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
31 core words in Norman
Water
ieau
/jo/
Fire
feu
/fø/
Sun
solé
/sɔle/
Moon
leune
/løn/
Star
êtaile
/etɛl/
Mother
mère
/mɛːʁ/
Father
père
/pɛːʁ/
I
jé
/ʒe/
You
tu
/ty/
Name
nom
/nɔ̃/
Eye
yi
/ji/
Hand
main
/mɛ̃/
Heart
tcheu
/tʃø/
Love
amour
/amuʁ/
Tree
arbre
/aʁbʁ/
House
maîson
/mɛːzɔ̃/
Dog
tchian
/tʃɑ̃/
Cat
cat
/ka/
Eat
mangi
/mɑ̃ʒi/
Drink
baithe
/baɪð/
One
ieune
/jøn/
Two
deux
/dø/
Hello
bouônjour
/bwɔ̃ʒuʁ/
Thank you
mèsi
/mɛsi/
Good
boun
/bun/
Cuckoo
coucou
/kuˈku/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Indo-European languages
| Meaning | Norman | Jèrriais | French (Ivorian) | Guernésiais | French | French (Senegalese) | French (Haitian) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | ieau /jo/ | ieau /jo/ | eau /o/ | ieau /jo/ | eau /o/ | eau /o/ | eau /o/ |
| Fire | feu /fø/ | feu /fø/ | feu /fø/ | fû /fy/ | feu /fø/ | feu /fø/ | feu /fø/ |
| Sun | solé /sɔle/ | solé /sɔˈle/ | soleil /sɔlɛj/ | solé /sɔˈle/ | soleil /sɔlɛj/ | soleil /sɔlɛj/ | soleil /sɔlɛj/ |
| Moon | leune /løn/ | leune /løːn/ | lune /lyn/ | leune /løːn/ | lune /lyn/ | lune /lyn/ | lune /lyn/ |
| Star | êtaile /etɛl/ | êtaile /etɛl/ | étoile /etwal/ | êtaile /etɛl/ | étoile /etwal/ | étoile /etwal/ | étoile /etwal/ |
| Mother | mère /mɛːʁ/ | mère /mɛːr/ | mère /mɛʁ/ | mère /mɛːr/ | mère /mɛʁ/ | mère /mɛʁ/ | mère /mɛʁ/ |
| Father | père /pɛːʁ/ | péthe /peːð/ | père /pɛʁ/ | pére /peːr/ | père /pɛʁ/ | père /pɛʁ/ | père /pɛʁ/ |
| I | jé /ʒe/ | jé /ʒe/ | je /ʒe/ | jé /ʒe/ | je /ʒə/ | 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/ | yi /ji/ | œil /œj/ | yeu /jø/ | œil /œj/ | œil /œj/ | œil /œj/ |
| Hand | main /mɛ̃/ | main /mɛ̃/ | main /mɛ̃/ | main /mɛ̃/ | main /mɛ̃/ | main /mɛ̃/ | main /mɛ̃/ |
| Heart | tcheu /tʃø/ | tchoeu /tʃœ/ | cœur /kœʁ/ | tcheur /tʃœr/ | cœur /kœʁ/ | cœur /kœʁ/ | cœur /kœʁ/ |
| Love | amour /amuʁ/ | amour /aˈmuːr/ | amour /amuʁ/ | amour /aˈmuːr/ | amour /amuʁ/ | amour /amuʁ/ | amour /amuʁ/ |
| Tree | arbre /aʁbʁ/ | bouais /bwɛ/ | arbre /aʁbʁ/ | bouais /bwɛ/ | arbre /aʁbʁ/ | arbre /aʁbʁ/ | arbre /aʁbʁ/ |
| House | maîson /mɛːzɔ̃/ | maîson /mɛˈzɔ̃/ | maison /mɛzɔ̃/ | maison /mɛˈzɔ̃/ | maison /mɛzɔ̃/ | maison /mɛzɔ̃/ | maison /mɛzɔ̃/ |
| Dog | tchian /tʃɑ̃/ | tchian /tʃjɑ̃/ | chien /ʃjɛ̃/ | tchian /tʃjɑ̃/ | chien /ʃjɛ̃/ | chien /ʃjɛ̃/ | chien /ʃjɛ̃/ |
| Cat | cat /ka/ | cat /kat/ | chat /ʃa/ | cat /kat/ | chat /ʃa/ | chat /ʃa/ | chat /ʃa/ |
| Eat | mangi /mɑ̃ʒi/ | mangi /mɑ̃ˈʒi/ | manger /mɑ̃ʒe/ | mangier /mɑ̃ˈʒje/ | manger /mɑ̃ʒe/ | manger /mɑ̃ʒe/ | manger /mɑ̃ʒe/ |
| Drink | baithe /baɪð/ | baithe /baɪð/ | boire /bwaʁ/ | baire /bɛːr/ | boire /bwaʁ/ | boire /bwaʁ/ | boire /bwaʁ/ |
| One | ieune /jøn/ | ieune /jøːn/ | un /œ̃/ | yun /jœ̃/ | un /ɛ̃/ | un /œ̃/ | un /œ̃/ |
| Two | deux /dø/ | deux /dø/ | deux /dø/ | deux /dø/ | deux /dø/ | deux /dø/ | deux /dø/ |
| Hello | bouônjour /bwɔ̃ʒuʁ/ | bouônjour /bwɔ̃ˈʒuːr/ | bonjour /bɔ̃ʒuʁ/ | bouônjour /bwɔ̃ˈʒuːr/ | bonjour /bɔ̃ʒuʁ/ | bonjour /bɔ̃ʒuʁ/ | bonjour /bɔ̃ʒuʁ/ |
| Thank you | mèsi /mɛsi/ | mèrcie /mɛrˈsi/ | merci /mɛʁsi/ | mercie bian /mɛrˈsi bjɑ̃/ | merci /mɛʁsi/ | merci /mɛʁsi/ | merci /mɛʁsi/ |
| Good | boun /bun/ | bouôn /bwɔ̃/ | bon /bɔ̃/ | boan /bwɑ̃/ | bon /bɔ̃/ | bon /bɔ̃/ | bon /bɔ̃/ |
| Cuckoo | coucou /kuˈku/ | coucou /kuˈku/ | coucou /kuku/ | coucou /kuˈku/ | coucou /kuku/ | coucou /kuku/ | coucou /kuku/ |
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