Saving the Jerriais language

The people of the island of Jersey are trying to save their language, Jerriais.

Jerriais has got only 800 native speakers alive today. Jean and François are two of the few people who speak Jerriais as a mother tongue.

François Le Maistre: "We're the last generation. My brother, all my colleagues, we’re the last generation to speak it naturally. That's the sad part. "

Jerriais had a bad image as the language of poor farmers. Children weren't allowed to speak it and English became the preferred language. But in 2019, Jersey made Jerriais an official language with French and English and it's now taught in schools.

Susan Parker is a Jerriais teacher.

Susan Parker: "There's no textbooks, so my colleagues had to learn in kind of a ad hoc way. Now, the new teachers have a more structured program to follow. It's very similar to French, its heritage is Norman French, but it has its own unique spellings and words and grammar and it's not that easy to learn, so it takes a while."

Jersey is a part of Britain but it is 22 kilometres from France. It has its own local culture. Student Atticus Mawby thinks the local language carries this culture.

Atticus Mawby: "No culture is complete without its language, and there's no way you can really understand the spirit of Jersey without understanding its language. And if Jerriais does die, then Jersey will just become another part of Britain and it will be incredibly sad."

If people don't learn Jerriais, it will die. Geraint Jennings wants Jerriais to be used every day like English and French.

Geraint Jennings: "The aim of revitalization is to bring back Jerriais as an everyday, living language. Not replace English, not to replace French, but to ensure that people can, if possible, live their lives with Jerriais." View Less