page_title: Languages of the Bailiwick of Guernsey
section_title: Dgèrnésiais
hierarchical_section_title: Languages of the Bailiwick of Guernsey / Norman / Dgèrnésiais
caption_attribution_description: Publicity sticker for Guernésiais language broadcasts on BBC Radio Guernsey
context_page_description: 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 is spoken by immigrants in the workforce.
context_section_description: Guernésiais (Norman: Dgèrnésiais) is the traditional language of Guernsey. It is a variety of Norman, similar to the dialects of Norman spoken in mainland Normandy and also to the 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.
caption: Guernsey language lessons are available through BBC Radio Guernsey
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