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Ancient Norman
French continued in use in Jersey until at least the 1800's. Although
the official written language was French, J猫rriais was spoken.
For various
reasons the use of the English language increased rapidly in the 19th
century, and by 1900 English was the dominant language in St. Helier.
La
Soci茅t茅 Jersiaise
La Soci茅t茅
Jersiaise was formed in 1873 - their resolution was to study the history
of the language and the island.
In 1908 J猫rriais
was introduced into the Eisteddfod, in order to encourage the use of the
language, and in 1924 the Glossaire du Patois Jersiais was published by
La Soci茅t茅 Jersiaise.
Decline
of J猫rriais
However the
tourist industry, the expansion of the Jersey economy and the influence
of the English residents all contributed to the anglicisation of the island.
As a direct
consequence of this, J猫rriais was used less. In 1912, J猫rriais
was replaced by English in the schools. English was even in common use
in the States of Jersey.
J猫rriais
was increasingly frowned upon as tourism and the finance industry grew.
The local accent was mocked, and the language slowly but surely vanished.
Revival
In 1951 L'Assembliee
d'J猫rriais was formed to hold meetings and publish items in Jerriais.
Since then several books have been published on the language.
Today the
Section de la langue J猫rriaise works to promote study of the language
and its literature, and J猫rriais classes are commonplace in primary
schools.
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