West Frisian language
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| West Frisian (Frysk) | |
|---|---|
| Spoken in: | Netherlands |
| Region: | Friesland |
| Total speakers: | between 360,000 and 700,000 |
| Ranking: | Not in top 100 |
| Genetic classification: | Indo-European
Germanic |
| Official status | |
| Official language of: | Netherlands |
| Regulated by: | Fryske Akademy |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-1 | fy |
| ISO 639-2 | fry |
| SIL | FRI |
| See also: Language – List of languages | |
The West Frisian language (Frysk) is a language spoken by around half a million members of an ethnic group living mostly in the province of Fryslân in the Netherlands.
| Contents |
Speakers
Most speakers of West Frisian live in the Netherlands, primarily in the province of Fryslân, since 1997 officially using its Frisian name, where the number of native speakers is about 350,000. An increasing number of Dutch native speakers in the province of Friesland are able to speak the language.
Dialects
The main dialectic division is in Clay-Frisian and Wood-Frisian, and the lesser Súdhoeks dialects though the differences are small. Smaller, more distinct dialects are those of the islands, and one of the harbour towns: Schiermonnikoogs, Aasters and Westers, on the east and west sides of Terschelling, and Hindeloopers.
Status
West Frisian is one of the two official languages of the Netherlands. Within ISO 639 West-Frisian falls under the codes 'fy' and 'fry', which were assinged to the collective Frisian languages.
English
Though Old Frisian was highly similar to Old English, West Frisian now shows the marks of Low Franconian and Dutch influence. Likewise, the centuries have made English drift away from Frisian norms. This has made the modern languages all but unintelligible to each other. However, in 1945 the English-speaking liberators and the Frisian liberated population found it was still possible to communicate by speaking their own languages.
Name
The name "West-Frisian" is not used in The Netherlands. One of the reasons for this is that there is a region West-Friesland, that nowadays is no longer part of the the Frisian area and where the dialect has changed to a Hollandic one. To describe the relation with the other Frisian language, the term Westerlauwers Frisian is used, Frisian west of the Lauwers, the river dividing Fryslân and Groningen. The now extinct Frisian dialect of Groningen is considered East Frisian.
See also
External link
- Frisian - English Dictionary (http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/Frisian-english/): from Webster's Online Dictionary (http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org) - the Rosetta Edition.
- The Frisian Language (http://lamar.colostate.edu/~eric13/frisian.shtml) - a page with some good links.
af:Fries (taal) ast:Frisón ca:Frisó cs:FrÃÅ¡tina de:Westfriesische Sprache fy:Frysk id:Bahasa_Frisia li:Weslauwers Fries nl:Fries (taal)