‘Once Guernesiais is gone, it’s gone forever’
GUERNESIAIS is a living language which should be celebrated and remembered, according to a professor.
Speaking at a whole school assembly at the Guernsey Grammar School and Sixth Form Centre, Professor of French Linguistics and Language Change at the University of Cambridge, Mari C Jones, highlighted the importance of Guernesiais and its Norman influence.
‘Many local place names come alive when you know what they mean in Guernesiais,’ she said.
‘English has been shaped, coloured and sculpted by Norman and there are many words used by [islanders] that outsiders do not understand.’
Words such as vraic [seaweed] and douit [stream] are well known in the island and commonly used, but between the years 1150 and 1400 around 10,000 words were borrowed from Norman.
Professor Jones told the students that Guernsey shares the same linguistic heritage as the Continental Norman language and the importance of it.
‘Once Guernesiais is gone, it’s gone forever,’ she said. ‘You are so lucky to have this language, it would be such a shame to let it die.’
Director of Sixth Form and deputy head teacher Kieran James met Professor Jones on one of the Sixth Form university trips and invited her to speak to the students when she was next on the island as many had shown a keen interest in her work.
Year 8 student George Montgomery said the assembly was very informative and thought it was important to remember a language so unique to Guernsey. ‘My great-grandmother is fluent and sometimes speaks a little bit to us. It’s important to keep Guernesiais alive because it’s a part of the island that only Guernsey has.’
Professor Jones also spoke about the value of being able to speak another language and how English can only be understood by having some knowledge of the Norman-French language first.
Sophia Dance, who is also in Year 8, came to the island recently and said she did not know there was such a rich linguistic heritage on the island. ‘I think the fact that Guernsey has its own language unique to the island is really interesting. Languages open opportunities to learn about other cultures and places,’ said the Russian and English speaker.
Megan Chipperfield, who is in Year 13, is fluent in Italian and English and works at jewellers Martin & Martin, which sells its Patois brand with Guernesiais engraving.
‘I’ve picked up a few of the Guernesiais phrases from working there,’ she said.‘I think it’s important to learn languages because they help you to diversify and understand other cultures.’
