Flemish

In English usage, Flemish (Dutch: Vlaams (help·info)) can refer to

1. Belgian Dutch ( Belgisch-Nederlands (help·info)), the national variety of the Dutch language as spoken in Belgium,^[2][3][4] be it standard (as used in schools, government and the media)^[5] or informal (as used in daily speech, "tussentaal ");^[6]
2. East Flemish, West Flemish or French Flemish, related southwestern dialects of Dutch.^[7]

Etymology

Flemish is derived from the name of the County of Flanders, from Middle Dutch vlāmisch, vlemesch. The name of the County of Flanders itself was first attested in Ghent, in 1237, and etymologically it derives from ‘Flandr’, which is Old Dutch roughly meaning ‘that which is flooded/flooded area’;^[8] compare Common Germanic *flōðuz, "flood".^[9]

Dutch in Flanders

West Flemish

East Flemish

Dutch is the majority language in Belgium, being spoken natively by three-fifths of the population. Its various dialects contain a number of lexical and a few grammatical features which distinguish them from the standard language.^[10] As in the Netherlands, the pronunciation of Standard Dutch is affected by the native dialect of the speaker.

All Dutch dialects spoken in Belgium (with the exception of East Flemish) are spoken in adjacent areas of the Netherlands as well. At the same time East Flemish forms a continuum with both Brabantic and West Flemish. Standard Dutch is primarily based on the Hollandic dialect (spoken in the Northern Netherlands) and to a lesser extent on Brabantian, which is the most dominant Dutch dialect of the Southern Netherlands and Flanders.

"Flemish" can also refer to standard Dutch as spoken in Belgium, which is very similar to standard Dutch spoken in the Netherlands. The main differences are pronunciation and the relative popularity of certain words and adverbs. There are no spelling differences. In this way, certain words that are mainly used in Flanders could be referred to as "Flemish" even though they are standard Dutch and are listed in the wordlist of the Dutch language.

Phonological differences

Among Belgian Dutch vowels, the diphthong "ou/au" (as in bout bolt and fauna) is realized as [ɔu], whereas northern Dutch realizes it as [ʌu]. Among consonants, the northern Dutch pronunciation of "w" (as in wang cheek) is [ʋ] or [v], in some southern Dutch dialects it is [β]. Probably the most obvious difference between northern and southern Dutch is the northern voiceless velar fricative [x], which is equivalent in southern Dutch to either a voiced velar fricative [ɣ], most often when spelt "g", or a voiceless palatal fricative /ç/, most often when spelt "ch".

Lexical differences

Belgian Dutch encompasses more French loanwords in everyday vocabulary than Dutch spoken in the Netherlands.^[11] At the same time Brabantian, traditionally the most spoken Dutch dialect in Belgium, has had a larger influence on the vocabulary used in Belgium.^[6] Examples include beenhouwer (Brabantian) and slager (Hollandic), both meaning butcher; and schoon (Brabantian) vs. mooi (Hollandic) "beautiful". The changes (isoglosses) from northern to southern Dutch dialects are gradual, both vocabulary-wise and phonetically, and the boundaries do not coincide with territorial borders.

Tussentaal

The supra-regional, semi-standardized colloquial form of Dutch spoken in Belgium, which uses the vocabulary and the sound inventory of the Brabantic dialects, is often called "Tussentaal" ("in-between-language", i.e. between dialects and standard Dutch).^[12] Its evolution is somewhat similar to the emergence of Poldernederlands in the Netherlands, a medium of everyday speech heavily influenced by Hollandic. It should be emphasized that neither Poldernederlands nor Tussentaal are dialects or different standard forms, but sociolects.

The tussentaal ("in-between-language") is a primarily informal variety of speech which occupies an intermediate position between regional dialects and the standard language. This tussentaal incorporates phonetic, lexical and grammatical elements that are not part of the standard language but are drawn from local dialects. It is a relatively new phenomenon that has been gaining popularity during the past decades. Some linguists note that it seems to be undergoing a process of (limited) standardisation.^[13]

Dutch dialects in Belgium

There are four principal Dutch dialects in Flanders: Brabantian, Limburgish, East Flemish, and West Flemish. Linguistically however, Flemish is used as a general term encompassing both East Flemish and West Flemish. Despite the name, Brabantian is the dominant contributor to the tussentaal. Both uses of the term derive from name of the historically most powerful county in the area, the County of Flanders.

See also

• Dutch language.
• Franconian languages
• French Flemish, the West Flemish dialect as spoken in France.
• Zeelandic, a transitional dialect between West Flemish and Hollandic.
• List of Germanic peoples

References