Can music help keep endangered languages like Jèrriais alive? Have your say by taking part in our poll – and pick up some handy phrases

But now frontman Kit Ashton is to explain to an international forum how music can help to revive endangered languages and cultures.

• Good morning. How are you? – Bouônjour à matin. Comme est qu’tu’es?
• Nice to see you – Ch’est un pliaîsi dé t’vaie.
• What’s new with you? – Tch’est qu’i’ y’a d’nouvé?
• How’s the husband/wife/job? – Comme tchi qu’est l’bouonhomme/la bouonnefemme/ la djobbe?
• Please could I have a skinny latté and croissant to take away? – J’ peux-t-i’ aver s’i’ vos pliaît un latté êcrémé et un craîssant à emporter?
• It’s sunny and the weather’s very good – Lé solé lit et i’ fait bein bé
• We like to natter away in Norman – J’aimons bailli d’not’goule en Nouormand
• How do you say this word where you come from? – Coumme tchi qu’ou dites chutte pathole-chîn siez vous?

Leading academics from Goldsmiths College, London, and Japan’s Osaka University are to attend a series of presentations on the protection of cultural heritage on Thursday.

The event, at Goldsmith’s campus in south-east London, is a sequel to last year’s symposium called Safeguarding the Intangible: Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Music and Heritage.

Mr Ashton will speak for 20 minutes on how Badlabecques are using music to bring Jèrriais to a new generation.

‘It will be a privilege to represent the Island on an international platform,’ he said, ‘We are lucky in Jersey to have our own language.

‘It is part of our living culture, and I hope it is something that can define us in the future.’

While encouraging the maintaining of traditions, Mr Ashton wants to stress the importance of making the language appeal to young people.

‘We need to make the connection with the youth and play types of music they understand,’ he said, ‘I would love to see, for example, someone rapping in Jèrriais.

‘With Badlabecques, we play pop-folk music, a bit like Mumford and Sons or the Waterboys, and try to make it lively and enjoyable.

‘As part of the presentation, I might play a video clip comparing a traditional version of a Jèrriais folk song compared with our version.’

Badlabecques, who have been playing since 2012, are the only band in the world to perform in Jèrriais.

Their repertoire comprises songs up to 300 years old as well as more modern numbers translated into the Norman-French tongue with the aid of Geraint Jennings of l’Office du Jèrriais.

Deputy Montfort Tadier plays accordion for the band, who have performed at Jersey Live, the Folklore Festival, the Sark Folk Festival and La Fête Nouormande in France.

‘When a guy comes up to me at a gig and says he hasn’t heard that song for years and he remembers the words, it’s pretty special,’ added Mr Ashton.

‘At the same gig we might have parents and young children dancing along. We want people old or young, whether they’re from Jersey or not, to develop a connection with the language.’

Jèrriais is a dialect of Norman-French unique to the Island, but during the last century it has declined with less than three per cent of the population now able to speak it. Recent attempts to revive it have come from L’Assembliée d’Jèrriais, Le Don Balleine and l’Office du Jèrriais, as well as Badlabecques themselves.

• The Badlabecques means The Chatterboxes in Jèrriais.
• The pop folk band was formed by Kit Ashton, who had been based in Brighton since 2004, working as a musician and touring with the likes of soul-diva Carleen Andersen and Mercury-award nominated Thomas White (Electric Soft Parade, Brakes).
• Kit was commissioned by L’Office du Jèrriais to set a few Jèrriais songs to more contemporary arrangements, in order to help teach Jèrriais in schools, and the band evolved from there
• Their first official gig was at Folklore Festival in People’s Park on 1 July 2012.
• Speaking at the time the band launched, Kit said that Jèrriais was one of Jersey’s treasures and that it was too often overlooked ‘Even though my Gran, who lived in St Ouen, only spoke French and Jèrriais until she started school, I never really learned any Jèrriais myself until recently,’ he said. ‘That was when I became interested in the folk songs and rich literary heritage that Jersey has – going back to Wace in the 1100s.’
• The band’s line-up is: Kit Ashton (lead and backing vocals, guitar, banjolin, feet), Martin Coxshall ( backing vocals, piano, accordion), Louisa Coxshall (tambourine, shaker, hand claps), Scott Kean (bass), Deputy Montfort Tadier (accordion), Vanessa Moore (violin), Paul Olivier (congas), cajón, djembe, claves, guiro, wood blocks, tambourine, shaker, tone bells, hand claps), Johnny Pearse (drums) and Kim Syvret (backing vocals).
• Additional musicians who play with the band include: Giles Robson (harmonica), Geraint Jennings (spoken word, bachîn), Doug Ford (wooden whistle, westward’s ship bell) and Victoria Rebours (backing vocals)