In Jèrriais, we have two ways of saying New Year's Day. We can say lé Preunmié Jour d'l'An (the first day of the year) or lé Jour d'l'An (the day of the year). It is therefore a good time to look at the word for “first”.
One of the most interesting things to note is that the word comes in different forms. For a masculine thing, it is preunmyi, and for a feminine thing is is preunmiéthe. in the plural, it is preunmièrs for masculine things, and preunmiéthes for feminine things. But things are not so simple, and we have already seen that in the phrase for New Year's Day, we have the form preunmié, which is used when it comes before another word.
Let's look at tchiques exempl'yes (some examples).
The first of January is lé preunmyi d'Janvyi.
If you live at First Tower, or if your child goes to First Tower School, then you can talk about la Preunmié Tou (the first tower).
Have a look at your hand. The index finger is lé preunmié dé (the first finger). La preunmié pièrre is the foundation stone of a building.
A way of saying to go back home is chèrchi ses preunmièrs pas (to seek one's first steps), and always remember that les preunmièrs v'nus sont les preunmièrs sèrvis (first come, first served).
Temps pâssé, there was a belief that ch'est mauvaise chance si la preunmié pèrsonne à entrer dans la maîson Lé Preunmié Jour d'l'An sait eune femme (it is bad luck if the first person to enter the house on New Year's Day is a woman). This superstition appears to be dead, but there are still some people who think that it is good luck lé Preunmié Jour d'l'An to put on tchiquechose dé neu (something new).
Bouanne Année!
Viyiz étout: