Culture of Jersey

The culture of Jersey is the culture of the Bailiwick of Jersey. This has been shaped by Jersey's indigenous Norman language and traditions as well as French and British cultural influences, to which have been added cultural trends from immigrant communities such as the Bretons and the Portuguese (mainly from Madeira).

Jèrriais, the island's Norman language, is spoken by a minority of the population, although it was the majority language in the 19th century. Among those who still speak the language one can identify the parish of origin of a speaker by differences in phonology and lexis.

Many place names are in Jèrriais, and French and English place names are also to be found. Anglicisation of the toponymy increased apace with the migration of English people into the island since the end of the Napoleonic wars.

Since 1900, English has been permitted in debates in the States of Jersey and has come to dominate.

French, although still official for some purposes (see Jersey Legal French), is a minority language. The last French language newspaper closed in 1959.

The characteristic accent of Jersey English is rapidly being lost due to the influence of media and education.

Literature in Jersey may be divided into literature in Jèrriais, Francophone literature, and literature in English.

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