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| Languages of Jersey | |
|---|---|
| Official | English(Majority),Jersey Legal French Jèrriais |
| Vernacular | Channel Island English |
| Minority | Jèrriais (Norman language) |
| Immigrant | Portuguese |
| Signed | British Sign Language |
| Keyboard layout | |
The Bailiwick of Jersey, acrown dependency in theChannel Islands, off the French coast ofNormandy, has threeofficial languages:English,French andJèrriais. Traditionally, Jèrriais, a variety of the ancientNorman language, has been the dominant language of theBailiwick, but the past century has seen a great decline in its usage, as well as in the use of French.
| Language | Main language | Secondary language | Total speakers |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | 82,349 | 3,443 | 85,792 |
| Portuguese | 4,002 | 3,300 | 7,305 |
| French | 338 | 14,776 | 15,114 |
| Jèrriais (Jersey French) | 113 | 2,761 | 2,874 |
| Other | 384 | 4,496 | 4,880 |
As a crown dependency of theBritish monarch,English has a special place in the island, and is now the dominant, as well as an official, language.
The English language has been allowed in parliamentary debates in theStates of Jersey since February 2, 1900.
Most signs are written in English, sometimes with French or Jèrriais subtitling. There are around 107,000 people in Jersey, and 20% are of British (traditionally English-speaking) descent. Most of the Norman-descended population now speaks English as well. All demographics combined, English is spoken by 94.6% of the population.
Jersey Legal French is the official variety of French used in administration. The States of Jersey is part of theAssemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie. The current use of French in the parliament is generally restricted to formalities (prayers, ceremonies, formulae).
Due to proximity, there has been a French-speaking community in Jersey for centuries, though now it has shrunk considerably, although the language is still official. The former national anthem, "Ma Normandie", was in French. At various points in history the indigenous French-speaking population of Jersey was supplemented by political refugees from France, including for exampleVictor Hugo.
The last French-language newspaper in Jersey,Les Chroniques de Jersey, closed at the end of 1959.
Jèrriais, sometimes referred to as "Jersey French" or "Jersey Norman French", a variety ofNorman, was the dominant language of the Bailiwick for most of its history. Now, however, the language is spoken by around 2,600 of the 87,000 inhabitants of the island, down from 5,720 in 1989. The language is most prominent in rural areas, where the proportions of speakers are highest, although the capital,Saint Helier, has the highest total number of speakers.[2] Around 200 children are learning the language in schools as of 2006, and theJersey Evening Post, the island's main newspaper, runs articles in Jèrriais every week. Up to 15% of the island has some understanding of the language.
Sercquiais, a descendant of Jèrriais spoken by settlers from Jersey inSark, is also near the brink of extinction, with fewer than 20 native speakers.
Immigrants ofPortuguese (mostlyMadeiran) ethnicity make up 9.4% of Jersey.[3] ThePortuguese language was spoken by 8.4% of the total population as a first or second language in 2011,[4] and is commonly used in signage, notices, and the like.
TheDeaf community on Jersey useBritish Sign Language.[5][6]
This article incorporatespublic domain material fromThe World Factbook (2025 ed.).CIA. (Archived 2006 edition.)