West Germanic languages | Definition, Map, Countries, Tree, Origin, & Facts

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class="col-auto"> <div class="topic-left-rail md-article-drawer position-relative d-flex border-right-sm border-left-sm open"> <div class="drawer d-flex flex-column open"> <div class="left-rail-section-content"> <div class="topic-left-rail-header text-truncate bg-gray-50 position-relative text-right d-flex align-items-center"> <div class="tlr-title px-20 py-15 text-left"> <em class="material-icons text-gray-400 d-lg-none" data-icon="toc"></em> <a class="font-serif font-weight-bold text-black link-blue" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/West-Germanic-languages">West Germanic languages</a> </div> <button aria-label="Close" class="js-sections-close-button btn-link btn-sm btn d-lg-none position-absolute top-0 p-10 right-0" > <em class="material-icons font-26" data-icon="close"></em> </button> </div> <div class="section-content pl-10 pr-20 pl-sm-50 pr-sm-60 pl-lg-5 pr-lg-10 pt-10 pt-lg-0 bg-gray-50 clear-catfish-ad"> <div class="toc mb-20"> <div class="font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mx-15 mb-15 mt-20"> Table of Contents </div> <ul class="list-unstyled my-0" data-level="h1"><li data-target="#ref1"><div class="pl-25"><a class="link-gray-900 w-100" href="/topic/West-Germanic-languages">Introduction</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref74772"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/West-Germanic-languages#ref74772">English</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref74773"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/West-Germanic-languages#ref74773">Frisian</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref74774"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/West-Germanic-languages#ref74774">History</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref74775"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/West-Germanic-languages#ref74775">Characteristics</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref74776"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/West-Germanic-languages#ref74776">Dialects</a></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref74777"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/West-Germanic-languages/Dutch-Netherlandic-Flemish">Dutch (Netherlandic, Flemish)</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref74778"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/West-Germanic-languages/Dutch-Netherlandic-Flemish#ref74778">History</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref74779"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/West-Germanic-languages/Dutch-Netherlandic-Flemish#ref74779">Characteristics</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref74780"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/West-Germanic-languages/Dutch-Netherlandic-Flemish#ref74780">Dialects</a></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref74781"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/West-Germanic-languages/Dutch-Netherlandic-Flemish#ref74781">Afrikaans</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref74782"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/West-Germanic-languages/Dutch-Netherlandic-Flemish#ref74782">History</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref74783"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/West-Germanic-languages/Dutch-Netherlandic-Flemish#ref74783">Characteristics</a></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref74784"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/West-Germanic-languages/German">German</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref74785"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/West-Germanic-languages/German#ref74785">History</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref74786"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/West-Germanic-languages/German#ref74786">Characteristics of modern Standard German</a></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref74787"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/West-Germanic-languages/Yiddish">Yiddish</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref74788"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/West-Germanic-languages/Yiddish#ref74788">History</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref74789"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/West-Germanic-languages/Yiddish#ref74789">Characteristics</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref74790"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/West-Germanic-languages/Yiddish#ref74790">Dialects</a></li></ul></div></li></ul> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/West-Germanic-languages/additional-info">References & Edit History</a> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="/facts/West-Germanic-languages">Related Topics</a> </div> <div class="tlr-media-slider pb-10 mb-30"> <a class="section-header link-gray-900 font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mb-10 mx-10" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/West-Germanic-languages/images-videos">Images</a> <div class="slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100 "> <div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex overflow-hidden text-nowrap ml-15"> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/34/2034-050-226FF27E/Distribution-languages-Germanic-Europe.jpg" data-href="/media/1/640154/2096" class="media-overlay-link 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Director and Editor in Chief, <i>Language and Culture Atlas of Ashkenazic Jewry. </i>Author of <i>The Yiddish Language...</i></div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> Marvin Irving Herzog</span>, <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 qa-editor-popup gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor" href="/contributor/William-G-Moulton/2067" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">William G. Moulton</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 clamp-description text-black">Professor of Linguistics, Princeton University, 1960–79. Professor of Germanic Linguistics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 1949–60. 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bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> <div class="text-center"> <a class="btn btn-sm btn-link p-0" href="/facts/West-Germanic-languages"> See all related content </a> </div> </div> </div> </div><span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref1"><span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies multiple medialist slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100" data-type="other"><div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex"><div class="rw-track d-flex align-items-center"><div class="position-relative rw-slide col-100 px-20 "><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="61366" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/90/1990-050-53E1AB05/Derivation-languages-Germanic-Proto-Germanic.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/640154/61366"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/90/1990-050-53E1AB05/Derivation-languages-Germanic-Proto-Germanic.jpg"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/90/1990-050-53E1AB05/Derivation-languages-Germanic-Proto-Germanic.jpg?w=300" alt="Germanic languages" data-width="1600" data-height="680" loading="eager"></picture><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/90/1990-050-53E1AB05/Derivation-languages-Germanic-Proto-Germanic.jpg" data-href="/media/1/640154/61366">Germanic languages</a><span>Derivation of Germanic languages from Proto-Germanic.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div></div><button disabled="true" class="prev-button js-prev-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-lg btn-blue-dark m-20"><span class="material-icons" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_left"></span></button><button disabled="true" class="next-button js-next-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-lg btn-blue-dark m-20"><span class="material-icons" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></span></button></div><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong><span id="ref603787"></span>West Germanic languages</strong>, group of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Germanic-languages" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Germanic languages</a> that developed in the region of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/North-Sea" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">North Sea</a>, Rhine-Weser, and Elbe. Out of the many local West Germanic <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="dialects" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dialects" data-type="MW">dialects</a> the following six modern standard languages have arisen: <span id="ref603788"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/English-language" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">English</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Frisian-language" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Frisian</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Dutch-language" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Dutch</a> (<a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Netherlandic-language" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Netherlandic</a>-Flemish), <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Afrikaans-language" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Afrikaans</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/German-language" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">German</a>, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Yiddish-language" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Yiddish</a>.</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="marker h2"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref74772"> <h2 class="h1">English</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">English and Frisian are descended from North Sea Germanic. The most striking changes that distinguish them from the other Germanic languages are the loss of nasal sounds before the Proto-Germanic voiceless fricatives *<em>f</em>, *<em>þ</em>, and *<em>s</em> (contrast the following pairs of words, in which English loses the nasal but German preserves it: before <em>f</em>—<em>soft</em>/<em>sanft</em>; before <em>þ</em>—<em>other</em>/<em>ander</em>; before <em>s</em>—<em>us</em>/<em>uns, goose</em>/<em>Gans</em>); palatalization of Proto-Germanic *<em>k</em> before front vowels and *<em>j</em>, giving modern English <em>ch</em> (English/German pairs: <em>chin</em>/<em>Kinn, birch</em> [Old English <em>birce</em>]/<em>Birke</em>); and palatalization of Proto-Germanic *<em>ǥ</em> before front <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="vowels" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/vowels" data-type="EB">vowels</a>, giving modern English <em>y</em> (English/German pairs include <em>yield</em>/<em>gelten, yester-</em>[<em>day</em>]/<em>gestern, yard</em> [Old English <em>geard</em>]/<em>Garten</em>; this palatalized <em>ǥ</em> merged with the <em>j</em> [<em>y</em> sound] from Proto-Germanic *<em>j: year</em>/<em>Jahr</em>).</p><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><em><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/H-L-Mencken-on-American-English-2033264" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">(Read H.L. Mencken’s 1926 Britannica essay on American English.)</a></em></p><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD4 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Other changes include palatalization of <em>gg</em> before <em>j</em> to Old English <em>cg</em> (Proto-Germanic *<em>brugjō</em>, pre-Old English *<em>bruggju</em>, Old English <em>brycg</em> ‘bridge’; contrast the unpalatalized <em>ck</em> from <em>gg</em> of German <em>Brücke</em> ‘bridge’); a front reflex of Proto-Germanic *<em>ē</em><sup>1</sup> (English/German pairs include <em>deed</em>/<em>Tat, seed</em>/<em>Saat, sleep</em>/<em>schlafen, meal</em>/<em>Mahl</em>); and backing and raising of nasalized <em>ā</em>, from Proto-Germanic *<em>ā</em> and *<em>a</em> before nasal plus <em>f, þ</em>, and <em>s</em> (English/German pairs include <em>brought</em>/<em>brachte, thought</em>/<em>dachte, other</em>/<em>ander</em>, and <em>goose</em>/<em>Gans</em>).</p><span class="marker MOD4 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD5 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">For further information on English, <em>see</em> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/English-language" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">English language</a>.</p><a class="link-module shadow-sm d-block qa-quiz-module" href="/quiz/dutch-yiddish-japanese-or-hindi-quiz" data-link-module-iframe-link=""> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/95/260895-131-3075CC44/paper-slips-thank-you-different-languages-quiz-thumbnail.jpg" alt="Many slips of paper with "thank you" in different languages written on them. Thumbnail for the Dutch, Yiddish, Japanese, or Hindi Quiz." class="rounded-sm mr-15" width="70" /> <div class="line-clamp clamp-5"> <div class="module-title bg-green">Britannica Quiz</div> <div class="font-weight-semi-bold mt-5">Dutch, Yiddish, Japanese, or Hindi? Quiz</div> </div> </a><span class="marker MOD5 mod-inline"></span> </section> <span class="marker h3"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref74773"> <h2 class="h1"><span id="ref603789"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Frisian-language" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Frisian</a></h2> <span class="marker PREMOD6 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">A thousand years or so ago Frisian was apparently spoken throughout a North Sea coastal area extending from the modern Netherlands province of Noord-Holland (North Holland) on up to modern German Schleswig and the <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="adjacent" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adjacent" data-type="MW">adjacent</a> offshore islands. During the following centuries the Frisian of much of this area was gradually replaced by local Dutch and Low German dialects, so that Modern Frisian is now spoken in only three remaining areas: (1) West Frisian, in the Dutch province of Friesland, including the island of Schiermonnikoog and two-thirds of the island of Terschelling (altogether some 400,000 speakers), (2) East Frisian, in the German Saterland (some 1,000 speakers; this area was apparently settled in the 12th or 13th century from the former East Frisian area to the north), and (3) North Frisian, along the west coast of German Schleswig and on the offshore islands of Sylt, Föhr, Amrum, the Halligen, and Helgoland (altogether some 8,000 speakers).</p><span class="marker MOD6 mod-inline"></span> <section data-level="2" id="ref74774"> <h2 class="h2">History</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD7 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The earliest manuscripts written in Frisian date from the end of the 13th century, though the legal documents that they contain were probably first composed, in part, as early as the 11th century. This stage of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/language" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">language</a>, until about 1575, is known as <span id="ref603790"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Old-Frisian-language" class="md-crosslink ">Old Frisian</a>. The last written document of this period dates from 1573, after which Frisian was relatively little used as a written language for some three centuries.</p><div class="module-spacing"> <DIV class="marketing-INLINE_SUBSCRIPTION marketing-content" data-marketing-id="INLINE_SUBSCRIPTION"><style> .student-promo-banner-wrapper { container-type: inline-size; margin-bottom: 15px; } @container (min-width: 475px) { .student-promo-banner { flex-direction: row; } .student-promo-banner-img-wrapper { margin-bottom: 0; margin-right: 10px; justify-content: flex-start; } .student-promo-banner-text-wrapper { text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; } .student-promo-banner-button-wrapper { margin-right: 0; } }</style> <div class="student-promo-banner-wrapper"> <div class="student-promo-banner d-flex flex-column align-items-center bg-blue rounded p-20"> <div class="student-promo-banner-img-wrapper mb-20 mr-0 d-flex justify-content-center"> <img class="rounded" style="max-width: 100px; min-width: 80px" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/marketing/BlueThistle.webp" /> </div> <div class="student-promo-banner-text-wrapper ml-0 mb-10 text-center text-white"> <div class="h2 mb-10">Get Unlimited Access</div> <div class="h4 font-weight-semi-bold">Try Britannica Premium for free and discover more.</div> </div> <div class="student-promo-banner-button-wrapper d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center ml-auto mr-auto"> <a class="btn btn-m btn-orange" href="https://premium.britannica.com/premium-membership/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=inline-cta&utm_campaign=august-2024">Subscribe</a> </div> </div> </div> </DIV></div><span class="marker MOD7 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD8 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">From the start Old Frisian shows all the features that distinguish English and Frisian from the other Germanic languages. These include loss of the nasal sound before <span id="ref603791"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Proto-Germanic-language" class="md-crosslink ">Proto-Germanic</a> *<em>f</em>, *<em>þ</em>, and *<em>s</em> (e.g., Proto-Germanic *<em>fimf, *munþ-</em>, and *<em>uns</em> became Old Frisian <em>fīf</em> ‘five,’ <em>mūth</em> ‘mouth,’ and <em>ūs</em> ‘us’), palatalization of Proto-Germanic *<em>k</em> before front vowels and *<em>j</em> (e.g., Proto-Germanic *<em>kinn-</em> and *<em>lē</em><sup>1</sup><em>kj-</em> became Old Frisian <em>tzin</em> ‘chin’ and <em>lētza</em> ‘physician’ [compare English <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="archaic" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/archaic" data-type="MW">archaic</a> <em>leech</em>]), and palatalization of Proto-Germanic *<em>ǥ</em> before front vowels (e.g., Proto-Germanic *<em>ǥeldan-</em> became Old Frisian <em>ielda</em> ‘yield’). This merged with the <em>j</em> from Proto-Germanic *<em>j</em>, as in Proto-Germanic *<em>jē</em><sup>1</sup><em>r-</em> or Old Frisian <em>iēr</em> ‘year.’ In addition, Old Frisian shows palatalization of <em>gg</em> from Proto-Germanic *<em>g</em> before <em>j</em> (e.g., Proto-Germanic *<em>la</em><em>ǥjan-</em>, with doubling *<em>laggjan</em>, became Old Frisian <em>ledza</em> ‘to lay’); a front vowel for Proto-Germanic *<em>ē</em><sup>1</sup>, as in Proto-Germanic *<em>dē[eth]</em>, Old Frisian <em>dēd</em>; and backing and raising of nasalized <em>ã</em> from Proto-Germanic *<em>ã</em> and Proto-Germanic *<em>a</em> before nasal plus *<em>f</em>, *<em>þ</em>, *<em>s</em>, as in Proto-Germanic *<em>brãxt-, *anþar-</em>, and *<em>gans-</em>, which became Old Frisian <em>brocht</em> ‘brought,’ <em>ōther</em> ‘other,’ and <em>gōs</em> ‘goose.’</p><span class="marker MOD8 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD9 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">About the beginning of the 19th century it appeared that the age-old replacement of Frisian by Dutch and Low German would continue unabated and that the language would soon become extinct. But with 19th-century Romanticism a new interest in local life arose, and societies were formed for the preservation of the Frisian language and <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="culture" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/culture" data-type="MW">culture</a>. Very slowly, the aims of this “Frisian movement” came to be realized, especially in the Netherlands province of Friesland, where in 1937 Frisian was accepted as an optional course in elementary schools; a Frisian Academy was founded in 1938; and in 1943 the first Frisian translation of the Bible was published. In 1955 Frisian was approved as the language of instruction in the first two years of elementary school (though only about one-fourth of all schools use it in this way), and in 1956 the use of Frisian in courts of law was approved.</p><span class="marker MOD9 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD10 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Despite this gradual reemergence of Frisian, <span id="ref603792"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Dutch-language" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Dutch</a> still functions as the primary standard language of Friesland. Nearly all school instruction is given in Dutch; all daily newspapers are printed in Dutch (though they contain occasional articles in Frisian); and the majority of television and radio broadcasts are in Dutch. There is a small and enthusiastic Frisian literary movement, but its works are not widely read. Furthermore, though Frisian continues to be widely used as the language of everyday oral <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/communication" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">communication</a>, it is increasingly a “Dutch” Frisian, with numerous borrowings from standard Dutch.</p><span class="marker MOD10 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD11 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The status of Frisian in the East and North Frisian areas of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Germany" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Germany</a> is far more <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="tenuous" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tenuous" data-type="MW">tenuous</a>. There German performs all the functions of a standard language, and Frisian serves only as yet another local <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/dialect" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">dialect</a>, comparable to the many surrounding local dialects of Low German. No standard North Frisian or East Frisian exists.</p><span class="marker MOD11 mod-inline"></span> </section> <section data-level="2" id="ref74775"> <h2 class="h2">Characteristics</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD12 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The following remarks refer to the more or less standard <span id="ref603793"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/West-Frisian-language" class="md-crosslink ">West Frisian</a> that is developing in the province of Friesland.</p><span class="marker MOD12 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD13 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Frisian has the following system of <span id="ref603794"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/consonant" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">consonants</a>, given here in the usual spellings: stops, <em>p, b, t, d, k, g</em>; fricatives, <em>f, v, s, z, ch, g</em>; nasals, <em>m, n, ng</em>; liquids, <em>l, r</em>; and glides, <em>w, h, j</em>. Examples (given here in part to show the close relationship between Frisian and English) include <em>p, t</em>, and <em>k</em> (unaspirated) in <em>peal</em> ‘pole,’ <em>twa</em> ‘two,’ and <em>kat</em> ‘cat’; <em>b, d</em>, and the stop symbolized by the letter <em>g</em> in <em>boi</em> ‘boy,’ <em>dei</em> ‘day,’ and <em>goed</em> ‘good’; <em>f, s</em>, and <em>ch</em> in <em>fiif</em> ‘five,’ <em>seis</em> ‘six,’ and <em>acht</em> ‘eight’; <em>v, z</em>, and the fricative symbolized by the letter <em>g</em> in <em>tolve</em> ‘twelve,’ <em>tûzen</em> ‘thousand,’ and <em>wegen</em> ‘ways’; <em>m, n</em>, and <em>ng</em> in <em>miel</em> ‘meal,’ <em>need</em> ‘need,’ and <em>ring</em> ‘ring’; <em>l</em> and <em>r</em> in <em>laem</em> ‘lamb’ and <em>reep</em> ‘rope’; <em>w, h</em>, and <em>j</em> in <em>wy</em> ‘we,’ <em>hy</em> ‘he,’ and <em>jo</em> ‘you.’ As the final letter of a word, voiced <em>b, d, z</em>, and <em>g</em> are generally unvoiced to <em>p, t, s</em>, and <em>ch</em>.</p><span class="marker MOD13 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD14 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Frisian has the system of stressed vowels and diphthongs shown in the <a class="btn btn-blue btn-sm mt-10 font-sans-serif" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/09/2009-004-C826C121/Vowel-System-Frisian.jpg" target="_blank">Click Here to see full-size table</a><span class="inline-table-wrapper overflow-auto"><span class="inline-table md-drag"><img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/09/2009-004-C826C121/Vowel-System-Frisian.jpg" alt="vowel system of Frisian" width="512" height="165"></span></span>table. The symbols given in the table refer to the actual sounds rather than to Frisian spellings, which are often irregular. Frisian also has an unstressed vowel <em>ə</em> (pronounced as the <em>a</em> in English <em>sofa</em>), which occurs only in unstressed syllables.</p><span class="marker MOD14 mod-inline"></span> </section> <section data-level="2" id="ref74776"> <h2 class="h2">Dialects</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD15 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The Frisian dialects of the Netherlands province of Friesland are, with three exceptions, relatively uniform, though it is customary to make a distinction between Wouden Frisian in the east, Klei Frisian in the west (the variety on which standard Frisian is largely based), and Southwest Corner Frisian in the southwest. The three exceptions are the island <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="dialect" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dialect" data-type="MW">dialect</a> of East and West Terschelling and the dialects of the city of Hindeloopen and of the island of Schiermonnikoog. These latter two differ so greatly that they are not intelligible to other speakers of West Frisian and are both dying out. Quite different from any of these is the so-called <span id="ref603795"></span>City Frisian (Stedfrysk, or Stedsk) spoken in the cities of Leeuwarden, Franeker, Harlingen, Bolsward, Sneek, Staveren, and Dokkum. Despite the name, this is not Frisian at all but a variety of Dutch strongly influenced by Frisian. Similar in nature are the dialects of Heerenveen and Kollum, of the middle section of the island of Terschelling, and of Het Bildt (a coastal area northwest of Leeuwarden, diked in and settled by Hollanders during the 16th century).</p><span class="marker MOD15 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD16 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><span id="ref603796"></span>East Frisian survives today only in the German Saterland, consisting of the three parishes of Ramsloh, Strücklingen, and Scharrel, each with a slightly different dialect. The area to the north is called East Frisia (German Ostfriesland), and the local dialect East Frisian (German Ostfriesisch), although it is actually not Frisian but the local variety of Low German.</p><div class="one-good-fact-module"> </div><span class="marker MOD16 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD17 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Though <span id="ref603797"></span>North Frisian is spoken in only a small geographic area by only some 8,000 persons, it exists in an extraordinary number of local <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="dialects" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/dialects" data-type="EB">dialects</a>, some of which are mutually unintelligible. Because of this, it would be almost impossible to develop a single standard North Frisian that could be used throughout this area. North Frisian dialects are customarily divided into Insular North Frisian (Sylt, Föhr-Amrum, Helgoland) and Continental North Frisian (the Halligen Islands and the coast of Schleswig), the latter in seven main varieties and further subvarieties. Because this linguistic area long bordered on Danish, it was extensively influenced by the neighbouring Danish dialects. In more recent times it has been heavily influenced by German, both standard German and the neighbouring Low German dialects. Today all speakers of North Frisian are bilingual or trilingual; all learn Frisian at home and standard German in school, and many also learn dialectal Low German.</p><span class="marker MOD17 mod-inline"></span> </section> </section> <span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article> </div> </div> </div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script type="text/javascript" id="_informizely_script_tag"> var IzWidget = IzWidget || {}; (function (d) { var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node); } )(document); </script>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":4,"pageId":640154,"pageLength":1603,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-133/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.133.9"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-133/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.133.9' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"B","adLeg":"B","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"PAGINATED","gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":true} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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West Germanic languages | Definition, Map, Countries, Tree, Origin, & Facts | Britannica