What is Dgernesiais?

Dgernesiais or Guernsey Norman French is the ancestral Norman language of Guernsey. It has been spoken by generations of Guernsey people for nearly one thousand years and although, like all natural languages, it has undergone modifications, it has remained remarkably intact conserving many of its distinguishing Norman characteristics. It derives from the ancient tongue spoken in Normandy at the time of William the Conqueror and therefore is closely related to the Norman parlers spoken there today.

What defines Dgernesiais as a variety of Norman?

One of the charcteristics which defines Dgernesiais as a variety of Norman is the retention of the Latin [k] and [g] before many words such as; calidum (warm) and gamba (leg). In French these sounds were modified giving respectively, chaud and jambe, whereas in Dgernesiais the hard [k] and [g] sounds were retained thus giving caoud [kàu] and gàmbe [gà:b]. It is clear from this example that it is French which has innovated, while Dgernesiais has conserved a feature of the mother language.

Where are the origins of Norman found?

Following the military annexation of Gaul by Julius Caesar in 55 BC the Gauls, for reasons such as trading and social advancement, adopted the language of their conquerors. This language was, of course, Latin. However, although there existed a preferred written form, there remained much diversity in the spoken Latin of the Roman Empire. This spoken or vulgar Latin of the soldiers and their entourage is what interests us here, as it is from this speech, considered for a long time as socially inferior to the classic form, that derive the languages which make up the Langue d’Oïl, or old French. This list includes: Norman, Gallo, Picard, Champenois, Saintongeois, Angevin, Wallon, Lorrain, Franc-comptois and finally Francien. It is this last language, that during 17th and 18th centuries, underwent a standardisation, codification and elaboration which constituted the birth of modern French. This had the effect of relegating the other varieties of old French to a position of social inferiority. Although Guernsey’s civil and ecclesiastical authorities adopted this standardised form, the Norman of Guernsey, unlike the other parlers of the Langue d’Oïl, escaped the centralised standardisation pressures emanating from Paris.

In 9th century tribes from Scandinavia began carrying out raids, and consequently established settlements, in what is now Normandy. They soon abandoned their Nordic languages adopting the vernacular of the land. This did not take place without affecting it, adding vocabulary and reinforcing certain linguistic characteristics of what was by this point a distinct variety of the Langue d’Oïl. This tongue, known as Norman, was the language that William and his men took with them to England in 1066. It became the language of the ruling classes there, and during the next 300 years many literary works were composed in it. The Normans were strong and well established, and up until the loss of continental Normandy to France in 1204, they posed a real threat to the French Kings’ territories and their language (Francien).

Guernsey at this time was a possession of the Duchy of Normandy, therefore the language was Norman. This remained the linguistic situation despite the events which took place in continental Normandy, and England, where around 14th century Norman gave way to Middle English. However, it did not do so without leaving its mark on legal and everyday English vocabulary. Some words of Norman origin include; chair, curtain, garden, castle, and in Dgernesiais; tchaire, courtaene, gardìn, châtel respectively. The old Norman form for castle persists in local place names such as Castel and its derivative Castillon. It is this Norman spoken by the people of Guernsey down through the centuries which became known as Lé Dgernesiais.

But isn’t Dgernesiais a form of bad French?

Many believe that Dgernesiais is not a language in its own right, they see it as a form of deformed French, or at best a dialect/patois of it. This is incorrect for as we have already seen (Francien) French and (Norman) Dgernesiais, along with all of the varieties of the Langue d’Oïl, have a common mother language. It is for this reason they share many lexical items. In reality it is equally false to say that Dgernesiais derives from French as it to say that French derives from Dgernesiais. Others believe that Dgernesiais does not posses a coherent grammar, this they conclude because it seems to disobey many prescriptive French grammar rules. This conclusion is illogical as no two languages are governed by the same set of rules. Moreover, all languages evolve in their own way and are subject to independent influences and even though they may originate from a common root, they will diverge and develop their own distinctive characteristics. To say that Dgernesiais disobeys French grammar rules implies by the same token that Spanish and Italian do as well. It is also to deny that Dgernesiais has its own unique history. Finally, it is quite common to hear people state that our island tongue can not be a language because it is not written, as all languages have a standardised written form. This is untrue, a majority of world languages have never been standardised and have no agreed written form, they are passed from one generation to the next by an oral tradition. This was the situation, and still is to a lessor degree, prior to the standardisation of all modern written languages. Noteworthy is the fact that very few people speak the standardised variety of their maternal language.

Has Dgernesiais ever been written?

Some of the earliest literary works in a variety of the Langue d’Oïl or old French dating back to 12th century are written in Norman, from which Dgernesiais derives.

More recently, during the 19th century many Dgernesiais writers emerged. The most important being George Métivier (1790-1881) who in 1831 published les Rìmes Guernesiaises and then in 1870 Le Dictionnnaire Franco-normand du dialecte de Guernesey, the first dictionary of Dgernesiais. Some other writers of the period include Denys Corbet (1826-1909), Les chànts du Drain Rimeux Tam Lenfestey (1818-1909). This literary trend originating in Guernsey inspired many writers on the Normandy mainland to compose works in their variety of Norman.

La Victime

Métivier

Veis-tu l’s écllaers, os-tu l’tounère?

Lé vent érage et la née a tché!

Les douits saont g’laïs, la gnièt est nère -

Ah, s’tu m’ôimes ouvre l’hus - ch’est mé!

Do you see the lightning, do you hear the thunder?

The wind is raging and the snow has fallen!

The "douits" are frozen, the night is dark -

Ah, if you love me open the door - it’s me!

Some short story writers and poets of this century include; T A Grut, Hélier d’Rocqôine, Majorie Ozanne, Renée Jehan, Marie De Garis, who with the help of L’Assembllaïe D’Guernesiais and La Société Guernesiaise published in 1967 Le Dictiounnaire Angllais-Guernesiais, the English-Dgernesiais dictionary.

What is the current situation?

The future of Dgernesiais is far from being assured. English is now predominant, it started to seriously erode the positions of both Dgernesiais and French at the turn of the century. It was the language of the tourists who came to the island during this period, moreover, it is the language of the United Kingdom, the country on which Guernsey depends for trade. A tide which had already started to turn towards English at the beginning of the century became a tidal wave with the evacuation to England of school children prior to the German Occupation of Guernsey in 1940, many of whom returned to the island unable to converse in their ancestral tongue. This and the consequent immigration of monolingual English speakers could only weaken the position of Dgernesiais.

Despite there still being those who will converse readily in Dgernesiais, the intergenerational transmission has been lost and the language is being diluted constantly. This would explain the remarks of those, who on hearing English words used in the Dgernesiais of many speakers, believe it to be a poor language. Although it is true that Dgernesiais has been enriched by borrowing English words for some modern devices and concepts, often borrowings are due to the speaker’s poor vocabulary knowledge.

Why save our island language?

It may seem futile and or even a waste of time to be interested in our island language in a world which demands international communication. And yet, despite this global homogenisation we are witnessing a resurgence in interest in regional and minority languages. This does not imply that world languages should be abandoned, what it does indicate is the need individuals feel to express their cultural identity and retain their heritage. They feel that language constitutes a powerful marker of both of these. This begs the question of the importance attached to both heritage and identity by Guernsey people.

In 1957 L’Assembllaïe D’Guernesiais was formed, its aim was the promotion and conservation of Dgernesiais. In 1967 after a labour of love and the assistance of La Société Guernesiaise, Marie De Garis’ Dictiounnaire Angllais-Guernesiais English-Dgernesiais Dictionary was published.

In February of 1995 a group of young people met in order to discuss the possibility of forming an association to encourage those who speak Dgernesiais to do so and to promote the language in general. The name they took on was "Les Ravigotteurs". Since its launch "Les Ravigotteurs" has been involved in the promotion of the language in the media and establishing links with similar interest groups in Jersey and Normandy. They also organise regular meetings for those who speak or who are interested in the language. They are currently working on various materials for teaching.

Despite the enthusiasm of a few, more speakers need to become actively involved in the promotion and conservation of Dgernesiais if we are to achieve our objectives.

To allow our island language to drown in a sea of indifference and apathy would be to lose forever the ancestral idiom which survives to this day and to deny a unique and integral part of our island heritage.

Finally in the words of Ferdinant Brunot, in translation: "When a people abandons its language, it is the last of the sacrifices, the mark of a complete transformation, a veritable resignation".

Some phrases in Dgernesiais.

Coume tchi que l’affaire va? How are things going?

kum chik la-fehr va

Enn amas bian merci? Very well thank you.

én amâ byaw mehr-see

Tchi qu’est vote naom? What’s your name?

chee kay vawt nah(ng)

Mon naom est Mary. My name is Mary.

maw nah(ng) ay mary

Éiou que vous d’meuraïz? Where do you live?

ayook vood mur-eye

Je d’meure à St Pierre. I live in the Parish of St Peter’s.

shzed mur ah sine pyehr

Quaï temps qu’i fait? What’s the weather like?

kye taw kee fay

I fait caoud ogniet. It’s warm today.

ee fay kow awn-yeh.

A la perchôine! Until next time!

ah lah pehr-shoyn

This text was originally written by Jan Marquis another member of Les Ravigotteurs

If you wish to join Les Ravigotteurs, please e-mail me panther@itl.net

Also of interest may be Les Pages Jèrriaise by Geraint Jennings from Jersey

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