This article needs additional citations for verification .(December 2009) |
West Low German | |
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Native to | Germany, Netherlands, Southern Denmark |
Speakers | Native: 300,000 (2016) [1] L2: 2.2 million [1] |
Indo-European
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Language codes | |
ISO 639-2 | nds for Low German |
ISO 639-3 | Variously: nds – (partial) wep – Westphalian frs – Eastern Frisian gos – Gronings stl – Stellingwerfs drt – Drents twd – Twents act – Achterhoeks sdz – Sallands vel – Veluws |
Glottolog | west2357 |
West Low German area in yellow. |
Low Saxon (Dutch : Nedersaksisch), also known as West Low German (German : Westniederdeutsch [2] ) are a group of Low German dialects spoken in parts of the Netherlands, northwestern Germany and southern Denmark (in North Schleswig by parts of the German-speaking minority). It is one of two dialect groups, the other being East Low German.
The language area comprises the North German states of Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia (the Westphalian part), Bremen, Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein and Saxony-Anhalt (the northwestern areas around Magdeburg) as well as the northeast of the Netherlands (i.e. Dutch Low Saxon, spoken in Groningen, Drenthe, Overijssel and northern Gelderland) and the Schleswigsch dialect spoken by the North Schleswig Germans in the southernmost part of Denmark. [3]
In the south the Benrath line and Uerdingen line isoglosses form the border with the area, where West Central German variants of High German are spoken.
While Dutch is a Low Franconian language, the Dutch Low Saxon varieties form a dialect continuum with Westphalian. They consist of:
A 2005 study found that there were approximately 1.8 million "daily speakers" of Low Saxon in the Netherlands. 53% spoke Low Saxon or Low Saxon and Dutch at home and 71% could speak it. [6] [ page needed ] According to another study the percentage of speakers among parents dropped from 34% in 1995 to 15% in 2011. The percentage of speakers among their children dropped from 8% to 2% in the same period. [7]
Frisia is a cross-border cultural region in Northwestern Europe. Stretching along the Wadden Sea, it encompasses the north of the Netherlands and parts of northwestern Germany. Wider definitions of ‘Frisia’ may include the island of Rem and the other Danish Wadden Sea Islands. The region is traditionally inhabited by the Frisians, a West Germanic ethnic group.
Northern Low Saxon is a subgroup of Low Saxon dialects of Low German. As such, it covers a great part of the West Low German-speaking areas of northern Germany, with the exception of the border regions where South Low Saxon is spoken, and Gronings dialect in the Netherlands.
East Frisian Low Saxon, East Frisian Low German, East Frisian Saxon, Frisio-Saxon or simply called East Frisian is a Northern Low Saxon dialect spoken in the East Frisian peninsula of northwestern Lower Saxony.
Westphalian or Westfalish is one of the major dialect groups of Low German. Its most salient feature is its diphthongization. For example, speakers say iäten instead of etten or äten for "to eat".
Low German is a West Germanic language spoken mainly in Northern Germany and the northeastern Netherlands. The dialect of Plautdietsch is also spoken in the Russian Mennonite diaspora worldwide.
Gronings, is a collective name for some Low Saxon dialects spoken in the province of Groningen and around the Groningen border in Drenthe and Friesland. Gronings and the strongly related varieties in East Frisia have a strong East Frisian influence and take a remarkable position within West Low German. The dialect is characterized by a typical accent and vocabulary, which differ strongly from the other Low Saxon dialects.
Twente is a region in the eastern Netherlands. It encompasses the most urbanised and easternmost part of the province of Overijssel. Twente is most likely named after the Tuihanti or Tvihanti, a Germanic tribe that settled in the area and was mentioned by the Roman historian Tacitus. The region's borders are defined by the Overijssel region of Salland in the northwest and west, the German County of Bentheim in the northeast and east and the Gelderland region of the Achterhoek in the south.
Dutch Low Saxon are the Low Saxon dialects of the Low German language that are spoken in the northeastern Netherlands and are written there with local, unstandardised orthographies based on Standard Dutch orthography.
Stellingwarfs is a Westphalian and Friso-Saxon dialect spoken in Ooststellingwerf and Weststellingwerf in the Dutch province of Friesland, and also in Steenwijkerland and Westerveld in the Dutch province of Overijssel and Drenthe.
West-Veluws is a Low Franconian dialect of the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is spoken in several Veluwe municipalities and villages including: Nunspeet, Putten, Ermelo (Armelo), Harderwijk (Harderwiek), Uddel, Nijkerk (Niekark), Appel, Scherpenzeel (Schaarpezeel), the municipality of Barneveld (Barreveld) and some villages of the municipality of Ede.
Veluws is a dialect or an umbrella term for dialects which are spoken in Veluwe, in the northwest of Gelderland, in central Netherlands.
Tweants is a group of non-standardised, closely related Westphalian, Dutch Low Saxon dialects, descending from Old Saxon.
Sallaans is a collective term for the Westphalian dialects of the region Salland, in the province of Overijssel, as well as in minor parts of Gelderland and Drenthe in the Eastern Netherlands, and a small part in the North and the East of Veluwe. In the Kop van Overijssel, the Stellingwarfs dialect is spoken.
The predominant language of the Netherlands is Dutch, spoken and written by almost all people in the Netherlands. Dutch is also spoken and official in Aruba, Bonaire, Belgium, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, Sint Maarten and Suriname. It is a West Germanic, Low Franconian language that originated in the Early Middle Ages and was standardised in the 16th century.
Drèents is a collective term for Westphalian dialects spoken in Drenthe, a province of the Netherlands. They are spoken by about half of the population of the province.
Dutch dialects are primarily the dialects that are both cognate with the Dutch language and spoken in the same language area as the Dutch standard language. They are remarkably diverse and are found within Europe mainly in the Netherlands and northern Belgium.
Achterhooks is a Westphalian dialect spoken in Gelderland.
Oost-Veluws is a Low Saxon dialect of the Dutch province of Gelderland. The dialect is endangered as there are few native speakers left.
Central Dutch dialects are a group of dialects of the Dutch language from the Netherlands. They are spoken in Holland, Utrecht Province, south-western Gelderland, North Brabant and few parts of Limburg (Netherlands) and Friesland (Vlieland), and include Hollandic. It borders Low Saxon without Gronings, Limburgish, Brabantian and Zeelandic. Urkers, Frisian and Frisian mixed varieties are geographically close, too.
Southern Low German is a variety of Low German in Germany. Its varieties in Germany are divided into Westphalian and Eastphalian. It borders to Low Franconian, High German and Northern Low German. The Low German varieties of Germany excluding Eastphalian and Westphalian are Northern Low German.