Jèrriais
Indo-European (Romance > Oïl > Norman)
Jèrriais (Jersey Norman) is the Oïl Romance variety of the Channel Island of Jersey, descending from the Norman French brought to the island after 1066 — uniquely it preserves features of mainland Norman lost in standard French, such as the Norman retention of /k/ before /a/ (cat "cat" vs. French chat) and the palatalized /tʃ/-/dʒ/ outcomes (tchian "dog" vs. French chien). Severely endangered with only about a thousand mostly elderly speakers, it gained official protection under L'Office du Jèrriais in 1999 and is now taught in Jersey primary schools.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Jèrriais
Water
ieau
/jo/
Fire
feu
/fø/
Sun
solé
/sɔˈle/
Moon
leune
/løːn/
Star
êtaile
/etɛl/
Mother
mère
/mɛːr/
Father
péthe
/peːð/
I
jé
/ʒe/
You
tu
/ty/
Name
nom
/nɔ̃/
Eye
yi
/ji/
Hand
main
/mɛ̃/
Heart
tchoeu
/tʃœ/
Love
amour
/aˈmuːr/
Tree
bouais
/bwɛ/
House
maîson
/mɛˈzɔ̃/
Dog
tchian
/tʃjɑ̃/
Cat
cat
/kat/
Eat
mangi
/mɑ̃ˈʒi/
Drink
baithe
/baɪð/
One
ieune
/jøːn/
Two
deux
/dø/
Hello
bouônjour
/bwɔ̃ˈʒuːr/
Thank you
mèrcie
/mɛrˈsi/
Good
bouôn
/bwɔ̃/
Cuckoo
coucou
/kuˈku/
Sources
- Le Maistre, Frank (1966) Dictionnaire Jersiais–Français. Don Balleine Trust, Jersey.
- Spence, N. C. W. (1957) A Glossary of Jersey-French. Blackwell, Oxford.
- Birt, Paul (1985) Lé Jèrriais Pour Tous: A Complete Course on the Jersey Language. Don Balleine.
- Glottolog: Jerriais
Words compared
Compared with related Indo-European (Romance > Oïl > Norman) languages
| Meaning | Jèrriais | Guernésiais | Norman | Classical French (17c., Bel Usage) | French (Ivorian) | French | French (Senegalese) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | ieau /jo/ | ieau /jo/ | ieau /jo/ | eau /o/ | eau /o/ | eau /o/ | eau /o/ |
| Fire | feu /fø/ | fû /fy/ | feu /fø/ | feu /fø/ | feu /fø/ | feu /fø/ | feu /fø/ |
| Sun | solé /sɔˈle/ | solé /sɔˈle/ | solé /sɔle/ | soleil /sɔlɛj/ | soleil /sɔlɛj/ | soleil /sɔlɛj/ | soleil /sɔlɛj/ |
| Moon | leune /løːn/ | leune /løːn/ | leune /løn/ | lune /lyn/ | lune /lyn/ | lune /lyn/ | lune /lyn/ |
| Star | êtaile /etɛl/ | êtaile /etɛl/ | êtaile /etɛl/ | étoile /etwɛl/ | étoile /etwal/ | étoile /etwal/ | étoile /etwal/ |
| Mother | mère /mɛːr/ | mère /mɛːr/ | mère /mɛːʁ/ | mère /mɛːr/ | mère /mɛʁ/ | mère /mɛʁ/ | mère /mɛʁ/ |
| Father | péthe /peːð/ | pére /peːr/ | père /pɛːʁ/ | père /pɛːr/ | père /pɛʁ/ | père /pɛʁ/ | père /pɛʁ/ |
| I | jé /ʒe/ | jé /ʒe/ | jé /ʒe/ | je /ʒə/ | je /ʒe/ | je /ʒə/ | je /ʒə/ |
| You | tu /ty/ | tu /ty/ | tu /ty/ | tu /ty/ | tu /ty/ | tu /ty/ | tu /ty/ |
| Name | nom /nɔ̃/ | nom /nɔ̃/ | nom /nɔ̃/ | nom /nɔ̃/ | nom /nɔ̃/ | nom /nɔ̃/ | nom /nɔ̃/ |
| Eye | yi /ji/ | yeu /jø/ | yi /ji/ | œil /œːj/ | œil /œj/ | œil /œj/ | œil /œj/ |
| Hand | main /mɛ̃/ | main /mɛ̃/ | main /mɛ̃/ | main /mɛ̃/ | main /mɛ̃/ | main /mɛ̃/ | main /mɛ̃/ |
| Heart | tchoeu /tʃœ/ | tcheur /tʃœr/ | tcheu /tʃø/ | cœur /kœːr/ | cœur /kœʁ/ | cœur /kœʁ/ | cœur /kœʁ/ |
| Love | amour /aˈmuːr/ | amour /aˈmuːr/ | amour /amuʁ/ | amour /amur/ | amour /amuʁ/ | amour /amuʁ/ | amour /amuʁ/ |
| Tree | bouais /bwɛ/ | bouais /bwɛ/ | arbre /aʁbʁ/ | arbre /aːrbr/ | arbre /aʁbʁ/ | arbre /aʁbʁ/ | arbre /aʁbʁ/ |
| House | maîson /mɛˈzɔ̃/ | maison /mɛˈzɔ̃/ | maîson /mɛːzɔ̃/ | maison /mɛzɔ̃/ | maison /mɛzɔ̃/ | maison /mɛzɔ̃/ | maison /mɛzɔ̃/ |
| Dog | tchian /tʃjɑ̃/ | tchian /tʃjɑ̃/ | tchian /tʃɑ̃/ | chien /ʃjɛ̃/ | chien /ʃjɛ̃/ | chien /ʃjɛ̃/ | chien /ʃjɛ̃/ |
| Cat | cat /kat/ | cat /kat/ | cat /ka/ | chat /ʃaː/ | chat /ʃa/ | chat /ʃa/ | chat /ʃa/ |
| Eat | mangi /mɑ̃ˈʒi/ | mangier /mɑ̃ˈʒje/ | mangi /mɑ̃ʒi/ | manger /mɑ̃ʒe/ | manger /mɑ̃ʒe/ | manger /mɑ̃ʒe/ | manger /mɑ̃ʒe/ |
| Drink | baithe /baɪð/ | baire /bɛːr/ | baithe /baɪð/ | boire /bweːr/ | boire /bwaʁ/ | boire /bwaʁ/ | boire /bwaʁ/ |
| One | ieune /jøːn/ | yun /jœ̃/ | ieune /jøn/ | un /œ̃/ | un /œ̃/ | un /ɛ̃/ | un /œ̃/ |
| Two | deux /dø/ | deux /dø/ | deux /dø/ | deux /dø/ | deux /dø/ | deux /dø/ | deux /dø/ |
| Hello | bouônjour /bwɔ̃ˈʒuːr/ | bouônjour /bwɔ̃ˈʒuːr/ | bouônjour /bwɔ̃ʒuʁ/ | Dieu vous garde /djø vu ɡard/ | bonjour /bɔ̃ʒuʁ/ | bonjour /bɔ̃ʒuʁ/ | bonjour /bɔ̃ʒuʁ/ |
| Thank you | mèrcie /mɛrˈsi/ | mercie bian /mɛrˈsi bjɑ̃/ | mèsi /mɛsi/ | grâces /ɡraːs/ | merci /mɛʁsi/ | merci /mɛʁsi/ | merci /mɛʁsi/ |
| Good | bouôn /bwɔ̃/ | boan /bwɑ̃/ | boun /bun/ | bon /bɔ̃/ | bon /bɔ̃/ | bon /bɔ̃/ | bon /bɔ̃/ |
| Cuckoo | coucou /kuˈku/ | coucou /kuˈku/ | coucou /kuˈku/ | coucou /kuˈku/ | coucou /kuku/ | coucou /kuku/ | coucou /kuku/ |
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