Nouormand
Norman
Indo-European
Norman (Norman French) is an Oïl Romance language closely related to French, surviving primarily in the Channel Islands of Jersey (where it is called Jèrriais), Guernsey (Guernésiais), and Sark (Sercquiais), as well as on the Cotentin Peninsula of mainland Normandy in France. Linguistically, Norman is famous in the history of English for being the source of the Norman French linguistic influence on Old English following the 1066 Norman Conquest of England — Norman cat (Latin cattus) gave English cat, Norman castel gave English castle, etc. The historical Norman dialect of England died out by the 14th century but its lexical contributions to Modern English remain vast (~30% of English vocabulary is of Norman/French origin). Today, Channel Island Jèrriais is in serious decline with only ~3,000 mostly elderly speakers, despite some recent revival efforts via the Office du Jèrriais established in 1999.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Norman
Water
ieau
/jo/
Fire
feu
/fø/
Sun
solé
/sɔle/
Moon
leune
/løn/
Mother
mère
/mɛːʁ/
Father
péthe
/peːʁ/
Eat
mangi
/mɑ̃ʒi/
Drink
baithe
/baɪð/
Love
amour
/amuʁ/
Heart
tcheu
/tʃø/
Tree
arbre
/aʁbʁ/
House
maîson
/mɛːzɔ̃/
Dog
tchian
/tʃɑ̃/
Cat
cat
/ka/
Hand
main
/mɛ̃/
Eye
yi
/ji/
Hello
bouônjour
/bwɔ̃ʒuʁ/
Thank you
mèsi
/mɛsi/
One
ieune
/jøn/
Good
boun
/bun/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Indo-European languages
| Meaning | Norman | Jèrriais | French | French (African) | French (Belgian) | French (Swiss) | Picard |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | ieau /jo/ | ieau /jo/ | eau /o/ | eau /o/ | eau /o/ | eau /o/ | iau /jo/ |
| Fire | feu /fø/ | feu /fø/ | feu /fø/ | feu /fø/ | feu /fø/ | feu /fø/ | fu /fy/ |
| Sun | solé /sɔle/ | solé /sɔˈle/ | soleil /sɔlɛj/ | soleil /sɔlɛj/ | soleil /sɔlɛj/ | soleil /sɔlɛj/ | solèl /sɔlɛl/ |
| Moon | leune /løn/ | leune /løːn/ | lune /lyn/ | lune /lyn/ | lune /lyn/ | lune /lyn/ | lune /lyn/ |
| Mother | mère /mɛːʁ/ | mère /mɛːr/ | mère /mɛʁ/ | mère /mɛʁ/ | mère /mɛʁ/ | mère /mɛʁ/ | mère /mɛʁ/ |
| Father | péthe /peːʁ/ | péthe /peːð/ | père /pɛʁ/ | père /pɛʁ/ | père /pɛʁ/ | père /pɛʁ/ | père /pɛʁ/ |
| Eat | mangi /mɑ̃ʒi/ | mangi /mɑ̃ˈʒi/ | manger /mɑ̃ʒe/ | manger /mɑ̃ʒe/ | manger /mɑ̃ʒe/ | manger /mɑ̃ʒe/ | minger /mɛ̃ʒe/ |
| Drink | baithe /baɪð/ | baithe /baɪð/ | boire /bwaʁ/ | boire /bwaʁ/ | boire /bwaʁ/ | boire /bwaʁ/ | boère /bwɛʁ/ |
| Love | amour /amuʁ/ | amour /aˈmuːr/ | amour /amuʁ/ | amour /amuʁ/ | amour /amuʁ/ | amour /amuʁ/ | amour /amuʁ/ |
| Heart | tcheu /tʃø/ | tchoeu /tʃœ/ | cœur /kœʁ/ | cœur /kœʁ/ | cœur /kœʁ/ | cœur /kœʁ/ | cœur /kœʁ/ |
| Tree | arbre /aʁbʁ/ | bouais /bwɛ/ | arbre /aʁbʁ/ | arbre /aʁbʁ/ | arbre /aʁbʁ/ | arbre /aʁbʁ/ | abre /abʁ/ |
| House | maîson /mɛːzɔ̃/ | maîson /mɛˈzɔ̃/ | maison /mɛzɔ̃/ | maison /mɛzɔ̃/ | maison /mɛzɔ̃/ | maison /mɛzɔ̃/ | mason /masɔ̃/ |
| Dog | tchian /tʃɑ̃/ | tchian /tʃjɑ̃/ | chien /ʃjɛ̃/ | chien /ʃjɛ̃/ | chien /ʃjɛ̃/ | chien /ʃjɛ̃/ | kien /kjɛ̃/ |
| Cat | cat /ka/ | cat /kat/ | chat /ʃa/ | chat /ʃa/ | chat /ʃa/ | chat /ʃa/ | cat /ka/ |
| Hand | main /mɛ̃/ | main /mɛ̃/ | main /mɛ̃/ | main /mɛ̃/ | main /mɛ̃/ | main /mɛ̃/ | main /mɛ̃/ |
| Eye | yi /ji/ | yi /ji/ | œil /œj/ | œil /œj/ | œil /œj/ | œil /œj/ | œil /œj/ |
| Hello | bouônjour /bwɔ̃ʒuʁ/ | bouônjour /bwɔ̃ˈʒuːr/ | bonjour /bɔ̃ʒuʁ/ | bonjour /bɔ̃ʒuʁ/ | bonjour /bɔ̃ʒuʁ/ | bonjour /bɔ̃ʒuʁ/ | bojour /bɔʒuʁ/ |
| Thank you | mèsi /mɛsi/ | mèrcie /mɛrˈsi/ | merci /mɛʁsi/ | merci /mɛʁsi/ | merci /mɛʁsi/ | merci /mɛʁsi/ | merci /mɛʁsi/ |
| One | ieune /jøn/ | ieune /jøːn/ | un /œ̃/ | un /œ̃/ | un /œ̃/ | un /œ̃/ | un /œ̃/ |
| Good | boun /bun/ | bouôn /bwɔ̃/ | bon /bɔ̃/ | bon /bɔ̃/ | bon /bɔ̃/ | bon /bɔ̃/ | bon /bɔ̃/ |
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