Languages of Jersey
Encyclopedia
Crown dependency
The Crown Dependencies are British possessions of the Crown, as opposed to overseas territories of the United Kingdom. They comprise the Channel Island Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey in the English Channel, and the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea....
in the 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...
, off the French coast of Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
, has two official language
Official language
An official language is a language that is given a special legal status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically a nation's official language will be the one used in that nation's courts, parliament and administration. However, official status can also be used to give a...
s: 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...
and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
. Traditionally, 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...
, a variety of the ancient Norman language
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...
, has been the dominant language of the Bailiwick
Bailiwick
A bailiwick is usually the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff, and may also apply to a territory in which the sheriff's functions were exercised by a privately appointed bailiff under a royal or imperial writ. The word is now more generally used in a metaphorical sense, to indicate a sphere of...
, but the past century has seen a great decline in its use, as well as the use of French.
English
As a crown dependency of the British monarch, EnglishEnglish 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...
has a special place in the island, and is now the dominant, as well as an official, language.
The English language has been allowed in parliamentary debates in the States of Jersey
States of Jersey
The States of Jersey is the parliament and government of Jersey.The Assembly of the States of Jersey has exercised legislative powers since 1771, when law-making power was transferred from the Royal Court of Jersey....
since February 2, 1900.
Most signs are written in English, sometimes with French or Jèrriais subtitling. There are around 87,000 people in Jersey, and 20% are of British (traditionally English-speaking) descent. Most of the Norman-descended population now speaks English as well. All demographics combined, English is spoken by 94.6% of the population.
French
Jersey Legal FrenchJersey 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...
is the official variety of French used in administration. The States of Jersey is part of the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie
Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie
The Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie is an association of the parliaments of Francophone countries. It was established in Luxembourg in 1967, and was then known as the Association internationale des parlementaires de langue française....
. The current use of French in the parliament is generally restricted to formalities (prayers, ceremonies, formulas).
Due to proximity, there has been a French-speaking community in Jersey for centuries, though now it has shrunk considerably, although the language is still official. The national anthem, Ma Normandie
Ma Normandie
"Ma Normandie" is the semi-official anthem of the Bailiwick of Jersey, a British Crown dependency in the Channel Islands, and was written and composed by Frédéric Bérat...
, is in the French language
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
. At various points in history the indigenous French-speaking population of Jersey was supplemented by political refugees from France, including for example Victor Hugo
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo was a Frenchpoet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romantic movement in France....
.
The last French-language newspaper in Jersey, Les Chroniques de Jersey, closed at the end of 1959.
Jèrriais
JèrriaisJèrriais
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...
, sometimes referred to as "Jersey French" or "Jersey Norman French", a 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...
, was the dominant language of the Bailiwick for most of its history. Now, however, the language is spoken by around 2,600 of the 87,000 inhabitants of the island, down from 5,720 in 1989. The language is most prominent in rural areas, where the proportions of speakers are highest, although the capital, Saint Helier
Saint Helier
Saint Helier is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands in the English Channel. St. Helier has a population of about 28,000, roughly 31.2% of the total population of Jersey, and is the capital of the Island . The urban area of the parish of St...
, has the highest total number of speakers. Around 200 children are learning the language in schools as of 2006, and the Jersey Evening Post
Jersey Evening Post
The Jersey Evening Post is a regional newspaper published six days a week in the Bailiwick of Jersey. It was printed in broadsheet format for 87 years, though it is now of compact size. Its motto is: "At the heart of island life".-History:The Evening Post was founded in 1890 by H.P...
, the island's main newspaper, runs articles in Jèrriais every week. Up to 15% of the island has some understanding of the language.
Sercquiais
Sercquiais
' also known as Sarkese or Sark-French is the Norman dialect of the Channel Island of Sark. In the island it is sometimes known, slightly disparagingly, as the "patois", a French term meaning "regional language"....
, a descendant of Jèrriais spoken by settlers from Jersey in Sark
Sark
Sark is a small island in the Channel Islands in southwestern English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. It is a royal fief, geographically located in the Channel Islands in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, with its own set of laws based on Norman law and its own parliament. It has a population...
, is also near the brink of extinction, with fewer than 20 native speakers.
Portuguese
Immigrants of PortuguesePortuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....
(mostly Madeira
Madeira
Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...
n) ethnicity make up 6.4% of Jersey, according the CIA World Factbook, and the language is used by 4.6% of the total population, and is commonly used in signage, notices, and the like.