Brabantian
Encyclopedia
Brabantian or Brabantish, also Brabantic , is a dialect
Dialect
The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
group of the Dutch language
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
. It is named after the historical Duchy of Brabant
Duchy of Brabant
The Duchy of Brabant was a historical region in the Low Countries. Its territory consisted essentially of the three modern-day Belgian provinces of Flemish Brabant, Walloon Brabant and Antwerp, the Brussels-Capital Region and most of the present-day Dutch province of North Brabant.The Flag of...
which corresponded mainly to the Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
province of North Brabant
North Brabant
North Brabant , sometimes called Brabant, is a province of the Netherlands, located in the south of the country, bordered by Belgium in the south, the Meuse River in the north, Limburg in the east and Zeeland in the west.- History :...
, the Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
provinces of Antwerp
Antwerp (province)
Antwerp is the northernmost province both of the Flemish Region, also called Flanders, and of Belgium. It borders on the Netherlands and the Belgian provinces of Limburg, Flemish Brabant and East Flanders. Its capital is Antwerp which comprises the Port of Antwerp...
and Flemish Brabant
Flemish Brabant
Flemish Brabant is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on the Belgian provinces of Antwerp, Limburg, Liège, Walloon Brabant, Hainaut and East Flanders. Flemish Brabant also completely surrounds the Brussels-Capital Region. Its capital is Leuven...
, as well as the institutional Region of Brussels-Capital (where its native speakers have become a minority) and the province of Walloon Brabant
Walloon Brabant
Walloon Brabant is a province of Wallonia in Belgium. It borders on the province of Flemish Brabant and the provinces of Liège, Namur and Hainaut . Its capital is Wavre...
(where the use of French has caused the dialect to become extinct). Brabantian expands into small parts in the west of Limburg
Limburg (Belgium)
Limburg is the easternmost province of modern Flanders, which is one of the three main political and cultural sub-divisions of modern Belgium. It is located west of the river Meuse . It borders on the Dutch provinces of North Brabant and Limburg and the Belgian provinces of Liège, Flemish Brabant...
while its strong influence on the Flemish dialects in East-Flanders weakens towards the west. In the northwest of North Brabant (Willemstad
Willemstad (North Brabant)
Willemstad is a city in the Dutch province of North Brabant. It is located in the municipality of Moerdijk. Its population as of 2002 was 2,329....
), Hollandic
Hollandic
Hollandic or Hollandish is, together with Brabantian, the most frequently used dialect of the Dutch language. Other important Low Franconian language varieties spoken in the same area are Zeelandic, East Flemish, West Flemish and Limburgish....
is spoken. Conventionally, the South Guelderish
South Guelderish
South Guelderish refers to a group of dialects of the Dutch language which are spoken along the Nederrijn in the Netherlands and around the city of Cleves in Germany...
dialects are distinguished from Brabantian, though there are no objective criteria apart from geography to do this.
Because of the relatively large area in which Brabantian is spoken, it can be roughly divided in three sub-dialects:
- West Brabantian, spoken in the area west of the river Donge; in the west of North Brabant (the area around the cities Breda, Roosendaal, and Bergen op ZoomBergen op ZoomBergen op Zoom is a municipality and a city located in the south of the Netherlands.-History:Bergen op Zoom was granted city status probably in 1266. In 1287 the city and its surroundings became a lordship as it was separated from the lordship of Breda. The lordship was elevated to a margraviate...
) and in the north and west of the Province of Antwerp in Belgium. - East Brabantian, spoken in the area east of the river Donge; in the middle and east of North Brabant (the area around the cities TilburgTilburgTilburg is a landlocked municipality and a city in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of Noord-Brabant.Tilburg municipality also includes the villages of Berkel-Enschot and Udenhout....
, Eindhoven, 's-Hertogenbosch and HelmondHelmondHelmond is a municipality and a city in the province of North Brabant in the southern Netherlands.- Quarters and Neighbourhoods :*Quarter 11 Inner City**Neighbourhood 0 Centrum**Neighbourhood 2 Leonardus**Neighbourhood 3 Heipoort...
), the east of the Province of Antwerp and the far west of the Province of Limburg. - South Brabantian, spoken in the province of Flemish Brabant and the south of Antwerp.
Brabantian is not recognized as a minority language in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. Standard Dutch is partly based on Brabantian.
About one third of the Dutch-speaking population lives in the Brabantian dialect zone. In large Dutch towns such as Breda
Breda
Breda is a municipality and a city in the southern part of the Netherlands. The name Breda derived from brede Aa and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. As a fortified city, the city was of strategic military and political significance...
and Eindhoven, where there are many people of Hollandic descent speaking standard Dutch, Brabantian dialects have been largely abandoned, whereas in rural areas many people still speak the original dialect. Tilburg
Tilburg
Tilburg is a landlocked municipality and a city in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of Noord-Brabant.Tilburg municipality also includes the villages of Berkel-Enschot and Udenhout....
and 's-Hertogenbosch, however, have a large number of people speaking the Brabantian dialect.
In Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, dialects are still the common spoken language . In the capital of Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, French largely replaced Dutch in the middle of the 20th century. Despite this, there are many cultural activities using the Brussels dialect, and recently also at masses
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
in a church in Jette
Jette
Jette is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium.The Vrije Universiteit Brussel, the Dutch-speaking university of Brussels has built its hospital and medical campus in Jette, while its other buildings are in the so-called Etterbeek campus actually...
. Moreover, use of Dutch is reviving due to young Dutch-speaking families moving back from the suburbs toward the old city centre.
Differences
The Brabantian dialect is rather close to standard DutchDutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
. Brabantian uses a weak/soft "G". A characteristic phrase is "Houdoe", Take care, which becomes "Adagoe!", lit. 'keep yourself alright' in South Brabantian (tussentaal: 'Houd U goed!'), where colloquial Dutch/Hollandic
Hollandic
Hollandic or Hollandish is, together with Brabantian, the most frequently used dialect of the Dutch language. Other important Low Franconian language varieties spoken in the same area are Zeelandic, East Flemish, West Flemish and Limburgish....
uses "Doei" (Bye), also "Ale, salu(kes) e!" in South Brabantian, fashioned after the French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
"Allez!" and "Salut!", a greeting
Greeting
Greeting is an act of communication in which human beings intentionally make their presence known to each other, to show attention to, and to suggest a type of relationship or social status between individuals or groups of people coming in contact with each other...
originally.
Standardization
The first attempts on standardizing the Dutch language in the 1540s were based on the Brabantian dialect, specifically that of Antwerp and its surroundings. However, following the Dutch RevoltDutch Revolt
The Dutch Revolt or the Revolt of the Netherlands This article adopts 1568 as the starting date of the war, as this was the year of the first battles between armies. However, since there is a long period of Protestant vs...
, the Dutch economical and political focus shifted North, centering on the County of Holland
County of Holland
The County of Holland was a county in the Holy Roman Empire and from 1482 part of the Habsburg Netherlands in what is now the Netherlands. It covered an area roughly corresponding to the current Dutch provinces of North-Holland and South-Holland, as well as the islands of Terschelling, Vlieland,...
and the importance of Brabantian dwindled. More recent attempts to establish a Standard form of Brabantic have met little success. However, the new phenomenon of tussentaal is more and more widespread.
