The Language Event 2027 – Jersey

The Language Event 2027 – Jersey
A celebration of the varieties of the Norman language

This two-day conference features a range of speakers specialising in the varieties of the Norman language, including those of mainland Normandy as well as Jèrriais (Jersey), Guernésiais (Guernsey), Sèrtchais (Sark) and Aurignais (Alderney).

The Language Event takes place in cities around the world and celebrates local and regional languages and cultures. It brings together language enthusiasts, academics and language professionals for a shared experience of exchange and discovery. Participants meet, share stories and learn from one another throughout the weekend.

Anyone with an interest in language and culture can take part.

Richard Simcott (Founder)

Richard Simcott is the Founder and Lead Organiser of The Language Event. He has organised language conferences since 2013, when he launched the Polyglot Conference.

He is a British polyglot who studies more than 50 languages. HarperCollins describes him as one of the most multilingual people in the United Kingdom, and the Goethe-Institut awards him the title of Ambassador for Multilingualism.

He brings extensive experience in consulting, working with languages for a wide range of clients and contributing to multilingual and multinational projects. He also runs the popular Facebook page Speaking Fluently.

Maureen Millward

Maureen Millward (also known as Máirín in Irish) is a Scottish polyglot from Lanarkshire. Although she grows up in a monolingual household, she now speaks nine languages regularly at intermediate or advanced level: English, Scots, Italian, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Catalan, German and Afrikaans.

Her strongest languages support her work in the European finance industry and lead to numerous professional trips to Italy and Spain.

Languages and travel are central to her life. She spends much of her free time practising or learning languages and actively promotes online learning and speaking from the first day. She follows regular lessons via Skype with teachers on platforms such as italki.

She visits more than 50 countries and prefers not to use English while travelling. Her language skills support extensive independent travel, including recent solo trips to Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, the Azores and lesser-known parts of the Canary Islands.

She also studies additional languages at beginner level and is currently improving her Arabic, Welsh and Greek. She previously completes language challenges in a wide range of languages, including Chinese, Sicilian and Gaelic.

Practical Information

Audience: General public
Partners: Jersey Heritage, Société Jersiaise, The Language Event