Bailiwick of Guernsey Bailiwick of Guernsey The Bailiwick of Guernsey () is one of three Crown dependencies. Separated from the Dukedom and Duchy of Normandy by and under the terms of the Treaty (or Peace) of Le Goulet in 1204, the Bailiwick comprises a number of islands in the English Channel which fall into three separate sub-jurisdictions: Guernsey, Alderney and Sark. A bailiwick is a territory administered by a Bailiff. The Bailiff of Guernsey is the civil head, and presiding officer of the States of Guernsey, but not of Alderney or Sark. He is the head of the judiciary of the Bailiwick. The
Languages of the Bailiwick of Guernsey It is not used as readily in Guernsey as Jèrriais in Jersey: only five minutes a week of news are delivered in the language on BBC Radio Guernsey. Fourteen percent of the population claim some understanding. It is called patois by some and believed by some to be a dialect of French. Sercquiais is the dialect of Jèrriais spoken by a minority of people in Sark, the original inhabitants of which were settlers from Jersey. It is now all but extinct, spoken by some 15 people. The Norman language of Alderney, Auregnais, is now extinct. It is today mostly preserved