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 Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the l ...

. 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: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

, the States of Jersey, is part of the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie. 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 ...

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, a variety of the Norman language 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 regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. 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, 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 ...

(continental French uses , often lower case) – for example, the former Bailiff of Jersey, Sir Philip Bailhache 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'' (clerk to Court or the States), ''bâtonnier'' (lawyer in charge of Bar, particularly for legal aid), ''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 ...

at elections, or other functions), ''projet'' (parliamentary bill), ''vraic'', ''côtil'', ''temps passé'' (time past), '' vin d'honneur'' (municipal or official reception), ''Centenier'', ''Vingtenier'', ''Chef de Police'' (senior Centenier), '' Ministre Desservant'', ''branchage'' (pronounced in English as the Jèrriais cognate 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