The Section and the language Jersey, is the largest of the Channel Islands and lies in the Gulf of St Malo only about fifteen miles from the French coast. The Channel Islands were part of the Duchy of Normandy, when its ruler conquered England in 1066 to become William I of England. Jersey like the rest of lhe islands have remained attached to the English crown though the continental lands of the Duchy were lost in the following centuries. The linguistic chronology of the Channel lsland area is quite complex, but seem to be as follows. There is evidence that the islands were continuously inhabited at the beginning of the Roman period.
Archaeological evidence shows strong Celtic cultural and trading activity.
During the C9th and C10th a Viking community speaking Late Common Scandinavian became the ruling element of the region. Hence Les Trais Leopards on our crest and flag. An interesting point to note is that the English now spoken around the world was once a minority language. Following the Norman Conquest historical records show that Old English was regarded as a peasant language and despised. During the next two centuries Norman French was the prestige language of England and used in literary work.