Y̌ŁÉT D’BANKE / sea pink

“y̌łét d’banke“, s.m., pronounced [(j)ɪʎɛ(t) d bɑ̃:k], in plural “y̌łê d’banke”, is the authentic Sarkese name for “sea pink” or “sea thrift”, Armeria maritima, a flowering plant native to Sark, which shares the name “y̌łét” with its closer relative “grass pink”, “y̌łét sòvaje“, and “carnation”, “y̌łét“. According to Patrice Brasseur,

origin: Gallo-Romance / first recorded for Sarkese: 1970s (PB) / current status in the 21st century: not recalled, reintroduced

“y̌łét d’banke” is a compound name. The main constituent “y̌łét“, meaning “little eye”, is a masculine countable variable noun (a he-word that changes in plural and may be counted), while the attribute “d’banke”, lit. “of seashore” remains invariable. Since the word “y̌łét” ends in the ‘ét’-ending, in the plural, it changes to “-ê”, so ‘dz’y̌łê d’banke’. As for the pronunciation, which is regular, see the SNDO entry “y̌łét“, if “y̌łê” is followed directly by ‘d’banke’, the pronunciation changes to [(j)ɪʎɛ:], if not, then it is pronounced as [ɪʎɑ:ɪ̯] if in open stressed position.

Finally, when talking about see thrift

On the origin

The Sarkese “y̌łét d’banke” is related to the Guernsey Norman name for the same plant “eillet d’banque” and the Jersey Norman “iliet d’falaise”, although in Guernsey, the name may also be used for a very different plant, sea campion, our “ménleu á věsŷ“.

Even though the last four native spakers in the 21st century did not recall any specifik name for sea pink, except for the generic “y̌łê”, the name “y̌łét d’banke” was fortunatelly recorded and written down by Patrice Brasseur in the 20th century.

As for the meaning of the word, it actually means “coast carnation”, or lit. “coast little eye”

(MN)

Citation: NEUDÖRFL, Martin. ýłét d’banke/sea pink. In: Sark Norman Dictionary Online [on-line]. https://www.bonjhur.net/sndo-vocab-flora-ylet-d-banke

Relevant SNDO Entries:

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