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Europa "Letter" It is tempting to say that languages come and go, but in reality new ones are seldom created. They certainly die out, though, and the world is currently dominated by just a few. One that is languishing - and has been since the mid 20th century - is Guernsey-French, known in its own terms as Guernesiais. For hundreds of years this was the way Guernsey people communicated, but English has long since replaced it. The Guernsey-French language evolved from Norman French as opposed to the mainstream version and has gone its own sweet way ever since. Although prominent local poets once used it, Guernsey-French has always been largely a spoken language. The most prominent of those poets, Georges Metivier, had published a Guernsey-French/Standard French dictionary in 1870. No Guernsey-French/English dictionary existed until the late 1960s, when Marie De Garis produced one after lengthy consultation with her fellow members of the specially-formed dictionary committee of L'Assembllaie d'Guernsesiais. This was a collection of people from various parts of the island who ensured that local variations were taken into account. The fact that people tended not to mix with others outside their immediate locality had meant that the language developed differently even though the biggest distance possible as the crow flies is only about eight miles. Never taught in schools, Guernsey-French was very much the poor relation. Legal documents and newspapers were written in standard French before eventually giving way to English, which only became the official language in 1948; even then it didn't apply to conveyancing, with property deeds not following suit until 1970. In some cases, people who spoke the language at home would keep quiet about it, as it was regarded in certain quarters as a sign of an unsophisticated background. The Second World War struck a further blow against the language, with the majority of the population evacuated to various parts of the UK and many families split up - so parents and grandparents couldn't pass on their local linguistic knowledge. While it may never again become widespread, Guernsey-French is still fondly regarded within the community and for a non-speaker to hear it being spoken, it amuses and warms the heart in equal measures. Product Information First Day Cover Here we are offering a first day cover where the set of stamps are affixed to two unaddressed, specially designed envelopes and are cancelled with a special pictorial first day postmark.Inside the envelope is an information card including details of the background behind the stamps and this stamp issue. SPECIFICATION Date of issue Photographer Printer Values Process Stamp sizes Paper Perforation Sheet Cylinder 15 May 2008 Chris Griffiths Cartor Security Printers 34p, 40p, 48p, 51p, 53p, 74p Offset lithography 28mm deep x 45mm wide 10 110 gsm unwatermarked PVA adhesive 13.5 A Buying from us All our items are professionally packaged and we currently dispatch more than 100,000 orders per year. Items are dispatched within 3 days and should be received easily within 7 working days to any UK address. International orders may take longer. Postage is set at £1.40 and is a flat rate for anywhere in the world. As we are an established business but new to eBay we would appreciate if you could contact us if you are unhappy in any way with our service or our products. Our customer satisfaction guarantee aims to resolve all issues within 5 working days. Feedback will be left once we know you are happy with your item. Please feel free to check out all other available sets, presentation packs, FDC's, printer's sheets and yearbooks by clicking this link Guernsey Stamps items! You can also add Guernsey Stamps to your favourites list to keep up to date with the latest issues and products by clicking this link favourites list
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