Martin Neudörfl, a PhD student from Charles University in Prague in the Czech Republic, directs the Sark Norman Language Codification Project focused on the isle of Sark in the Channel Islands. Born in the picturesque town of Český Krumlov in the Bohemian Forest, he is the head of the Language section of La Société Sercquaise and the Sarkese teacher at Sark School. Through the invitation of Dr. Richard Axton, Martin came to Sark for the first time in 2016 as a masters student to help protect the language; Martin has been visiting the island ever since to learn Sérčê with the last handful of native speakers.

Sarkese, also known as Sark Norman or Sérčê, is a reawakening language primarily spoken in Sark, one of the Channel Islands in the United Kingdom. With only three native speakers remaining, efforts are underway to document, codify, and revitalize the language. Significant progress has been made in documenting and codifying Sarkese over the past six years, thanks to field visits, regular consultations, and active participation from the elderly speakers. Thanks to the speakers’ devotion, compulsory language classes were introduced in 2019 at the Sark School, creating a new generation of Sark speakers.

This project aims to continue documenting the language through consultations with the remaining speakers while actively transmitting it to the younger generation through education. Prior to this research project, there were no systematic or long-term attempts to document or revitalize Sarkese, despite previous requests from the community. The involvement of the last speakers, the mobilization of the community, and external funding from Charles University and la Société Sercquaise have contributed to the language’s survival. Martin’s goal for this year, alongside the Sarkese community, is to publish the first grammar of Sark Norman, both for academic use and in a popular format, along with a printed dictionary. The online version of the dictionary, SNDO, will also be expanded and made available.