What did you say?

If your mate came out and said: “J’allons-t-i’ clober à ces sé?” What would you say in reply? This is a re-published version of an article on Jerriais I wrote for bbc.co.uk/jersey with Jerriais words and phrases contributed by Geraint Jennings.

Photo of Jerriais literature was taken by by Man vyi and is available under a Creative Commons licence on his Flickr photostream.

Language is a funny old beast. If you’re reading this you more than likely speak English – unless you’re using an online translator, in which case “very much welcome are you.”

In Jersey there are several languages spoken by our diverse populous. Most speak English but some converse in Portuguese, others in Polish and others still in French.

Occasionally though you’ll heard snippets of conversation in the islands own tongue, Jerriais – but very rarely.

According to the 2001 Jersey Census just 2,874 of the Island’s 87,186 population, or 3.3% of people living in Jersey could speak Jerriais and two-thirds of these speakers were aged over 60.

The Census also recorded that only 113 speakers declared Jèrriais to be their usual everyday language.

Well now a new English to Jerriais dictionary is hoping to change that and encourage more people to use the language.

The publication is planned to coincide with the annual celebration of Norman language and culture, La Fete Normande.

The new dictionary is being produced by L’Office du Jerriais. The publisher says it will include old and rare words as well as a botanical reference providing Latin names as yet unpublished in previous dictionaries.

But it will also include all the words any language student usually looks up first when being given their French or German dictionary.

We can’t include any of them here, this is a family site after all. But we can include some more useful words than botanical references.

To get you started we asked Jerriais expert, Geraint Jennings to give us a few words and phrases in the islands language.

Here are a list of some of the more eye-catching (but suitable for a family audience) entries in the new dictionary, plus a couple of short example texts with translations.

Being social

• go clubbing - clober
• clubbing - la clob’thie
• piercing - eune pèrchéthie
• nipple ring - eune boucl’ye dé bouton
• girlfriend - eune douoche
• boyfriend - un gallant
• go out with, date - scôr’ter
• burger - eune bourgaille
• microwaveable chips - des frites micro-louêmabl’yes
• sandwich shop - eune sannouich’chie
• surfing - la seurféthie

JERRIAIS

“J’allons-t-i’ clober à ces sé? As-tu veu Jînmîn à ches drein?”

“Il a eune nouvelle douoche. Il est à scor’ter ch’t’ hardelle tchi travâle dans la sannouich’chie en Ville.”

“La cheinne tch’est enann’lée? Auve les tatouéthies?”

“Véthe. Jînmîn dit qu’oulle a des pèrchéthies dé bord en autre! J’m'en vais lî texter pouor l’s înviter au clobe.”

“Y’a du bouon!”

ENGLISH

“Are we going clubbing this evening? Have you seen Jimmy lately?”

“He’s got a new girlfriend. He’s seeing that girl who works in the sandwich shop in Town.”

“The one with the nose ring? With the tattoos?”

“Yes. Jimmy says she’s got piercings all over! I’ll text him to invite them to the club.”

“Great!”

For the geeks

• Podcast - eune côssée d’audgo
• laptop - un p’tit compiuteu
• texting - la textéthie
• mobile phone - un téléphone dé pouchette
• to download - dêchèrgi
• broadband connection - eune connexion d’laîze
• random play - la jouêthie à Dgi l’adèrt
• 4×4 - quat’-quat’
• network - drannetter
• megabyte - eune mégabouochie
• video - un vidgo
• Web - l’Ithangnie

JERRIAIS

Achteu atout eune connexion d’laîze nou peut dêchèrgi un tas d’musique et d’vidgos dé sus l’Ithangnie. Y’en a tch’aiment les dgaîngues dé garçons, et d’aut’s tch’aiment mus rotchi.

ENGLISH

Now with broadband you can download loads of music and videos from the Web. Some people like boy bands and others prefer to rock.

What about you?

So why not try getting a few of those words and phrases, or others from the Jerriais to English Dictionary into your every day conversations.

I’m not sure eune boucl’ye dé bouton is going to be as easy to get into a normal conversation as scôr’ter is but it could be fun trying.

Plus – it would be a good way of confusing visitors to the island or your friends at university – time for a new trend of J’anglais slang!

The Jerriais to English Dictionary is due to be released in May 2008 and should be available from the Societe Jersiaise.

Societe Jersiaise >

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