Sercquiais
Sercquiais (French pronunciation: [sɛʁkjɛ]), also known as lé Sèrtchais, Sarkese or Sark-French, is the Norman dialect of the Channel Island of Sark (Bailiwick of Guernsey).
| Sercquiais | |
|---|---|
| Sarkese, Sark-French | |
| sercquiais, lé sèrtchais | |
| Native to | Sark |
Native speakers | 3 (2022) |
Indo-European
| |
Early forms | |
| Latin | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
| Glottolog | None |
| Linguasphere | 51-AAA-hcf |
| IETF | nrf-CQ |
Sercquiais is a descendant of the 16th century Jèrriais used by the original colonists, 40 families mostly from Saint Ouen, Jersey who settled the then uninhabited island, although influenced in the interim by Guernésiais (the dialect of Guernsey). It is also closely related to the now-extinct Auregnais (Alderney) dialect, as well as to Continental Norman. It is still spoken by older inhabitants of the island and most of the local placenames are in Sercquiais.
In former times, there may have been two subdialects of Sercquiais, but today the dialect is relatively homogeneous. The phonology of the language retains features lost in Jèrriais since the 16th century.