West Frisians

Last updated
West Frisian people
Regions with significant populations
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands
Frisian flag.svg  Friesland
400,000
Languages
West Frisian, Friso-Saxon, West Frisian Dutch, Stadsfries Dutch
Related ethnic groups
North Frisians, East Frisians, Saterland Frisians

The West Frisians or, more precisely, the Westlauwers Frisians (Dutch : Friezen or Westerlauwerse Friezen, West Frisian : Friezen or Westerlauwerske Friezen), are those Frisian peoples in that part of Frisia administered by the Netherlands: the Province of Friesland, which is bounded in the west by the IJsselmeer and in the east by the River Lauwers (hence the name Westlauwers, i.e., "west of the Lauwers").

In Germany, Dutch Frisia is often usually called "West Frisia" (Westfriesland), because the German part is called "East Frisia" (Ostfriesland), hence the term "West Frisians" (Westfriesen). However, in the Netherlands, the term West-Friezen is only used to refer to the inhabitants of the unconnected region of West Friesland and not to the Westlauwers Frisians.

The Westerlauwers Frisians are related to the North Frisians and the eastern Frisians (East Frisians, Saterland Frisians etc.). Whilst many East Frisians had lost their Frisian language by the late Middle Ages, of the 660,000 or so Frisians in the Netherlands, more than 400,000 still speak West Frisian. [1]

Many Frisian Americans descend from West Frisians. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frisian languages</span> Group of Germanic languages

The Frisian languages are a closely related group of West Germanic languages, spoken by about 400,000 Frisian people, who live on the southern fringes of the North Sea in the Netherlands and Germany. The Frisian languages are the closest living language group to the Anglic languages; the two groups make up the Anglo-Frisian languages group and together with the Low German dialects these form the North Sea Germanic languages. However, modern English and Frisian are not mutually intelligible, nor are Frisian languages intelligible among themselves, owing to independent linguistic innovations and language contact with neighboring languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Friesland</span> Province of the Netherlands

Friesland, historically and traditionally known as Frisia, named after the Frisians, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of Flevoland, northeast of North Holland, and south of the Wadden Sea. As of January 2023, the province had a population of about 660,000, and a total area of 5,753 km2 (2,221 sq mi).

The Frisians are an ethnic group indigenous to the coastal regions of the Netherlands, north-western Germany and southern Denmark, and during the Early Middle Ages in the north-western coastal zone of Flanders, Belgium. They inhabit an area known as Frisia and are concentrated in the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Groningen and, in Germany, East Frisia and North Frisia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">734</span> Calendar year

Year 734 (DCCXXXIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar, the 734th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 734th year of the 1st millennium, the 34th year of the 8th century, and the 5th year of the 730s decade. The denomination 734 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frisia</span> Cross-border cultural region in Northwestern Europe

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Frisia</span> Historic region in Lower Saxony, Germany

East Frisia or East Friesland is a historic region in modern Lower Saxony, Germany. The modern province is primarily located on the western half of the East Frisian peninsula, to the east of West Frisia and to the west of Landkreis Friesland but is known to have extended much further inland before modern representations of the territory. Administratively, East Frisia consists of the districts Aurich, Leer and Wittmund and the city of Emden. It has a population of approximately 469,000 people and an area of 3,142 square kilometres (1,213 sq mi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Friesland (region)</span> Contemporary region in the Northwest of the Netherlands

West Friesland is a contemporary region in the Northwest of the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stadsfries Dutch</span> West Frisian dialect group

Stadsfries or Town Frisian is a set of dialects spoken in certain cities in the province of Friesland in the northern Netherlands, namely Leeuwarden, Sneek, Bolsward, Franeker, Dokkum, Harlingen, Stavoren, and to some extent in Heerenveen. For linguistic reasons, the outlying and insular dialects of Midsland (Terschelling), Ameland, Het Bildt, and Kollum are also sometimes tied to Stadsfries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Frisian language</span> West Germanic language spoken in Friesland

West Frisian, or simply Frisian, is a West Germanic language spoken mostly in the province of Friesland in the north of the Netherlands, mostly by those of Frisian ancestry. It is the most widely spoken of the Frisian languages.

<i>Terp</i> Raised ground to provide a refuge from flooding

A terp, also known as a wierde, woerd, warf, warft, werf, werve, wurt or værft, is an artificial dwelling mound found on the North European Plain that has been created to provide safe ground during storm surges, high tides and sea or river flooding. The various terms used reflect the regional dialects of the North European region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Frisia</span> Frisian areas west of the Dollart, Netherlands

West Frisia is a term that, when used in an international context, refers to the traditionally Frisian areas that are located west of the Dollart. Along with East Frisia and North Frisia, it is one of the most commonly used subdivisions of Frisia. In its narrowest sense, the term is synonymous with the province of Friesland. Within the Netherlands, however, it is mostly used to refer to the region of West Friesland, located west of Friesland.

The Battle of the Boarn was an 8th century battle between the Franks and the Frisians near the mouth of the river Boarn in what is now the Dutch province of Friesland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Frisia</span>

Frisia is a small region in the north of the modern day country known as the Netherlands. In the Iron Age, the ancestors of the modern Frisians first migrated south out of modern day Scandinavia to the south west where they began to settle along the coast. The archeological record goes all the way back to the Neolithic era, however, the first written sources for Frisian history come from Roman records, like Tacitus' account of an unsuccessful Frisian attack on a Roman fort. Frisia would go on to distinguish itself culturally from other Germanic peoples but remained recognizably Germanic nonetheless. In the Early Medieval era, Frisians took the seas with well crafted ships to perform trade and to raid other ports, cities, and towns in other parts of Europe. For most of its modern history, Frisia, or Frysland, has been under the control of the Netherlands but today their language is co-official with Dutch at the provincial level. Frisian is the most closely related language to English aside from Scots.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frisian–Frankish wars</span> Early medieval Western European war

The Frisian–Frankish wars were a series of conflicts between the Frankish Empire and the Frisian kingdom in the 7th and 8th centuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frisian Kingdom</span> c. 600–734 realm in northwestern Europe

The Frisian Kingdom is a modern name for the post-Roman Frisian realm in Western Europe in the period when it was at its largest (650–734). This dominion was ruled by kings and emerged in the mid-7th century and probably ended with the Battle of the Boarn in 734 when the Frisians were defeated by the Frankish Empire. It lay mainly in what is now the Netherlands and – according to some 19th century authors – extended from the Zwin near Bruges in Belgium to the Weser in Germany. The center of power was the city of Utrecht.

Dutchification is the spread of the Dutch language, people or the culture of the Netherlands, either by force or cultural assimilation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Frisia (peninsula)</span> All Frisian areas in Lower Saxony, Germany

East Frisia is a collective term for all traditionally Frisian areas in Lower Saxony, Germany, which are primarily located on a peninsula between the Dollart and the Jade Bight. Along with West Frisia and North Frisia, it is one of the most commonly used subdivisions of Frisia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lordship of Frisia</span> Feudal dominion in the Netherlands

The Lordship of Frisia or Lordship of Friesland was a feudal dominion in the Netherlands. It was formed in 1498 by King Maximilian I and reformed in 1524 when Emperor Charles V conquered Frisia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frisian nationalism</span> Nationalism viewing Frisians as a nation

Frisian nationalism refers to the nationalism which views Frisians as a nation with a shared culture. Frisian nationalism seeks to achieve greater levels of autonomy for Frisian people, and also supports the cultural unity of all Frisians regardless of modern-day territorial borders. The Frisians derive their name from the Frisii, an ancient Germanic tribe which inhabited the northern coastal areas in what today is the northern Netherlands, although historical research has indicated a lack of direct ethnic continuity between the ancient Frisii and later medieval 'Frisians' from whom modern Frisians descend. In the Middle Ages, these Frisians formed the Kingdom of Frisia and later the Frisian freedom confederation, before being subsumed by stronger foreign powers up to this day.

References

  1. 1997 data, Yngve, Victor (2006). Hard-Science Linguistics. A&C Black. p. 215. ISBN   978-1-84714-088-3.
  2. Levinson, David; Ember, Melvin (1997). American Immigrant Cultures: Builders of a Nation . Simon & Schuster Macmillan. p.  298. ISBN   978-0-02-897214-5.