps passé (time past), vin d'honneur
Vin d'honneur
Vin d'honneur literally translates from French to "Wine of honour" and is akin to a prolonged social celebration after an official ceremony like a marriage....
(municipal or official reception), Centenier, Vingtenier, Chef de Police (senior Centenier), branchage
Visite du Branchage
A Visite du Branchage is an inspection of roads in Jersey and Guernsey to ensure property owners have complied with the laws against vegetation encroaching on the highway.-Jersey:...
' onMouseout='HidePop("39400")' href="/topics/Cognate">cognate
Cognate
In linguistics, cognates are words that have a common etymological origin. This learned term derives from the Latin cognatus . Cognates within the same language are called doublets. Strictly speaking, loanwords from another language are usually not meant by the term, e.g...
even though spelt in the French manner - trimming hedges and verges on property border; also used jocularly for a haircut), Seigneur (feudal lord of the manor).
Vowels
- Kit: /ɪ/
- Dress: /ɛ/
- Trap: /æ/
- Lot: /ɒ/
- Strut: /ʌ/ or /ɔ/
- Foot: /ʊ/
- Fleece: /ɪi/ or /iː/
- Face: /eɪ/
- Palm: /ɑː/
- Thought: /oː/ or /ɔː/
- Goat: /əʊ/
- Near: /iə/ or /ɪə/
- Square: /ɛə/
- Start: /ɑː/
- North: /ɑː/ or /əː/
- Force: /oː/ or /əː/
- Cure: /juə/
- Bath: /ɑː/
- Cloth: /ɒː/
- Nurse: /əː/
- Goose: /uː/ or /ʉ/
- Price/Prize: /aɪ/, /ɑɪ/, or /ɒɪ/
- Choice: /ɔɪ/ or /oɪ/
- Mouth: /aʊ/
- happY: /iː/ or /i/
- lettEr: /œ/ or /ə/
- horsEs: /ɪ/
- commA: /ə/
Consonants
- H-drops and intrusive H leading to sentences like: “My mother was very hill and I was the heldest, and I stayed to 'elp my mother.”
- Ing as /ɪn/ or /ɪŋ/
- R tends to be uvular in the island of Sark, and trilled throughout the archipelago.
- Medial yod often appears after an initial voiced consonant such as /ˈɡjɑːdn/
and /d/ are dental and unaspirated.
- Interference from the Norman Languages caused their intonation and word stress to be different sometimes, like edu'cated, Liver'pool and rail'way.
Morphosyntax
- The Norman Influence is more clearly demonstrable in Channel Island English morphosyntax than in its phonology.
Examples of structures used by people in the Channel Islands are:
- “There's ten years I am a farmer” for “I've been a farmer for ten years.”
- “Me, I don't want to go” or “I don't want to go, me.”
- “That's the one, eh?” Eh for “isn't it?”, “aren't they?”, “don't you think?”, or else.
- “There's two castles there” for “There are two castles there.”
- “... and the teacher, she was angry, eh.” (use of emphatic personal pronoun.)