The name "Norman French" is sometimes also used to describe the administrative languages ofAnglo-Norman andLaw French used inEngland. For the most part, the written forms of Norman and modern French aremutually intelligible. The thirteenth-century philosopherRoger Bacon was the first to distinguish it along with other dialects such asPicard andBourguignon.[8]
WhenNorseVikings from modern dayScandinavia arrived inNeustria, in the western part of theKingdom of the Franks, and settled the land that became known as Normandy, theseNorth-Germanic–speaking people came to live among a localGallo-Romance–speaking population.[10] In time, the communities converged, so thatNormandy 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 fromOld Norse language and Norse culture. Later, when conquering England, the Norman rulers in England would eventually assimilate, thereby adopting the speech of the local English.[11] 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.[12] The influence onphonology is disputed, although it is argued that the retention of aspirated/h/ and/k/ in Norman is due to Norse influence.[13]
The British and Irish governments recognize Jèrriais and Guernésiais asregional languages within the framework of theBritish–Irish Council. Sercquiais is in fact a descendant of the 16th-century Jèrriais used by the original colonists fromJersey who settled the then uninhabited island.
The lastfirst-language speakers ofAuregnais, the dialect of Norman spoken onAlderney, died during the 20th century, although somerememberers are still alive. The dialect ofHerm 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).
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 apluricentric language.
TheAnglo-Norman dialect of Norman served as a language of administration inEngland following theNorman conquest of England in 1066. This left a legacy ofLaw French in the language of English courts (though it was also influenced byParisian French). In Ireland, Norman remained strongest in the area of south-east Ireland, where theHiberno-Normans invaded in 1169. Norman remains in (limited) use for some very formal legal purposes in the UK, such as when the monarch givesroyal assent to an Act of Parliament using the phrase, "Le Roy (la Reyne) le veult" ("The King (the Queen) wills it").
As of 2017[update], the Norman language remains strongest in the less accessible areas of the formerDuchy of Normandy: the Channel Islands and theCotentin Peninsula (Cotentinais) in the west, and thePays de Caux (Cauchois dialect) in the east. Ease of access fromParis and the popularity of the coastal resorts of central Normandy, such asDeauville, in the 19th century led to a significant loss of distinctive Norman culture in the central low-lying areas of Normandy.
In some cases, Norse words adopted in Norman have beenborrowed into French; more recently, some of the English words used in French can be traced back to Norman origins.
Following theNorman conquest of England 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 asAnglo-Norman French, and leaving traces of specifically Norman words that can be distinguished from the equivalent lexical items in French:
Other borrowings, such ascanvas,captain,cattle andkennel, 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 immigrants toNorth America also introduced some "Normanisms" toQuebec French and theFrench language in Canada generally.Joual, a working classsociolect ofQuebec, 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.[17]
^Bernard Cerquiglini,The Languages of France, Report to the Minister of National Education, Research and Technology, and the Minister of Culture and Communication, April 1999
^"Norman".Encyclopædia Britannica.Archived from the original on 24 March 2022. Retrieved22 July 2020.Norman, member of those Vikings, or Norsemen, who settled in northern France...The Normans (from Nortmanni: "Northmen") were originally pagan barbarian pirates from Denmark, Norway, and Iceland
^Thomas, Hugh M. (10 April 2003),"A Chronology of Assimilation",The English and the Normans: Ethnic Hostility, Assimilation, and Identity 1066-c.1220, Oxford University Press, p. 0,ISBN978-0-19-925123-0, retrieved8 April 2025
^Elisabeth Ridel (2010).Les Vikings et les mots. Editions Errance.
^Elisabeth Ridel (2010).Les Vikings et les mots. Editions Errance.
^TheOxford English Dictionary. entry on "Mug¹" states that the origin of this word is uncertain—it may have been a borrowing from Norman, or it may have come from another source, and been reinforced through Norman.
Wolff, Philippe (1991). "Quelles langues parlait-on dans le royaume de France vers l'an Mil?". In d'Arxius, Servei (ed.).Catalunya i França Meridional. Generalitat de Catalunya.
