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| Auregnais | |
|---|---|
| Aoeur'gnaeux, Aurignais | |
| aoeur'gny,auregny | |
| Native to | Alderney |
| Extinct | byc. 1960[1] |
Early forms | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
| Glottolog | None |
| Linguasphere | 51-AAA-hcg |
| This article containsIPA phonetic symbols. Without properrendering support, you may seequestion marks, boxes, or other symbols instead ofUnicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, seeHelp:IPA. | |
Auregnais (French pronunciation:[ɔʁɲɛ]),Aoeur'gnaeux, orAurignais was theNorman dialect of theChannel Island ofAlderney (French:Aurigny, Auregnais:aoeur'gny orauregny). It was closely related to theGuernésiais (Guernsey),Jèrriais (Jersey), andSercquiais (Sark) dialects of the neighbouring islands, as well as continental Norman on the European mainland.
The dialect became extinct in the 20th century. Only a few examples of Auregnais survived, mostly in place names in Alderney, and one audio recording is known to exist.
The last known native speaker of Auregnais died around 1960.[1][4] LinguistFrank Le Maistre, author of theDictionnaire Jersiais-Français, recorded the only known audio samples of the language, which he published in 1982.[5] It is likely that the lastrememberer died in the early 2020s.[citation needed]
One reason for the extinction of the language was movement of the population. In particular, the influx of labourers from theUnited Kingdom employed by the British government in the construction of the abortive harbour project and other fortifications (during the reign ofQueen Victoria), as well as the stationing of a sizable British garrison among the small population, served to relegate Auregnais to a lesser status for communication. The evacuation of nearly all indigenous Auregnais to the British mainland duringWorld War II (the island was occupied by theWehrmacht) was thought to be a major factor in the final loss of the spoken language.[6]
Another reason for the language's demise was official neglect, especially in the education sector, where it was not taught at all. This led to a situation in which, as was noted by the Guernsey newspaperLe Bailliage in 1880, children had ceased to speak the language among themselves – partly due to teachers discouraging its use in favour of standardFrench. Along with the decline in Auregnais went the decline in the use of French. French ceased to be anofficial language in the island in 1966. The official French used in the Channel Islands (seeJersey Legal French) differs slightly fromMetropolitan French and greatly from the vernacular Norman.
Traces of the language still exist in many, if not most, localplacenames. Many of these have been gallicised, but some notable examples includeOrtac (Or'tac),Burhou (with the-hou suffix) and the first element of the name "Braye Harbour".
One or two words linger on in the local English, e.g.vraic (seaweed fertiliser – a word common throughout the Channel Islands), and the pronunciation of certain local surnames, e.g. Dupont and Simon as[dipõ] and[symõ] rather than the standard Parisian pronunciation.
Unusually, for such a small dialect, Auregnais used to have an exclave or "colony" of speakers onLes Casquets for a number of years.Algernon Charles Swinburne based his poem "Les Casquets" on the Houguez family who actually lived on the islands for 18 years. The Houguez family came from Alderney, and the evidence points to its members being Auregnais speakers; in fact, the daughter married a man from Alderney. During this time, they were isolated and would have had few visitors, but would have spoken Auregnais most of the time.
The last native speaker of Alderney French, a Norman dialect spoken in the Channel Islands, died around 1960.
