Introduction to Guernsey French

What is Guernsey French?

Guernsey French is the traditional language of Guernsey. It is derived from 15th Century French, and was an oral language, not being written down until very late in its life. Philologists transcribed it as if it were a form of contemporary French, and to this day it is often referred to as a 'patois'^[1], or dialect, of French. Despite this, it remains significantly different both in vocabulary and grammar.

What Language Is Spoken in Guernsey?

Guernsey, like all the Channel Islands, is now an English speaking island. English was made the official language in 1966 (in place of French), and in Jersey French and English are regarded as co-official languages. Due to its proximity to France, there are many people of French origin or with close links to the country or language living in Guernsey.

Guernsey French is a dead language: it is no longer used in any mainstream context, and there are increasingly few native speakers. Unesco has classified it as "severely endangered", and there are thought to be fewer than 1,000 speakers.^[2]

However, it is revived by Guernsey French speaking groups and other revival groups.

Significance

Guernsey French holds limited cultural significance to younger generations in Guernsey and its future survival is questionable.

However, its value to linguists is great, as it provides a window into 14th Century Norman French.

Why should I learn Guernsey French?

Because it'll make your old Guernsey gran happy
Because you're a language student interested in old French
Because you're a mythographer, mythologist or fan of fairy tales
Because you're interested in folk history, folk culture and legend
Because you believe the words of the past shouldn't be allowed to die

References

↑ This Is Guernsey comments that "the word is likely to have come from the old French, patoier, ‘to handle clumsily’, and is often steeped in class issues and reserved for the vernacular of commoners and the uncouth. So to anyone speaking d’Guernesiais, ‘patois’ may be a touch on the rude side."
↑ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/guernsey/7954683.stm

Sources

This Is Guernsey

Origins

Languages develop through contact with other languages - war, trade, conquest and shared knowledge lead to shared expressions and an intermingling of words. Guernsey's insignificance meant its linguistic fate tended to follow its ruling country, and its development is therefore closely related to that of French and English. This same insignificance, however, allowed Guernesiais to remain relatively undisturbed after the 16th Century.

Ancient French

Guernsey French is a surviving form of Norman, one of many local languages from ancient France. When Gaul was conquered by Rome in 55BC, Roman soldiers brought their language - a vulgar form of Latin which had developed through travel. Many Gauls adopted this new language to better communicate and trade with their occupiers, and this came to form a single language with elements of both. Combined with Frankish, this formed what is known as Langue d'Oïl, an umbrella term referring to a group of local languages in northern France derived from these sources. These were Burgundiy, Picardy, Wallon, Ile de France and - closest to the Channel Islands - Normandy.

Norman French

The next significant influence on the language was Scandinavian. Tribes of "Nordmen" from the north invaded what was to become Normandy, and in 219AD the conquest was formalised when King Rollo of the Normans married the daughter of the King of France, Charles the Simple. The dowry was Normandy, where the Normans settled and adopted the local language. However, many Nordic elements also entered it at this point - including the words vraic, dehus and mielles. With the Norman invasion of England in 1066, this proto-French branched again into the Anglo-Norman spoken by the English rulers, and the Franco-Norman which survived in Normandy, and formed the basis of Guernsey French.

Guernsey French

The language of both England and mainland Norman evolved further into modern French and English. After 1204, England lost Normandy to mainland France, and gradually Anglo-Saxon dominated its language once more, though it retained Norman influence. A different branch of the Langue d'Oïl was declared the official French language in 1515, rendering Norman archaic there also.

Guernsey, however, would not change hands again until 1945. Nor was there sufficient trade or travel to significantly influence the language. Instead, it remained a time capsule of Norman French.

Sources

This chapter is drawn from the following online resources:

The Death of Guernsey French

Guernesiais was the chief language of the island until the 1800s, with trade and tourists making the adoption of English essential. Yet this was still chiefly in the capital and main port St Peter Port - outside, Guernesiais dominated homes and local markets.

A study undertaken in 1926 indicated that this was mostly still the case - there were few speakers in the trading towns St Peter Port and St Sampsons, but dominated in the south and west.^[1]

In the 30s and 40s, there were many who could still not speak English, and during the German occupation Guernesiais was used to communicate when in fear of being overheard. However, 1940 also saw the evacuation of the majority of the island's children to England - and when they returned in 1945, the old language was unfamiliar to them. The loss of the language to this new generation was significant in determining its downfall.

Increased contact with the outside world required for modernity came increasingly at the price of language. Tourism gradually became a major industry, and media from outside the islands made English increasingly prevalent.

Today, it is estimated that less than 2% of the population speak Guernsey French.