West Flemish

This article is a part of the Dutch dialects series.

Brabantian Hollandic West Flemish Zealandic East Flemish Zuid-Gelders Dutch Low Saxon^] Limburgish

Position of West Flemish/Zealandic within the Dutch speaking area (mainland only)

West Flemish (West Flemish: Vlaemsch, Dutch: West-Vlaams, French: Flamand occidental) is a group of dialects spoken in parts of the Netherlands, Belgium, and France.

The West Flemish dialect is spoken by around 1.05 million people in West Flanders (in Belgium), 90,000 in the neighboring Dutch coastal district of Zeelandic Flanders, and approximately 20,000 in the northern part of the French département of Nord where it is classified as one of the Languages of France.

The dialects of the Dutch province of Zeeland, Zeelandic, are sometimes also classified under West Flemish Hollandic Dutch but this is sometimes disputed. The dialects of Zeelandic Flanders however do count as West Flemish variants. In fact, both dialects are linked by a dialect continuum which proceeds further north into Hollandic.

West Flemish is very different from standard Dutch in pronunciation as well as vocabulary and grammar, to the extent that it's quite unintelligible to Dutch speakers unaccustomed to the dialect. A simple phrase like "Ik ben gisteren nog bij hen geweest" (I was at their place only yesterday) will be pronounced as " 'k zyn histern no(c)h toet ulders (h)ewist".

A classic example is its unique conjugation of yes (ja) and no (nee):

jaok (ja ik = "Yes, I do", "Yes, I have", "Yes, I am", etc. in English)

jaog (ja gij = Yes, you do"... - singular)

jaoj / jaos / jaot (ja hij/zij/het = "Yes, he/she/it does"...)

jaow (ja wij = "Yes, we do"...)

jaog (ja gij = "Yes, you do"... - plural)

jaos (ja zij = "Yes, they do"...)

Brabantian or Brabantic (Brabantic: Braobans; Dutch: Brabants) is a dialect group of the Dutch language named after the historical Duchy of Brabant which corresponded mainly to the Dutch province of North Brabant, the
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Hollandic (Dutch: Hollands) is, together with Brabantic, the most frequently used dialect of the Dutch language. The other important Low Franconian dialects are East Flemish and West Flemish.

Originally in the later county of Holland Frisian was spoken.
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Zeelandic (Zeêuws in Zeelandic, Zeeuws in Dutch) is a regional language spoken in the Dutch province of Zeeland and on the South Holland island of Goeree-Overflakkee.
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East Flemish is a group of dialects of the Dutch language, which is a Low Franconian language. It is spoken in the province of East Flanders in Belgium, but also spoken in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen in the Netherlands.
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Zuid-Gelders (E: South Guelderish), or (G:) Kleverlãndisch (E.: Kleverlandish, from Land of Cleves), is a dialect of the Dutch language that is spoken on the edge of the Veluwe country, around Nijmegen, in the Bommelerwaard
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Dutch Low Saxon (Dutch Low Saxon: Nedersaksisch) is a dialect group that is spoken in the northeastern Netherlands. Roughly, the southwestern part speaks a Low Franconian language.
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Limburgish, or Limburgian or Limburgic (Dutch: Limburgs, German: Limburgisch, French: Limbourgeois) is a group of Franconian varieties, spoken in the Limburg and Rhineland regions, near the common Dutch / Belgian / German border.
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French (français, pronounced [fʁɑ̃ˈsɛ]) is a Romance language originally spoken in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Switzerland, and today by about 300 million people around the world as either
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Motto
"Je maintiendrai" (French)
"Ik zal handhaven" (Dutch)
"I shall stand fast"¹
Anthem
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Motto
Eendracht maakt macht (Dutch)
L'union fait la force" (French)
Einigkeit macht stark
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Motto
Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité
"Liberty, Equality, Fraternity"
Anthem
"La Marseillaise"

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West Flanders (Dutch: West-Vlaanderen) is the westernmost province of the Flemish Region, also named Flanders, in Belgium. It borders (clockwise from the North) on the Netherlands, the Flemish province of East Flanders (Oost-Vlaanderen
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Motto
"Je maintiendrai" (French)
"Ik zal handhaven" (Dutch)
"I shall stand fast"¹
Anthem
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Zeelandic Flanders (Dutch: ) is the southernmost region of the province of Zeeland in southwestern Netherlands. It lies south of the Western Scheldt that separates the region from the remainder of Zeeland to the north.
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Motto
Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité
"Liberty, Equality, Fraternity"
Anthem
"La Marseillaise"

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Administrative divisions of France

Main article

Regions

(incl. overseas regions)

Departments

(incl.
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Nord

Coat of arms of the Nord department
Location

Administration
Department number: 59
Region: Nord-Pas-de-Calais
Prefecture: Lille
Subprefectures: Avesnes-
sur-Helpe
Cambrai
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There are a number of languages of France. The French language is by far the most widely spoken and the only official language of France. Several regional languages are also spoken to varying degrees.
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Provincie Zeeland
Province of Zeeland

Flag Coat of arms

Capital Middelburg
Largest city Terneuzen
Queen's Commissioner Karla Peijs
Religion (1999) Protestant 35%
Catholic 23%
Area
• Land
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A dialect continuum is a range of dialects spoken across a large geographical area, differing only slightly between areas that are geographically close, and gradually decreasing in mutual intelligibility as the distances become greater.
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French Flemish (in English occasionally known by its Dutch name Frans-Vlaams) is a dialect of the Dutch language. It is spoken in the north of contemporary France and is considered part of the West Flemish dialect group.
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Flemish}}}
Official status
Official language of: Belgium (as Dutch)
Regulated by: Regional Parliament of Belgium
Language codes
ISO 639-1: Fl
ISO 639-2: flem
ISO 639-3: vdf

Flemish (Vlaams
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Main languages of Flemish emigrants:
they tend to quickly adopt the local language. Religions Predominantly Roman Catholic or Atheist/Non-religious Related ethnic groups

(In alphabetical order)
Afrikaners, Dutch.
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See also

External links