English has been permitted in parliamentary debates since February 2, 1900. The use of French in the state of Jersey is restricted to formalities only. The national anthem is also in French, called Ma Normandie. Jersey French, or Jèrriais, was the dominant language for most of Jersey’s history.
When all demographics are combined, about 94.6% of the population speaks English. It is estimated that today, fewer than 2,500 speakers in the whole of Jersey's 87,000 population speak Jèrriais. Saint Helier has the highest total number of Jèrriais speakers. It is still taught in schools, and about 15% of Jersey residents have an understanding of the language.
Some Jèrriais phrases include "bouônjour" for "good morning", "où'est qu'tu d'meuthe?" meaning "where do you live?", and "mèrcie bein des fais" for "thank you".
Jèrriais is a minority language of Jersey, with fewer than 2,500 speakers. Of these, more than 20% of speakers live in the capital city. Portuguese is another minority language in Jersey, used by just under 5% of the population.
This page was last modified on May 1st, 2018
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