Norman language
Norman or Norman French ("", , Guernésiais: "Normand", Jèrriais: "Nouormand") is, depending on classification, either a French dialect or a Romance language which can be classified as one of the Oïl languages along with French, Picard and Walloon. The name "Norman French" is sometimes used to describe not only the Norman language, but also the administrative languages of "Anglo-Norman" and "Law French" used in England. For the most part, the written forms of Norman and modern French are mutually intelligible. This intelligibility was largely caused by the Norman language's planned adaptation to French orthography (writing). History. When Norse  Vikings from modern day Scandinavia arrived in Neustria, in the western part of the then Kingdom of the Franks, and settled the land that became known as Normandy, these North-Germanic–speaking people came to live among a local Gallo-Romance–speaking population. In time, the communities converged, so that "Normandy" continued to form the name of the region while the original Norsemen were largely assimilated by the Gallo-Romance people, adopting their speech but still contributing some elements from Old Norse language and Norse culture. Later, when conquering England, the Norman rulers in England would eventually assimilate, thereby adopting  the speech of the local English. In both cases, the "élites" contributed elements of their own language to the newly enriched languages that developed in the territories. In Normandy, the Norman language inherited only some 150 words from Old Norse. The influence on phonology is disputed, although it is argued that the retention of aspirated /h/ and /k/ in Norman is due to Norse influence. Geographical distribution. Norman is spoken in mainland Normandy in France, where it has no official status, but is classed as a regional language. It is taught in a few colleges near Cherbourg-Octeville. In the  Channel Islands, the Norman language has developed separately, but not in isolation, to form: The British and Irish governments recognize Jèrriais and Guernésiais as regional languages within the framework of the British–Irish Council. Sercquiais is in fact a descendant of the 16th-century Jèrriais used by the original colonists from Jersey who settled the then uninhabited island. The last first-language speakers of Auregnais, the dialect of Norman spoken on Alderney, died during the 20th century, although some rememberers are still alive. The dialect of Herm also lapsed at an unknown date; the patois spoken there was likely Guernésiais  (Herm was not inhabited all year round in the Norman culture's heyday). An isogloss termed the "Joret line" ("ligne Joret") separates the northern and southern dialects of the Norman language (the line runs from Granville, Manche to the French-speaking Belgian border in the province of Hainaut and Thiérache). Dialectal differences also distinguish western and eastern dialects. Three different standardized spellings are used: continental Norman, Jèrriais, and Dgèrnésiais. These represent the different developments and particular literary histories of the varieties of Norman. Norman may therefore be described as a pluricentric language. The Anglo-Norman dialect of Norman served as  a language of administration in England following the Norman conquest of England in 1066. This left a legacy of Law French in the language of English courts (though it was also influenced by Parisian French). In Ireland, Norman remained strongest in the area of south-east Ireland, where the Hiberno-Normans invaded in 1169. Norman remains in (limited) use for some very formal legal purposes in the UK, such as when the monarch gives royal assent to an Act of Parliament using the phrase, "La Reyne (le Roy) le veult" ("The Queen (the King) wills it"). The Norman conquest of  southern Italy in the 11th and 12th centuries brought the language to Sicily and the southern part of the Italian Peninsula, where it may have left a few words in the Sicilian language. "See: Norman and French influence on Sicilian." Literature in Norman ranges from early Anglo-Norman literature through the 19th-century Norman literary renaissance to modern writers ("see" list of Norman-language writers). Old French influences. Norman French preserves a number of Old French words which have been lost in Modern French. Examples of Norman French words of Old French origin: Examples of Norman French words with -ei  instead of -oi in Standard French words Examples of Norman French words with "c-" / "qu-" and "g-" instead of "ch-" and "j" in Standard French Norse influences. Examples of Norman words of Norse origin: In some cases, Norse words adopted in Norman have been borrowed into French – and more recently some of the English words used in French can be traced back to Norman origins. English influences. Following the Norman conquest of England in 1066, the Norman and other languages and dialects spoken by the new rulers of England were used during several hundred years, developing into the unique insular  dialect now known as Anglo-Norman French, and leaving traces of specifically Norman words that can be distinguished from the equivalent lexical items in French: Other borrowings, such as "canvas", "captain", "cattle" and "kennel", exemplify how Norman retained Latin /k/ that was not retained in French. In the United Kingdom, Acts of Parliament are confirmed with the words "La Reyne le veult" ("The Queen wishes it"), or "Le Roy le veult ("The King wishes it") and other Norman phrases are used on formal occasions as legislation progresses. Norman immigration. Norman immigrants to North America also introduced some "Normanisms" to Quebec  French and the French language in Canada generally. Joual, a working class sociolect of Quebec, in particular exhibits a Norman influence. For example the word "placoter" can mean both to splash around or to chatter comes from the Normand French word "clapoter" which means the same thing.