Jersey Legal French

Jersey Legal French
français de jersey
Native speakers
None
Early forms
Official status
Official language in
Jersey
Language codes
ISO 639-3
GlottologNone
IETFfr-JE
This official stone which marks the inauguration of a municipal office in 1999 bears the names of the Connétable and the Procureurs du Bien Public of Saint Helier.
Îles de la Manche (Channel Islands) used in a Jersey passport

Jersey Legal French, also known as Jersey French (French: français de Jersey), was the official dialect of French used administratively in Jersey. Since the anglicisation of the island, it survives as a written language for some laws, contracts, and other documents. Jersey's parliament, the States of Jersey, is part of the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie. The use of the English language has been allowed in legislative debates since 2 February 1900; the current use of French in the States of Jersey is generally restricted to certain limited official state functions and formalities (prayers, ceremonies, formulae).

By common custom and usage, the most spoken languages of Jersey in present times are the English language and Jèrriais.

Jersey Legal French is not to be confused with Jèrriais, a variety of the Norman language also called Jersey Norman-French, spoken on the island.

The French of Jersey differs little from that of France. It is characterised by several terms particular to Jersey administration and a few expressions imported from Norman.

  1. ^ a b Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin; Bank, Sebastian (2022-05-24). "Glottolog 4.8 - Oil". Glottolog. Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. Archived from the original on 2023-11-11. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
  2. ^ Manuel pratique de philologie romane, Pierre Bec, 1970–1971