Yesterday I was invited to attend Jersey Dialogues - Exploring and Celebrating our Island Identity organised by Jersey Policy Forum as part of the Island Identity project spearheaded by Deputy Carolyn Labey, Minister for International Development, Government of Jersey that asks: What makes Jersey special and why does that matter?
Jersey’s native language of Norman French and its unique geology is partly what makes the island special and I was pleased to learn earlier that my project Becque á Barbe: Face to Face has been shortlisted for the Gomma Photography Grant 2021.
I began the project in 2019 when United Nations General Assembly declared 2019 as the International Year of Indigenous Languages. Each portrait is titled with a Jèrriais word that each native speaker has chosen to represent a personal or symbolic meaning, or a specific memory linked to childhood. Some portraits are darker in tonality to reflect the language hidden past when English was adopted as the formal speech in Jersey and Jèrriais was suppressed publicly and forbidden to be spoken in schools. On a linguistic level the project is exploring the space between the formal, etymological and vernacular use of Jèrriais. In an island made of granite most names are forms of the Celtic, Norse and Latin words for rock. Juxtaposed with portraits of Jèrriais speakers are images of Jersey rocks that are all designated as Sites of Special Interest; important geological outcrops that are protected from development and preserved for future public enjoyment and research. The native speakers of Jersey French should be classified as People of Special Interest and equally be protected from extinction through encouraging greater visibility and recognition as guardians of a unique language that are essential in understanding the island’s special character.
A selection of images were initially exhibited at CCA Galleries International, St Helier (23 May - 12 June 2019) as a way to encourage native speakers to come forward to be photographed. If you know such special islanders, or are from a family where Jèrriais was spoken, please DM. All portraits will be deposited at Société Jersiaise Photographic Archive for future research and public enjoyment.
