Culture and Languages
The two dominant cultures are English on the north shore of the Channel, French on the south. However, there are also a number of minority languages that are or were found on the shores and islands of the English Channel, which are listed here, with the Channel's name following them.
- Celtic Languages
- Breton - "Mor Breizh" (Sea of Brittany)
- Cornish - "Mor Bretannek"
- Germanic languages
- English
- Dutch - "het Kanaal" (the Channel)
- German - "der Ärmelkanal" (the Sleeve Channel)
Dutch previously had a larger range, and extended into parts of modern-day France. For more information, please see French Flemish.
- Romance languages
- French - "La Manche"
- Gallo - "Manche", "Grand-Mè", "Mè Bertone"
- Norman, including the Channel Island vernaculars:
- Anglo-Norman (extinct, but fossilised in certain English law phrases)
- Auregnais (extinct)
- Cotentinais - "Maunche"
- Guernesiais - "Ch'nal"
- Jèrriais - "Ch'na"
- Sercquais
- Picard
Most other languages tend towards variants of the French and English forms, but notably Welsh has "Môr Udd".
Read more about this topic: English Channel
Famous quotes containing the words culture and/or languages:
“Culture is the suggestion, from certain best thoughts, that a man has a range of affinities through which he can modulate the violence of any master-tones that have a droning preponderance in his scale, and succor him against himself. Culture redresses this imbalance, puts him among equals and superiors, revives the delicious sense of sympathy, and warns him of the dangers of solitude and repulsion.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“People in places many of us never heard of, whose names we can’t pronounce or even spell, are speaking up for themselves. They speak in languages we once classified as “exotic” but whose mastery is now essential for our diplomats and businessmen. But what they say is very much the same the world over. They want a decent standard of living. They want human dignity and a voice in their own futures. They want their children to grow up strong and healthy and free.”
—Hubert H. Humphrey (1911–1978)