Auregnais
| Auregnais | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Alderney |
| Extinct | by ca. 1960 (some rememberers) |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
| Glottolog | None |
| Linguasphere | 51-AAA-hcg |
Auregnais, Aoeur'gnaeux or Aurignais was the Norman dialect of the Channel Island of Alderney (French: Aurigny, Auregnais: Aoeur'gny/Auregny). It was closely related to the Guernésiais (Guernsey), Jèrriais (Jersey), Sercquiais (Sark) dialects of the neighbouring islands, as well as Continental Norman on the European mainland.
The dialect became extinct in the 20th century. Only a few examples of Auregnais survive, mostly in place names in Alderney, and one audio recording is known to exist. Linguists have called the disappearance of Auregnais "the worst documented case of recent language extinction."
The last known native speaker of Auregnais died around 1960. Linguist Frank Le Maistre, author of the Dictionnaire Jersiais-Français, recorded the only known audio samples of the language, which he published in 1982.
One reason for the extinction of the language was movement of the population. In particular, the influx of labourers from the United Kingdom employed by the British government in the construction of the abortive harbour project and other fortifications (during the reign of Queen Victoria), as well as the stationing of a sizable British garrison among the small population, served to relegate Auregnais to a lesser status for communication. It is thought that the evacuation of nearly all indigenous Auregnais to the British mainland during World War II (the island was occupied by the Wehrmacht) was a major factor in the final loss of the spoken language. The language has suffered further losses in recent years due to an influx of people from England who have moved to the Bailiwick both for tax purposes and to fill the local skills gap.
Another reason for the language's demise was official neglect, especially in the education sector, where it was not taught at all. This led to a situation in which, as was noted by the Guernsey newspaper Le Bailliage in 1880, children had ceased to speak the language among themselves – partly due to teachers discouraging its use in favour of standard French. However, along with the decline in Auregnais went the decline in the use of French. French ceased to be an official language in the island in 1966. The official French used in the Channel Islands (see Jersey Legal French) differs slightly from Metropolitan French and greatly from the vernacular Norman.
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