There is a happy coincidence today in the appearance of a complete dictionary of the Jersey language on the 900^th anniversary of the great event of 1066 that was destined to alter, in a fundamental way, the course of our Island history. An unbroken 900 years' association with England might be thought to be an occasion worthy of some kind of official celebration on Jersey's part other than the Bal Normand, especially in view of the celebrations organized on both sides of the English Channel and the peculiar historical position held by the Channel Islands. Lack of local enthusiasm, in spite of the efforts of the Constable of St. Helier, and perhaps a lack of imagination, have denied Jersey any public celebrations of its own.

Fortunately, however, a few non-official bodies have, to some extent, made good the deficiency. In response to an invitation from the city of Rouen, sent through the States Tourism Committee, L'Assembliée d'Jèrriais and The Band of the Island of Jersey each sent a contingent to join in the celebrations there and Jersey archers have shot against their Norman counterparts. Now the Don Balleine Trust, with the help of a grant from the States, today publishes this notable work by a Jerseyman, Frank Le Maistre. Let it be our consolation that this handsomely-produced volume of 652 pages will remain a memorial long after any fleeting form of celebration would have been forgotten.

We still cherish much of feudal and Norman inheritance. One practical reason why we do so is that down the years many of these ancient customs and institutions have been adapted to serve our modern needs in an acceptable and often distinctive way. Property rights, inheritance laws and ideas of freedom are remarkably resistant to alteration and so long as suitable modifications are made to cope with marked changes in circumstances, we may expect to continue to enjoy our peculiar laws and customs for a long time to come. Alas, it cannot be said that our native language, as an ordinary means of day-to-day communication, will share in that survival. Its use has sadly declined since the First World War and with fewer and fewer children now able to speak it, it is bound to become a rarity. Indifference, intellectual laziness and snobbishness have had much to do with the declining use of the language. Yet it was almost inevitable that under the pressures of modern trends it would have to yield to the attractions and appeal of the English language, with its manifold attributes that destine it to become accepted as the lingua franca of the world, President de Gaulle notwithstanding.

This, however, is looking at the matter from a utilitarian point of view, which was almost bound to predominate in the past in face of the relatively limited cultural life in Jersey. We may hope, however, that our rising standards of education and awareness, and the resulting deepening of interests, will lead to a fuller appreciation of the distinctiveness of Jersey as a community. We may then hope for an awakened interest in our language, which is surely one of the Island's most distinguishing marks. A living language is the product of centuries and a most precious heritage, offering an inherent fascination and a wide-ranging mental stimulus. There now exists in this new book the basic material for student and dilettante, for the Jersey folk whose progenitors have failed to pass on to them the torch of their own native tongue, and for the settled and the new English residents who would identify themselves more closely with their adopted home.

This hope for such an awakening of interest is not, however, without its own utilitarian aspect. For, when Jersey, as a community, ceases to have any major distinguishing characteristics, its cherished right to its own separate existence may, too, disappear.

For those who have an working knowledge of the French language - and it is conceded that this kind of book could not have been rendered other than in French - Frank Le Maistre's dictionary now makes it possible to appreciate to the full extent the richness and the curiosities of the language. a graduated textbook for the student is still needed and no doubt this will be forthcoming in due course. What we now have is a complete record of the language that can serve as the sure foundation for all other studies. earlier records have been less comprehensive and less steeped in the lore of the Island. Mr. Le Maistre brings a unique combination of experience, opportunities and personal attributes that admirably fitted him for the task he has just completed, and it was recognition of this some ten years ago by the Don Balleine Trust that set the path for today's publication. Happily, the request to the States for a grant towards the high cost of printing did not fall on deaf ears and the minds of members were not unresponsive to the broader implications of making the book available to the world at large. It is believed it will find a place in every university where philology is studied and will carry an accurate knowledge of this facet of our life where there was little of none before.

The champions of the Jersey language are not alone in their desire to preserve, and to promote the use of, their native tongue. The Irish, the Scots, the Welsh, and now the Cornish seek to do so too, though sometimes by radical methods and a degree of zeal which to an outsider may seem excessive. The Bretons, the Flemings and scores of communities in Europe are engaged in resisting the encroachments of a centralist state that, if not opposing, invariably disinterests itself in the preservation of regional dialects.

Mr. Frank Le Maistre may well be looked upon as the Mistral of Jersey. His work, like that of Mistral, will, it is hoped, give rise to an outbreak of fresh interest in our language. May many now feel it incumbent upon them the speak and foster the language, may the use of old Jersey names for roads be extended, may Jersey names be given to properties now bearing mundane English names (for this the new Dictionary is a wonderful quarry), and may the high and the lowly take pride and pleasure in using the venerable words and sounds that have echoed down the centuries not only in this Island but wherever Jerseymen have roamed. In doing these things they will be enriching their mental experience. They will be helping to foster Jersey's distinctiveness.

The untutored mind, largely oblivious to the complexity of human affairs and human behaviour, is satisfied with a very limited vocabulary. It only needs relatively few words because it sees things with but few qualifications and without perceiving their relationship to other things or to their environment. With few mental reactions to day-t-day experience, one can make do with only a few verbs to express elementary activity and movements, and with a very few adjectives and adverbs, of which a proportion have thoughtless religious or sexual connotation. The subtleties of thought and language are, at that level of living, meaningless.