Auregnais
Auregnais or
Aurignais was the
Norman dialect of the
Channel Island of
Alderney (
French: Aurigny, Auregnais: Aoeur'gny/Auregny).
Although extinct, it still exists in many, if not most, local
placenames. One or two words linger on in the local English, e.g.
vraic (
seaweed fertiliser), and the pronunciation of certain local surnames, e.g. Dupont and Simon as (
IPA) // and // rather than the standard Parisian way.
There were a number of reasons for its demise. The influx of labourers from the
United Kingdom employed by the British Government in the construction of the abortive harbour project and other fortifications, plus the stationing of a sizable British garrison among the small population, 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. It is thought that the evacuation of nearly all indigenous Aurignais to the British mainland during
WWII (the island was occupied by the Germans, and heavily fortified) was a major factor in the final loss of the spoken language.
Another was neglect, especially in the education sector where it was not taught at all.
It suffered greatly in later years due to a large influx of tax "exiles" from
England who have moved to the island, as well as official neglect, as Alderney is a tax haven.
French ceased to be an
official language in
1966 in Alderney. It should be noted that the official French used in the Channel Islands differs greatly from the vernacular Norman.
Very little Auregnais survives in written form. It was closely related to the
Dgèrnésiais (
Guernsey),
Jèrriais (
Jersey),
Sercquiais (
Sark) dialects of the neighbouring islands, as well as
Continental Norman on the European mainland.
*
L'Aur'gnaisThe Language of Auregny F. Le Maistre 1982
