Auregnais (French pronunciation: [ɔʁɲɛ]), Aoeur'gnaeux, or Aurignais was the Norman dialect of the Channel Island of Alderney (French: Aurigny, Auregnais: aoeur'gny or auregny). It was closely related to the Guernésiais (Guernsey), Jèrriais (Jersey), and 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.
The last known native speaker of Auregnais died around 1960.[3][4] Linguist Frank Le Maistre, author of the Dictionnaire Jersiais-Français, recorded the only known audio samples of the language, which he published in 1982.[5] It is likely that the last rememberer died in the early 2020s.
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. The evacuation of nearly all indigenous Auregnais to the British mainland during World War II (the island was occupied by the Wehrmacht) was thought to be a major factor in the final loss of the spoken language.
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.
Surnames and place namesEdit
Traces of the language still exist in many, if not most, local placenames. Many of these have been gallicised, but some notable examples include Ortac (Or'tac), Burhou (with the -hou suffix) and the first element of the name "Braye Harbour".
One or two words linger on in the local English, e.g. vraic (seaweed fertiliser – a word common throughout the Channel Islands), and the pronunciation of certain local surnames, e.g. Dupont and Simon as [dipõ] and [symõ] rather than the standard Parisian pronunciation.
Les CasquetsEdit
Unusually, for such a small dialect, Auregnais used to have an exclave or "colony" of speakers on Les Casquets for a number of years. Algernon Charles Swinburne based his poem "Les Casquets" on the Houguez family who actually lived on the islands for 18 years. The Houguez family came from Alderney, and the evidence points to its members being Auregnais speakers; in fact, the daughter married a man from Alderney. During this time, they were isolated and would have had few visitors, but would have spoken Auregnais most of the time.
^ ab"51-AAA-hcg Aurigniais". Linguasphere Register via hortensj-garden.org. Linguasphere Observatory. from the original on 8 October 2022. Retrieved 7 October 2022 – via hortensj-gardens.org.
^Satter, Raphael (4 October 2012). "Scottish man dies, taking town's unique dialect with him". The Toronto Star. Retrieved 30 September 2015. The last native speaker of Alderney French, a Norman dialect spoken in the Channel Islands, died around 1960.
^Price, G. (2000), "Alderney French (Auregnais)" in Encyclopedia of the Languages of Europe, Wiley-Blackwell, New Ed edition, ISBN978-0631220398
Jones, Mari C. (2015). "Auregnais: Insular Norman's Invisible Relative". Transactions of the Philological Society. 113 (3): 349–362. doi:10.1111/1467-968X.12060.
Le Maistre, F. (1982), The Language of Auregny (cassette with accompanying 19-page booklet), St Helier, Jersey and St Anne, Alderney.
External linksEdit
For a list of words relating to Auregnais, see the Auregnais language category of words in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Norman language (including Auregnais) edition of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
vocabulary comparison examples at L'Aur'gnais
August 27, 2023
auregnais, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, june, 2022, lear. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Auregnais news newspapers books scholar JSTOR June 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Auregnais French pronunciation ɔʁɲɛ Aoeur gnaeux or Aurignais was the Norman dialect of the Channel Island of Alderney French Aurigny Auregnais aoeur gny or auregny It was closely related to the Guernesiais Guernsey Jerriais Jersey and Sercquiais Sark dialects of the neighbouring islands as well as continental Norman on the European mainland AuregnaisAoeur gnaeux Aurignaisaoeur gny auregnyNative toAlderneyExtinctby c 1960 some rememberers citation needed Language familyIndo European ItalicLatino FaliscanRomanceItalo WesternWestern RomanceGallo RomanceGallo Rhaetian 1 possibly OilNormanAnglo Norman 2 AuregnaisEarly formsOld Latin Classical Latin Vulgar Latin Old Gallo Romance Old French Old Norman Anglo Norman 2 Language codesISO 639 3 GlottologNoneLinguasphere51 AAA hcgThis article contains IPA phonetic symbols Without proper rendering support you may see question marks boxes or other symbols instead of Unicode characters For an introductory guide on IPA symbols see Help IPA 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 Contents 1 History 2 Surnames and place names 3 Les Casquets 4 References 5 Sources 6 External linksHistory EditThe last known native speaker of Auregnais died around 1960 3 4 Linguist Frank Le Maistre author of the Dictionnaire Jersiais Francais recorded the only known audio samples of the language which he published in 1982 5 It is likely that the last rememberer died in the early 2020s 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 The evacuation of nearly all indigenous Auregnais to the British mainland during World War II the island was occupied by the Wehrmacht was thought to be a major factor in the final loss of the spoken language 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 Surnames and place names EditTraces of the language still exist in many if not most local placenames Many of these have been gallicised but some notable examples include Ortac Or tac Burhou with the hou suffix and the first element of the name Braye Harbour One or two words linger on in the local English e g vraic seaweed fertiliser a word common throughout the Channel Islands and the pronunciation of certain local surnames e g Dupont and Simon as dipo and symo rather than the standard Parisian pronunciation Les Casquets EditUnusually for such a small dialect Auregnais used to have an exclave or colony of speakers on Les Casquets for a number of years Algernon Charles Swinburne based his poem Les Casquets on the Houguez family who actually lived on the islands for 18 years The Houguez family came from Alderney and the evidence points to its members being Auregnais speakers in fact the daughter married a man from Alderney During this time they were isolated and would have had few visitors but would have spoken Auregnais most of the time References Edit Hammarstrom Harald Forkel Robert Haspelmath Martin Bank Sebastian 24 May 2022 Oil Glottolog Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Archived from the original on 8 October 2022 Retrieved 7 October 2022 a b 51 AAA hcg Aurigniais Linguasphere Register via hortensj garden org Linguasphere Observatory Archived from the original on 8 October 2022 Retrieved 7 October 2022 via hortensj gardens org Satter Raphael 4 October 2012 Scottish man dies taking town s unique dialect with him The Toronto Star Retrieved 30 September 2015 The last native speaker of Alderney French a Norman dialect spoken in the Channel Islands died around 1960 Price G 2000 Alderney French Auregnais in Encyclopedia of the Languages of Europe Wiley Blackwell New Ed edition ISBN 978 0631220398 Sallabank Julia 2013 Attitudes to Endangered Languages Identities and Policies Cambridge University Press pp 58 59 ISBN 9781107655881 Retrieved 7 December 2015 Sources EditJones Mari C 2015 Auregnais Insular Norman s Invisible Relative Transactions of the Philological Society 113 3 349 362 doi 10 1111 1467 968X 12060 Le Maistre F 1982 The Language of Auregny cassette with accompanying 19 page booklet St Helier Jersey and St Anne Alderney External links Edit For a list of words relating to Auregnais see the Auregnais language category of words in Wiktionary the free dictionary Norman language including Auregnais edition of Wikipedia the free encyclopedia vocabulary comparison examples at L Aur gnais Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Auregnais amp oldid 1169304847, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
