Bienvnus a Dgernesi
You’ll always find a special welcome in Guernsey, whether the greeting is in plain English or in the island’s very own Norman French language.
Wherever you go in Guernsey you will see plenty of evidence of the island’s proud Norman heritage and culture. For a start there are all those strange looking names on all the walls and buildings and street signs. Then there are all those French looking family names in the local telephone book. And even when you go to a café or kiosk for a little light refreshment, you will no doubt encounter the traditional Guernsey Gâche (pronounced “Gosh”) that might also need a bit of translating.
Viaer Marchi
Gâche is very much on the menu when the National Trust of Guernsey stages its massive outdoor gathering to celebrate the island’s ancient heritage, including its unique food and language. Lé Viaer Marchi, or the old market, takes place at Saumarez Park on the first Monday evening of July, and it is at big annual events like this one, and also at the traditional West Show that takes place every August, where you are most likely to hear Guernsey’s native Norman tongue being spoken.
Admittedly, many of those who still converse in ‘Dgernésiais’ are of pension age, but in recent years there has been a surge in interest in Guernsey Norman French among a new generation. Jan Marquis is the youthful looking Guernseyman at the forefront of this drive to rejuvenate the old language. As the island’s first language development officer, or ‘Officier pour Dgernésiais’, he has a real sense of history about his native tongue.
“Guernsey Norman French resembles the language of William the Conqueror and it’s been spoken here for the best part of a thousand years,” Jan explains.
“It was only really in the 19th century that English began to take over from it, but now the language is severely endangered and most people that speak it fluently are elderly, in their 70s, 80s and 90s. Part of my role as Guernsey’s language support officer is to explore ways of expanding the teaching of it in primary schools and to try to get it into the national curriculum.”
A living language
While hundreds of island children have embraced the opportunity to learn Dgernésiais, Jan has no illusions about the sheer scale of the task in hand and he is the first to admit that school lessons on their own are not enough. “We have to encourage people to speak it,” he says. “There are a lot of grandparents out there, or even great grandparents, who didn’t speak it to their children, so we’re now encouraging them to speak it to their children’s children, because it has got to be a living language.”
Veteran Guernsey Norman French speaker Fred Gallienne is one grandparent who has taken the message firmly on board. It seems hard to believe that when Fred was at school English was the language that he and his classmates had to learn from scratch.
“I was born into a family that spoke only Guernsey French,” Fred recalls. “We never spoke any English at home and we only started to learn English at school at the age of five. The only time you’d hear a word of English was when you’d bring a new word, like telephone, into the conversation.”
SPECSAVERS LIBERATION TEA DANCE 07 May 2010 - 08 May 2010
Contact Alex Hanna +44 (0) 1481 236000 Venue Beau Sejour Leisure Centre
Two daytime dance and tea parties for more than 750 islanders who lived through the Occupation, were ev...
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NORTH SHOW AND BATTLE OF FLOWERS 25 Aug 2010 - 26 Aug 2010
Contact Simon Marquis +44 (0) 1481 242783 - see e-mail link below.
Lots of family entertainment, including all of the traditional agricultural, horticultural and craft cat...
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