The status of Jèrriais

Since the standard language of all the Channel Islands has been French and never the indigenous dialects, their presence in 'official' domains has been virtually non-existent, although stories and poetry have been plentiful. Standard French (and now English) has been the language of religion and legislation and English has always been dominant in the education system. However, since September 1999, Jèrriais has been offered on an extra-curricular basis in most of the Island's schools. At present, no such initiative is being contemplated on Sark.

Jèrriais currently features in a couple of weekly radio slots and in a fortnightly newspaper column but enjoys no more than a token presence on television. Sercquiais has no presence in any form of media.

Unlike many dialects of the French mainland, Jèrriais has been codified via a dictionary (Dictionnaire Jersiais-Français by Frank Le Maistre; 1966, Don Balleine) and grammar (Le Jèrriais Pour Tous by Paul Birt; 1985, Don Balleine). There is no agreed written form of Sercquiais, although a grammar (A Grammar of the Norman French of the Channel Islands: The dialects of Jersey and Sark by Anthony Liddicoat; 1994, Mouton de Gruyter) and vocabulary (Lexicon of Sark Norman French by Anthony Liddicoat; 2001, Lincom Europa) do exist.