Pierre officielle, 1999, St Hélier, Jersey

Jersey Legal French, also known as Jersey French (french: français de Jersey), was the official dialect of French used administratively in

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...

. Since the anglicisation of the island, it survives as a written language for some laws, contracts, and other documents. Jersey's

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

, the States of Jersey, is part of the

Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie The ''Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonies'' (APF) is an association of the parliaments of Francophone countries. History It was established in Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: li ...

. The use of the

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...

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, formulæ). By common custom and usage, the sole official language of Jersey in present times is the

. Jersey Legal French is not to be confused with

Jèrriais (french: Jersiais, also known as the Jersey Language, Jersey French and Jersey Norman French in English) is a Romance language and the traditional language of the Jersey people. It is a form of the Norman language spoken in Jersey, an island i ...

, a variety of the

Norman language Norman or Norman French (, french: Normand, Guernésiais: , Jèrriais: ) is a Romance language which can be classified as one of the Oïl languages along with French, Picard and Walloon. The name "Norman French" is sometimes used to descri ...

also called Jersey Norman-French, spoken on the island. The French of Jersey differs little from that of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. It is characterised by several terms particular to Jersey administration and a few expressions imported from Norman.

List of distinguishing features

It is notable that the local term for the archipelago is (''Channel Islands'') — (''Anglo-Norman Islands'') is a somewhat recent invention in continental French. As in

Swiss French Swiss French (french: français de Suisse or ') is the variety of French spoken in the French-speaking area of Switzerland known as Romandy. French is one of the four official languages of Switzerland, the others being German, Italian, and ...

and

Belgian French Belgian French (french: français de Belgique) is the variety of French spoken mainly among the French Community of Belgium, alongside related Oïl languages of the region such as Walloon, Picard, Champenois, and Lorrain (Gaumais). The Frenc ...

, the numbers 70 and 90 are and , respectively, not and (compare the use of for 90 in Jèrriais). Initial capital letters are commonly used in writing the names of the days of the week and months of the year. is used for the title of

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

(continental French uses , often lower case) – for example, the former Bailiff of Jersey, Sir

Philip Bailhache Sir Philip Martin Bailhache KC ( ) is a Jersey politician and lawyer who has served as a Deputy for St Clement since 2022 and the leader of the Jersey Liberal Conservatives party. He served as Bailiff of Jersey from 1995 to 2009, before ent ...

is correctly addressed in French as .

Finance

Agriculture

Administration

Real estate

Influence of Jersey Legal French on Jersey English

Jersey English has imported a number of Jersey Legal French titles and terminology. Many of these, in turn, derive from Jèrriais. The following are examples likely to be encountered in daily life and in news reports in Jersey: ''rapporteur'', ''en défaut'' (in default, i.e. late for a meeting), ''en désastre'', ''au greffe'', ''

greffier A greffier is the clerk to a legislature or a court in some countries where French is, or used to be, the language of the legal system. The word greffe refers to the records kept by the greffier or the department of government under the greffier' ...

'' (clerk to Court or the States), ''bâtonnier'' (lawyer in charge of Bar, particularly for

legal aid Legal aid is the provision of assistance to people who are unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. Legal aid is regarded as central in providing access to justice by ensuring equality before the law, the right to co ...

), ''mandataire'', ''autorisé'' (

returning officer In various parliamentary systems, a returning officer is responsible for overseeing elections in one or more constituencies. Australia In Australia a returning officer is an employee of the Australian Electoral Commission or a state electoral c ...

at elections, or other functions), ''projet'' (parliamentary bill), ''vraic'', ''côtil'', ''temps passé'' (time past), ''

vin d'honneur A vin d'honneur is one of two official receptions hosted by the President of the Philippines at Malacañan Palace on New Year's Day and Independence Day. The custom derives from the New Year's Day receptions hosted by the American Governors-Gene ...

'' (municipal or official reception), ''Centenier'', ''Vingtenier'', ''Chef de Police'' (senior Centenier), '' Ministre Desservant'', ''branchage'' (pronounced in English as the Jèrriais

cognate In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words in different languages that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymology, etymological ancestor in a proto-language, common parent language. Because language c ...

even though spelt in the French manner – trimming hedges and verges on property border; also used jocularly for a haircut), ''Seigneur'' (feudal lord of the manor).

References

*''A Glossary for the Historian of Jersey'', Chris Aubin, 2000, {{Gallo-Romance languages and dialects French Jersey law French dialects