East Flemish

Last updated
East Flemish
Oost-Vlaams
Uest-Vloams, Uust-Vloams, Oeëst-Vloams
Native to Belgium, Netherlands
Region East Flanders
Language codes
ISO 639-3
Glottolog oost1241   Oost-Vlaams
oost1242   Oostvlaams
Position of East Flemish (colour: brown) among the other minority languages, regional languages and dialects in Belgium and the Netherlands Map of Dutch dialects according to Heeringa.png
Position of East Flemish (colour: brown) among the other minority languages, regional languages and dialects in Belgium and the Netherlands

East Flemish (Dutch : Oost-Vlaams, French : flamand oriental) is a collective term for the two easternmost subdivisions ("true" East Flemish, also called Core Flemish, [1] and Waaslandic) of the so-called Flemish dialects, native to the southwest of the Dutch language area, which also include West Flemish. [2] Their position between West Flemish and Brabantian has caused East Flemish dialects to be grouped with the latter as well. [3] They are spoken mainly in the province of East Flanders and a narrow strip in the southeast of West Flanders in Belgium and eastern Zeelandic Flanders in the Netherlands. Even though the dialects of the Dender area are often discussed together with the East Flemish dialects because of their location, the latter are actually South Brabantian. [4]

Contents

History

Before the occurrence of written records, the dialect continuum that took shape in the Old Dutch language area was characterised mainly by differences from east to west, with the east showing more continental Germanic traits and the west having more coastal Germanic features. [4] In East Flanders, it can be noted that not a single typical eastern Low Franconian trait has reached the region, but coastal characteristics are fairly common, albeit less so than more to the west. [4]

In the 15th century, the dominant position in the Low Countries shifted from the County of Flanders to the Duchy of Brabant, which brought an expansian of linguistic traits from Brabant, the so-called 'Brabantic Expansion'. As the Scheldt delta formed a large barrier in the north, those traits were introduced mainly from South Brabant, particularly the city of Brussels. [4] The Dender area probably already started the process in the 14th century, but Ghent (and probably the rest of the province) resisted those changes for at least another century, as writings from Ghent still indicated a phonology that was typically West Flemish phonology in the mid-16th century. [4] Eventually, two processes caused the spread of Brabantian traits in eastern Flanders:

While the second process has caused a fairly wide extension of some traits, the traits spread by the first process have reached only the eastern quarter of the province: the Dender and Waasland areas. [4]

Having been dominated by the French, the Austrians and the Spanish, their languages have been other influences on the vocabulary of East Flemish.[ citation needed ]

Subdivisions

Principal dialects

Transitional and mixed dialects

A special mention should go to continental West Flemish, which, despite being a West Flemish dialect, has some East Flemish colouring, as Kortrijk was historically governed under Ghent. [8]

Notable characteristics

Even though the East Flemish dialect area is one of the most diverse linguistic landscapes in Belgium, [4] the dialects share some traits that set them apart from Standard Dutch as well as the neighbouring dialects:

Phonology

As the realisation of phonemes can be quite divergent in different East Flemish dialects, the phonemes represented here are based on the most common Core East Flemish realisations.

Consonants

  Labial Alveolar Post-
alveolar
Velar/
Uvular
Nasal mnŋ
Plosive p bt dk (ɡ)
Fricative f vs z(ʃ) (ʒ)xɣ
Affricate ts
Approximant β̞lj
Trill r

Notes:

Vowels

The following table gives an overview of some common phonemes in stressed syllables. Many East Flemish dialects have lost the phonemic vowel length distinction, but the distincition is made in the following table for the dialects that have kept it. Also, the central vowel /ə/ occurs only in unstressed syllables and is often heavily reduced or even omitted in many dialects. [2] [11]

 Front
unrounded
Front
rounded
Back
Close iyu
Close-mid ɪ e(ː)ʏ ø(ː)o (oː)
Open-mid ɛœɔ
Open æɑ

Notes:

Diphthongs

The following table shows the common diphthong phonemes in East Flemish, but it also includes some allophones or alternative realisations of the vowels mentioned above. [2]

Starting pointEnding point
Front Central Back
Close front unroundediə̯iu̯
front roundedyə̯~uə̯
backui̯
Close-mid front unroundedɪə̯
front roundedøi̯øə̯
backoə̯ou̯
Open-mid front unroundedɛi̯ɛə̯
front roundedœi̯
backɔi̯ɔu̯
Open frontæi̯æu̯~ɑu̯
backɑi̯

Notes:

Grammar

Verbs

As in many other southern Dutch dialects, verbal constructions can take several forms, depending on stress, the position of the subject and the next word. [4] Unlike West Flemish, however, there is no subjunctive mood. [10] The following table gives the general rules of conjugation in the present tense and the regular example of zwieren ("to toss"). The spelling is based on Dutch orthography with the addition of  ̊  to show devoicing and  ̆  to show vowel shortening.

EndingRegular order (SVO)Inversed order (VSO or OVS)Subordinate clauses (SOV)
Person and numberUnstressedDuplicatedStressedUnstressedStressedUnstressedStressed
1st sing.-e / -∅ / (-n)'k zwiere'k zwiere-kikik zwierezwiere-kzwiere-kikda-k ... zwiereda-kik ... zwiere
2nd sing.-tge zwiertge zwier-g̊ijgij zwiertzwier-dezwier-de gijda-de ... zwiertda-de gij ... zwiert
3rd sing. masc.-t / ̆-tij zwiertij zwiert-jijjij zwiertzwiert-ijzwiert-jijdat-ij ... zwiertdat-jij ... zwiert
3rd sing. fem.ze zwiertze zwier-z̊ijzij zwiertzwier-z̊ezwier-z̊e zijda-z̊e ... zwiertda-z̊e zij ... zwiert
3rd sing. ntr.'t zwiert--zwier-et-da-t ... zwiert-
1st plural-enme zwieren(-me(n))me zwiere-me wij/wulderwij/wulder zwieren(-me(n))zwiere-me(n)zwiere-me wij/wulderda-me(n) ... zwierenda-me wij/wulder ... zwieren
2nd plural-tge zwiertge zwier-g̊uldergulder zwiertzwier-dezwier-de gulderda-de ... zwiertda-de gulder ... zwiert
3rd plural-enze zwierenze zwieren zulderzulder zwierenzwieren zezwieren zulderdan ze ... zwierendan zulder ... zwieren

Notes:

Preterite

Like most other Germanic languages, East Flemish differentiates between strong verbs and weak verbs. Even though there are a few strong verbs in East Flemish that are weak in Standard Dutch, the overall tendency is that East Flemish has more weak verbs. [4] Unlike many other Germanic languages, the rules for the conjugation of the strong preterite are exactly the same as in the present tense. [13] The weak preterite is formed by adding the suffix "-dege" ("-tege" when the stem ends in a voiceless consonant) to the verbal stem. [4] While an -n is usually added in the first-person and the third-person plural, the t-ending is not added except in a few southwestern dialects. [13]

Ghent dialect

The dialect of the province's capital, Ghent, is also different from the language of the surrounding region. The Brabantic expansion is believed to have started in Ghent, which has separated its speech from the other Flemish dialects. Some Brabantic traits were exported to other East Flemish dialects, but many were not. The most notable differences include n-dropping and the more extreme diphthongisation of ii and uu. At the same time, Ghent resisted many innovations characteristic for rural East Flanders. In the 19th and the early 20th centuries, the French uvular r was adopted. [17]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Flemish</span> Germanic language

West Flemish is a collection of Low Franconian varieties spoken in western Belgium and the neighbouring areas of France and the Netherlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zeelandic Flanders</span> Region in Zeeland, Netherlands

Zeelandic Flanders is the southernmost region of the province of Zeeland in the south-western Netherlands. It lies south of the Western Scheldt that separates the region from the remainder of Zeeland and the Netherlands to the north. Zeelandic Flanders is bordered to the south and to the east by Belgium.

Middle Dutch is a collective name for a number of closely related West Germanic dialects whose ancestor was Old Dutch. It was spoken and written between 1150 and 1500. Until the advent of Modern Dutch after 1500 or c. 1550, there was no overarching standard language, but all dialects were mutually intelligible. During that period, a rich Medieval Dutch literature developed, which had not yet existed during Old Dutch. The various literary works of the time are often very readable for speakers of Modern Dutch since Dutch is a rather conservative language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Limburgish</span> South/Eastern branch of Low Franconian spoken in and around Limburg

Limburgish refers to a group of South Low Franconian varieties spoken in Belgium and the Netherlands, characterized by their distance to, and limited participation in the formation of, Standard Dutch. In the Dutch province of Limburg, all dialects have been given regional language status, including those comprising ″Limburgish″ as used in this article.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flemish Region</span> Northernmost federal region of Belgium

The Flemish Region, usually simply referred to as Flanders, is one of the three regions of Belgium—alongside the Walloon Region and the Brussels-Capital Region. Covering the northern portion of the country, the Flemish Region is primarily Dutch-speaking. With an area of 13,626 km2 (5,261 sq mi), it accounts for only 45% of Belgium's territory, but 58% of its population. It is one of the most densely populated regions of Europe with around 500/km2 (1,300/sq mi).

Jutlandic, or Jutish, is the western variety of Danish, spoken on the peninsula of Jutland in Denmark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hollandic Dutch</span> Dialect of Dutch

Hollandic or Hollandish is the most widely spoken dialect of the Dutch language. Hollandic is among the Central Dutch dialects. Other important language varieties of spoken Low Franconian languages are Brabantian, Flemish, Zeelandic, Limburgish and Surinamese Dutch.

Dutch phonology is similar to that of other West Germanic languages, especially Afrikaans and West Frisian.

Dutch dialects and varieties are primarily the dialects and varieties that are both cognate with the Dutch language and spoken in the same language area as the Standard Dutch. They are remarkably diverse and are found within Europe mainly in the Netherlands and northern Belgium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dutch language</span> West Germanic language

Dutch is a West Germanic language, spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language and is the third most spoken Germanic language. In Europe, Dutch is the native language of most of the population of the Netherlands and Flanders. Dutch was one of the official languages of South Africa until 1925, when it was replaced by Afrikaans, a separate but partially mutually intelligible daughter language of Dutch. Afrikaans, depending on the definition used, may be considered a sister language, spoken, to some degree, by at least 16 million people, mainly in South Africa and Namibia, and evolving from Cape Dutch dialects.

In the Dutch language, hard and soft G refers to a phonetic phenomenon of the pronunciation of the letters ⟨g⟩ and ⟨ch⟩ and also a major isogloss within that language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ingvaeonic nasal spirant law</span> Sound change law in some West Germanic languages

In historical linguistics, the Ingvaeonic nasal spirant law is a description of a phonological development that occurred in the Ingvaeonic dialects of the West Germanic languages. This includes Old English, Old Frisian, and Old Saxon, and to a lesser degree Old Dutch.

Afrikaans has a similar phonology to other West Germanic languages, especially Dutch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flemish dialects</span> Varieties of Dutch spoken in Flanders, Belgium

Flemish (Vlaams) is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch, Belgian Dutch, or Southern Dutch. Flemish is native to the region known as Flanders in northern Belgium; it is spoken by Flemings, the dominant ethnic group of the region. Outside of Belgium Flanders, it is also spoken to some extent in French Flanders and the Dutch Zeelandic Flanders.

East Brabantian is one of the main divisions of the Brabantian dialect group recognized by the Woordenboek van de Brabantse dialecten. East Brabantian dialects are mainly spoken in the eastern part of the province of North Brabant. Classifications of Brabantian recognize it as a separate dialect group. Sometimes it is called Meierijs, after the Bailiwick of Den Bosch.

This article is about the phonology and phonetics of the West Frisian language.

This article covers the phonology of the Orsmaal-Gussenhoven dialect, a variety of Getelands spoken in Orsmaal-Gussenhoven, a village in the Linter municipality.

Hamont-Achel dialect or Hamont-Achel Limburgish is the city dialect and variant of Limburgish spoken in the Belgian city of Hamont-Achel alongside the Dutch language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Getelands</span> Brabantian dialect of Belgium

Getelands or West Getelands is a South Brabantian dialect spoken in the eastern part of Flemish Brabant as well as the western part of Limburg in Belgium. It is a transitional dialect between South Brabantian and West Limburgish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Low Franconian</span> Low Franconian dialect group

South Low Franconian is a subgroup of the Continental West Germanic dialect continuum. South Low Franconian varieties are spoken in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands and are commonly referred to as "Limburgish" in Belgium and the Netherlands. Its varieties have been traditionally considered dialects of Dutch in the Low Countries and dialects of German in Germany, nevertheless they form a distinct dialect group. In the Netherlands, Limburgish has gained recognition as a regional language.

References

  1. 1 2 Hoppenbrouwers, Cor; Hoppenbrouwers, Geer (2001): De Indeling van de Nederlandse streektalen. ISBN   90 232 3731 5
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Taeldeman, Johan (1979): Het klankpatroon van de Vlaamse dialecten. Een inventariserend overzicht. In Woordenboek van de Vlaamse Dialecten. Inleiding.
  3. Belgium (2005). Keith Brown (ed.). Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics (2 ed.). Elsevier. ISBN   0-08-044299-4.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 Taeldeman, Johan (2005): Taal in Stad en Land: Oost-Vlaams.
  5. 1 2 Taeldeman, Johan (2004): Variatie binnen de Oost-Vlaamse dialecten. In: Azuuë Gezeid, Azuuë Gezoeng'n, Vol. II: Oost-Vlaanderen. Wild Boar Music WBM 21902.
  6. 1 2 Van Driel, Lo (2004): Taal in Stad en Land: Zeeuws.
  7. 1 2 Taeldeman, Johan (1979): Op fonologische verkenning in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen. Taal en Tongval. Tijdschrift voor de studie van de Nederlandse volks- en streektalen, 31, 143-193
  8. 1 2 Debrabandere, Frans (1999), "Kortijk", in Kruijsen, Joep; van der Sijs, Nicoline, Honderd Jaar Stadstaal, Uitgeverij Contact, pp. 289–299
  9. Ooms, Miet; Van Keymeulen, Jacques (2005): Taal in Stad en Land: Vlaams-Brabants en Antwerps.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Devos, Magda; Vandekerckhove, Reinhild (2005): Taal in Stad en Land: West-Vlaams.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Lievevrouw-Coopman, Lodewijk (1950-1954): Gents Woordenboek. Gent, Erasmus.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Taeldeman, Johan (1999), "Gent", in Kruijsen, Joep; van der Sijs, Nicoline, Honderd Jaar Stadstaal, Uitgeverij Contact, pp. 273–288
  13. 1 2 3 Goeman, Ton; Van Oostendorp, Marc; Van Reenen, Pieter; Koornwinder, Oele; Van den Berg, Boudewijn; Van Reenen, Anke (2008) Morfologische Atlas van de Nederlandse Dialecten, deel II. ISBN   9789053567746.
  14. 1 2 3 Blancqaert, Edgar; Pée, Willem (1925 - 1982) Reeks Nederlandse Dialectatlassen
  15. 1 2 3 4 De Vogelaer, Gunther; Neuckermans, Annemie; Van den Heede, Vicky; Devos, Magda; van der Auwera, Johan (2004): De indeling van de Nederlandse dialecten: een syntactisch perspectief.
  16. Winkler, Johan (1974): Algemeen Nederduitsch en Friesch Dialecticon. 's-Gravenhage.
  17. Johan Taeldeman (1985): De klankstructuren van het Gentse dialect. Een synchrone beschrijving en een historische en geografische situering.

Further reading