View source for Languages of the Bailiwick of Guernsey

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{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Languages of
| country   = Guernsey
| official  = [[English language|English]], [[Guernésiais]], [[French language|French]]
| minority  = [[Sercquiais]]
| immigrant =  [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]
| keyboard = British [[QWERTY]]
| keyboard image = [[File:KB United Kingdom.svg|200px]]
|sign=[[British Sign Language]]
|vernacular=[[Channel Island English]]
}}
[[Image:Smith Street sign St Peter Port Guernsey.jpg|thumb|Many street names in [[St. Peter Port]] are in English and French]]
The linguistic situation of the Bailiwick of '''Guernsey''' is quite similar to that of [[Jersey]], the other [[Bailiwick]] in the [[Channel Islands]]. English is the [[official language]], French is used for administration, there are several varieties of [[Norman language]] used by a minority of the population, and [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] is spoken by some foreigners in the workforce.
==English==
[[Image:Parking prohibited sign Guernsey.jpg|thumb|Sign showing French as an administrative language]]
[[English language|English]] is one of the official languages and a dominant language in the Islands. Its status is mainly a product{{clarify|date=September 2023}} of the last century, and some 200 years ago, very few people in the Channel Islands spoke that language. Most papers, signage, and other such official materials are printed and distributed in English. There is also a dialect of [[Channel Island English]] that contains some Guernésiais.
==French==
Until 1948, [[French language|French]] was the official language of Guernsey. Today, it is still the language used in administration. It is still spoken by many as a second language; but it is little used as a common language. It differs from the historical indigenous Norman dialects of the islands.
Because of their location, the islands' main source of non-UK tourism tends to be French speaking.
==Norman==
Within historical times, [[Norman language|Norman]] dialects could be found throughout the islands, and were spoken by the majority. Many of the names and terms have been gallicised into standard French, or Law Norman.
===Dgèrnésiais===
[[Image:Guernésiais BBC sticker.jpg|thumb|Guernsey language lessons are available through BBC Radio Guernsey]]
[[Guernésiais]] ({{langx|nrf|Dgèrnésiais}}) is the traditional language of Guernsey. It is a variety of [[Norman language|Norman]], similar to the dialects of Norman spoken in mainland [[Normandy]] and also to the [[Anglo-Norman language|Anglo-Norman]] used, after the 1066 invasion, in [[England]]. There is some [[mutual intelligibility]] with [[Jèrriais]], the Norman dialect spoken in [[Jersey]]. It is mainly spoken by older people living in rural parts of the island. Some 1,327 citizens of Guernsey speak the language today, or 2% of the population. It is not used as readily in Guernsey as Jèrriais in Jersey: only five minutes a week of news are delivered in the language on [[BBC Radio Guernsey]]. Fourteen percent of the population claim some understanding. It is called [[patois]] by some and believed by some to be a dialect of French.
===Sercquiais===
[[Sercquiais]] is the dialect of [[Jèrriais]] spoken by a minority of people in [[Sark]], the original inhabitants of which were settlers from Jersey. It is now all but extinct, spoken by some 15 people.
===Auregnais===
The Norman language of [[Alderney]], [[Auregnais]], is now extinct. It is today mostly preserved in local [[toponyms]].
===Other===
The island of [[Herm]] appears to have spoken Norman in the recent past, but there are no records of when it died out. Other islands such as [[Brecqhou]], [[Jethou]], [[les Casquets]] and [[Burhou]] were too small to support real communities.
==Sign language==
The [[Deaf community]] on Guernsey use [[British Sign Language]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.airport.gg/passenger-information/special-assistance|title=Special Assistance|website=Guernsey Airport|access-date=2 August 2022|archive-date=13 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220813155613/https://www.airport.gg/passenger-information/special-assistance|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gov.gg/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=117374&p=0|title=States of Guernsey disability review: Meeting the needs of disabled islanders|website=gov.gg|date=June 2017|access-date=2 August 2022|archive-date=2 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220802162539/https://www.gov.gg/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=117374&p=0|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Portuguese==
Although there are fewer [[Portuguese people]] in Guernsey than in Jersey, they still form a small part of the population, roughly 2% of the population speak Portuguese.
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*{{CIA World Factbook|year=2006}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20040414131314/http://user.itl.net/~panther/dguern.htm About Dgernesiais]
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/voices/multilingual/guernesiais.shtml BBC - Voices - Multilingual Nation]
*[http://language.gg/ Guernsey Language Commission]
{{Languages of Europe}}
[[Category:Bailiwick of Guernsey]]
[[Category:Languages of the Channel Islands]]