Norman or Norman French (, ,
Guernésiais
Guernésiais (), also known as Guerneseyese, ''Dgèrnésiais'', Guernsey French, and Guernsey Norman French, is the variety of the Norman language spoken in Guernsey. It is sometimes known on the island simply as "patois". As one of the langues d ...
: ,
Jèrriais: ) is a ''
langue d'oïl'' spoken in the
historical and
cultural region
In anthropology and geography, a cultural area, cultural region, cultural sphere, or culture area refers to a geography with one relatively homogeneous human activity or complex of activities (culture). Such activities are often associa ...
of
Normandy
Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy.
Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...
.
The name "Norman French" is sometimes also used to describe the administrative languages of ''
Anglo-Norman'' and ''
Law French'' used in
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. For the most part, the written forms of Norman and modern French are
mutually intelligible. The thirteenth-century philosopher
Roger Bacon
Roger Bacon (; or ', also '' Rogerus''; ), also known by the Scholastic accolades, scholastic accolade ''Doctor Mirabilis'', was a medieval English polymath, philosopher, scientist, theologian and Franciscans, Franciscan friar who placed co ...
was the first to distinguish it along with other dialects such as
Picard and
Bourguignon.
Today, although it does not enjoy any official status outside of
Jersey
Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...
, some reports of the French
Ministry of Culture have recognized it as one of the regional
languages of France
French is the sole official language in France according to the second article of the French Constitution. French, a Gallo-Romance language, is spoken by nearly the entire population of France.
In addition to French, several regional langua ...
.
History
When
Norse Vikings
Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...
from modern day
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...
arrived in
Neustria, in the western part of the then
Kingdom of the Franks, and settled the land that became known as Normandy, these
North-Germanic–speaking people came to live among a local
Gallo-Romance–speaking population. In time, the communities converged, so that ''Normandy'' continued to form the name of the region while the original Norsemen were largely assimilated by the Gallo-Romance people, adopting their speech but still contributing some elements from
Old Norse
Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...
language and Norse culture. Later, when conquering England, the Norman rulers in England would eventually assimilate, thereby adopting the speech of the local English. In both cases, the elites contributed elements of their own language to the newly enriched languages that developed in the territories.
In Normandy, the Norman language inherited only some 150 words from Old Norse. The influence on
phonology
Phonology (formerly also phonemics or phonematics: "phonemics ''n.'' 'obsolescent''1. Any procedure for identifying the phonemes of a language from a corpus of data. 2. (formerly also phonematics) A former synonym for phonology, often pre ...
is disputed, although it is argued that the retention of aspirated and in Norman is due to Norse influence.
Geographical distribution
Norman is spoken in mainland
Normandy
Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy.
Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...
in
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, where it has no official status, but is classed as a
regional language
*
A regional language is a language spoken in a region of a sovereign state, whether it be a small area, a federated state or province or some wider area.
Internationally, for the purposes of the European Charter for Regional or Minority La ...
. It is taught in a few colleges near
Cherbourg-Octeville.
In the
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...
, the Norman language has developed separately, but not in isolation, to form:
*
Jèrriais (in
Jersey
Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...
)
*
Guernésiais
Guernésiais (), also known as Guerneseyese, ''Dgèrnésiais'', Guernsey French, and Guernsey Norman French, is the variety of the Norman language spoken in Guernsey. It is sometimes known on the island simply as "patois". As one of the langues d ...
or Dgèrnésiais or Guernsey French (in
Guernsey
Guernsey ( ; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; ) is the second-largest island in the Channel Islands, located west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It is the largest island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes five other inhabited isl ...
)
*
Sercquiais (or Sarkese, in
Sark
Sark (Sercquiais: or , ) is an island in the southwestern English Channel, off the coast of Normandy, and part of the archipelago of the Channel Islands. It is a self-governing British Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency, with its own set o ...
)
*
Auregnais (in Alderney)
The British and Irish governments recognize Jèrriais and Guernésiais as
regional language
*
A regional language is a language spoken in a region of a sovereign state, whether it be a small area, a federated state or province or some wider area.
Internationally, for the purposes of the European Charter for Regional or Minority La ...
s within the framework of the
British–Irish Council. Sercquiais is in fact a descendant of the 16th-century Jèrriais used by the original colonists from
Jersey
Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...
who settled the then uninhabited island.
The last
first-language speakers of
Auregnais, the dialect of Norman spoken on
Alderney
Alderney ( ; ; ) is the northernmost of the inhabited Channel Islands. It is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependencies, Crown dependency. It is long and wide.
The island's area is , making it the third-largest isla ...
, died during the 20th century, although some
rememberers are still alive. The dialect of
Herm also lapsed at an unknown date; the patois spoken there was likely Guernésiais (Herm was not inhabited all year round in the Norman culture's heyday).
An
isogloss
An isogloss, also called a heterogloss, is the geographic boundary of a certain linguistics, linguistic feature, such as the pronunciation of a vowel, the meaning of a word, or the use of some morphological or syntactic feature. Isoglosses are a ...
termed the "
Joret line" (''ligne Joret'') separates the northern and southern
dialect
A dialect is a Variety (linguistics), variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standard language, standardized varieties as well as Vernacular language, vernacular, unwritten, or non-standardize ...
s of the Norman language (the line runs from
Granville, Manche to the French-speaking
Belgian border in the province of
Hainaut and
Thiérache). Dialectal differences also distinguish western and eastern dialects.
Three different standardized spellings are used: continental Norman, Jèrriais, and Dgèrnésiais. These represent the different developments and particular literary histories of the varieties of Norman. Norman may therefore be described as a
pluricentric language
A pluricentric language or polycentric language is a language with several codified standard forms, often corresponding to different countries. Many examples of such languages can be found worldwide among the most-spoken languages, including but n ...
.
The
Anglo-Norman dialect of Norman served as a language of administration in
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
following the
Norman conquest of England
The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...
in 1066. This left a legacy of
Law French in the language of English courts (though it was also influenced by
Parisian French). In Ireland, Norman remained strongest in the area of south-east Ireland, where the
Hiberno-Normans invaded in 1169. Norman remains in (limited) use for some very formal legal purposes in the UK, such as when the monarch gives
royal assent
Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in othe ...
to an Act of Parliament using the phrase, "
Le Roy (la Reyne) le veult" ("The King (the Queen) wills it").
The
Norman conquest of southern Italy in the 11th and 12th centuries brought the language to
Sicily
Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
and the southern part of the
Italian Peninsula, where it may have left a few words in the
Sicilian language. ''See:
Norman and French influence on Sicilian.''
Literature in Norman ranges from early
Anglo-Norman literature through the 19th-century Norman literary renaissance to modern writers (''see''
list of Norman-language writers).
, the Norman language remains strongest in the less accessible areas of the former
Duchy of Normandy
The Duchy of Normandy grew out of the 911 Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte between Charles the Simple, King Charles III of West Francia and the Viking leader Rollo. The duchy was named for its inhabitants, the Normans.
From 1066 until 1204, as a r ...
: the Channel Islands and the
Cotentin Peninsula (
Cotentinais) in the west, and the
Pays de Caux
The Pays de Caux (, , literally ''Land of Caux'') is an area in Normandy occupying the greater part of the French '' département'' of Seine Maritime in Normandy. It is a chalk plateau to the north of the Seine Estuary and extending to the cl ...
(
Cauchois dialect) in the east. Ease of access from
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
and the popularity of the coastal resorts of central Normandy, such as
Deauville
Deauville () is a communes of France, commune in the Calvados (department), Calvados department, Normandy (administrative region), Normandy, northwestern France. Major attractions include its port, harbour, Race track, race course, marinas, con ...
, in the 19th century led to a significant loss of distinctive Norman culture in the central low-lying areas of Normandy.
Old French influences
Norman French preserves a number of
Old French
Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th words which have been lost in Modern French. Examples of Norman French words of Old French origin:
Examples of Norman French words with -ei instead of -oi in Standard French words
Examples of Norman French words with ''c-'' / ''qu-'' and ''g-'' instead of ''ch-'' and ''j'' in Standard French
Norse influences
Examples of Norman words of Norse origin:
In some cases, Norse words adopted in Norman have been Loanword">borrowed into French; more recently, some of the English words used in French can be traced back to Norman origins.
Influence of Norman on English language
Following the
Norman conquest of England
The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...
in 1066, the Norman and other languages and dialects spoken by the new rulers of England were used during several hundred years, developing into the unique insular dialect now known as Anglo-Norman French, and leaving traces of specifically Norman words that can be distinguished from the equivalent lexical items in French:
Other borrowings, such as ''canvas'', ''captain'', ''cattle'' and ''kennel'', exemplify how Norman retained Latin /k/ that was not retained in French.
In the United Kingdom, Acts of Parliament are confirmed with the words "
Le Roy le veult" ("The King wishes it") and other Norman phrases are used on formal occasions as legislation progresses.
Norman immigration in Canada
Norman immigrants to
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
also introduced some "Normanisms" to
Quebec French
Quebec French ( ), also known as Québécois French, is the predominant variety (linguistics), variety of the French language spoken in Canada. It is the dominant language of the province of Quebec, used in everyday communication, in education, ...
and the
French language in Canada
Canadian French, French is the mother tongue of approximately 10 million Canadians (22 percent of the Canadian population, second to English at 56 percent) according to the 2021 Canadian Census. Most Canadian native speakers of French liv ...
generally.
Joual, a working class
sociolect of
Quebec
Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
, in particular exhibits a Norman influence. For example the word "placoter" can mean both to splash around or to chatter comes from the Normand French word "clapoter" which means the same thing.
See also
*
Norman toponymy
*
Joret line
References
*
*
Sources
*Essai de grammaire de la langue normande, UPN, 1995. .
*V'n-ous d'aveu mei? UPN, 1984.
*La Normandie dialectale, 1999,
*Alain Marie, ''Les auteurs patoisants du Calvados'', 2005. .
*Roger Jean Lebarbenchon, ''Les Falaises de la Hague'', 1991. .
*Jean-Louis Vaneille, ''Les patoisants bas-normands'', n.d., Saint-Lô.
*André Dupont, ''Dictionnaire des patoisants du Cotentin'', Société d'archéologie de la Manche, Saint-Lô, 1992.
*
Geraint Jennings and Yan Marquis, "The Toad and the Donkey: an anthology of Norman literature from the Channel Islands", 2011,
External links
*
{{Authority control
Languages of France
Endangered Romance languages
Languages of Sicily
Channel Islands
Languages of the United Kingdom
Oïl languages