Names for the Dutch language
Encyclopedia
Because of the turbulent history of both the Netherlands and Belgium
(mostly because of the frequent change of economic and military power within the Low Countries), the names that other peoples have chosen to use to refer to the Dutch language
vary more than for most other languages. The modern Dutch name for the language is Nederlands.
In general, the names for the Dutch language can be arranged in seven groups according to their origin.
Note: Some languages use multiple forms.
and Flanders
is referred to as Dutch; or rarely as Netherlandic, a term with multiple meanings. Dutch as a word is derived from Middle Dutch
duutsch, dūtsch and was originally applied to continental West-Germanic speakers, be it of Dutch, Frisian
or German
origin. By 1600, it had come to be used exclusively as the language spoken in Flanders and the current Netherlands. The exclusive use of Dutch for the people of the Netherlands occurred after the Dutch formed an independent state and became the focus of English commercial rivalry.
s in German, which still uses one of the German variants - Deutsch - as the name of the German language
. The late 16th century, influenced by an expanded worldview and beginnings of (semi-) modern linguistics, saw the addition of the prefix Neder-, thus creating Nederduits. The approximate meaning of Nederduits is common language of the Lowlands; its usage and meaning illustrated by the quote below;
Until the middle of the 18th century, this term was quite popular among both scholars and writers of literature.
Not only because it was perceived as modern, but also because Neder also means humble in Dutch, thus invoking the sense of a humble language, forming a wordplay, which appealed to the highly religious Dutch people of the time.
Nederduits mistakenly looked like it then meant Low German, which is the literal translation of the word in contemporary Dutch. This was caused by the emergence of modern Germanic linguistic studies in Germany during the 19th century, which used the term Niederdeutsch for the Germanic languages/dialects which did not experience the second Germanic sound shift. Dutch linguists subsequently calque
d the terminology, and used Nederduits as its translation.
Until the late 18th century, Diets (and variants) remained the most common forms to refer to the Dutch language. The use of the term Nederlands, which eventually replaced its synonyms in Dutch, is first attested to in a work printed at Gouda
in 1482. After that, Nederlands began to replace them as the main form. Diets was already rarely used several decades prior to the Second World War, but disappeared completely from everyday use following 1945 because Dutch fascists, during German occupation, had used the term extensively in their propaganda, attempting to invoke (through its common etymological origin with a link with Deutsch) linkage to a "Greater Germanic race".
, from Middle Dutch
vlāmisch, vlemesch "Fleming, Flemish person".
The English
word "Dutch" is derived from the Middle Dutch word "duutsch". Old English itself had the related word "þeod", meaning "people, race or nation", which derives from Proto Germanic "*theudo". Originally this word was used to indicate all continental Germanic people who spoke a West Germanic language
, but was later restricted to the Dutch language
and the Dutch people
.
, which later gave the two early modern Dutch forms, Duits in the County of Holland and the Duchy of Brabant, and Diets in the County of Flanders. Duits has taken on the meaning of "German" and Diets
meaning "Dutch" (along with "Nederlands") but no longer in general use (see the Diets
article), dropped for its Nazi-era overtones. German
Deutsch meaning "German" has the same origin.
The English word Dutch has also changed with time. It was only around 1550, with growing cultural and economic contacts and the rise of an independent country, that the modern meaning arose, i.e., 'designating the people of the Netherlands or their language'. Prior to this, the meaning was more general and could refer to any Germanic-speaking area or the languages there (including the current Germany
, Austria, and Switzerland as well as the Netherlands). For example:
in which the Netherlands became a world power
and established their empire
, the province of Holland was the richest and most influential. Also, foreign visitors often only stayed in the province of Holland. Hence the language
of the Dutch is often named after this province
.
From Dutch Hollands:
" (literal translations of Dutch Nederlands):
Some language
s have literally translated
"Language of the Low Countries", as in the English
word "Nether-land-ic" meaning "(of the) Low Countries".
From or cognate with "Netherlands" (Dutch Nederlands referring to Nederland or (de) Nederlanden):
In Dutch "Nederland" refers to the country the Netherlands"; however, "Nederlands" (Dutch) does not refer to the "language of the country of the Netherlands", but rather "language of the Low Countries
(including Flanders)".
Many languages have a word for the Dutch language derived from this word (such as French
), or have a cognate (such as West Frisian
).
" (Dutch Vlaams) or from the region this refers to: "Flanders
" (Dutch Vlaanderen)
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...
(mostly because of the frequent change of economic and military power within the Low Countries), the names that other peoples have chosen to use to refer to 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...
vary more than for most other languages. The modern Dutch name for the language is Nederlands.
In general, the names for the Dutch language can be arranged in seven groups according to their origin.
Note: Some languages use multiple forms.
Historical overview
In English the language of the people of the NetherlandsNetherlands
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...
and Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
is referred to as Dutch; or rarely as Netherlandic, a term with multiple meanings. Dutch as a word is derived from Middle Dutch
Middle Dutch
Middle Dutch is a collective name for a number of closely related West Germanic dialects which were spoken and written between 1150 and 1500...
duutsch, dūtsch and was originally applied to continental West-Germanic speakers, be it of Dutch, Frisian
West Frisian language
West Frisian is a language spoken mostly in the province of Friesland in the north of the Netherlands. West Frisian is the name by which this language is usually known outside the Netherlands, to distinguish it from the closely related Frisian languages of Saterland Frisian and North Frisian,...
or German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
origin. By 1600, it had come to be used exclusively as the language spoken in Flanders and the current Netherlands. The exclusive use of Dutch for the people of the Netherlands occurred after the Dutch formed an independent state and became the focus of English commercial rivalry.
The origin of the name Nederlands
In modern Dutch, the language is called Nederlands, which derives from "neder" (meaning low, or low-lying) and land, with the adjective-forming suffix -isch attached. In principle, Nederland could be used for any lowland region, but historically the use of Nederland became more restricted as a proper name for the Dutch country.From Dūtsch to Nederlands
Before the appearance of Nederlands, several variations on Diets (Northern) and Duuts (Southern) were used to refer to the Dutch language by its speakers. Etymologically, these all mean common language or (language) of the common people, and was meant to create a distinction between Latin, which was at the time the language of science, nobility and the Church. These terms also had cognateCognate
In linguistics, cognates are words that have a common etymological origin. This learned term derives from the Latin cognatus . Cognates within the same language are called doublets. Strictly speaking, loanwords from another language are usually not meant by the term, e.g...
s in German, which still uses one of the German variants - Deutsch - as the name of the German language
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
. The late 16th century, influenced by an expanded worldview and beginnings of (semi-) modern linguistics, saw the addition of the prefix Neder-, thus creating Nederduits. The approximate meaning of Nederduits is common language of the Lowlands; its usage and meaning illustrated by the quote below;
Neemt hy voor in Nederduitsch , zijn moederlijcke tale te zingen; des hoeft hy zich zoo luttel te schamen als de Hebreen, Griecken, Latijnen ... Wat onze spraeck belangt, die is, sedert weinige jaren herwaert, van bastertwoorden en onduits allengs geschuimt, en gebouwt, en geeft den leerling nu veel vooruit
["If he decides to sing in Dutch, his mother tongue, he needs to be no more ashamed of it than the Hebrews, Greeks, Romans ... As concerns our own language, in recent years it has been cleansed of loan words and un-Dutch usage, improved, and now gives the pupil great advantage"]
Joost van den VondelJoost van den VondelJoost van den Vondel was a Dutch writer and playwright. He is considered the most prominent Dutch poet and playwright of the 17th century. His plays are the ones from that period that are still most frequently performed, and his epic Joannes de Boetgezant , on the life of John the Baptist, has...
, Aenleidinge ter Nederduitsche Dichtkunste, 1650.
Until the middle of the 18th century, this term was quite popular among both scholars and writers of literature.
Not only because it was perceived as modern, but also because Neder also means humble in Dutch, thus invoking the sense of a humble language, forming a wordplay, which appealed to the highly religious Dutch people of the time.
Nederduits mistakenly looked like it then meant Low German, which is the literal translation of the word in contemporary Dutch. This was caused by the emergence of modern Germanic linguistic studies in Germany during the 19th century, which used the term Niederdeutsch for the Germanic languages/dialects which did not experience the second Germanic sound shift. Dutch linguists subsequently calque
Calque
In linguistics, a calque or loan translation is a word or phrase borrowed from another language by literal, word-for-word or root-for-root translation.-Calque:...
d the terminology, and used Nederduits as its translation.
Until the late 18th century, Diets (and variants) remained the most common forms to refer to the Dutch language. The use of the term Nederlands, which eventually replaced its synonyms in Dutch, is first attested to in a work printed at Gouda
Gouda
Gouda is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. Gouda, which was granted city rights in 1272, is famous for its Gouda cheese, smoking pipes, and 15th-century city hall....
in 1482. After that, Nederlands began to replace them as the main form. Diets was already rarely used several decades prior to the Second World War, but disappeared completely from everyday use following 1945 because Dutch fascists, during German occupation, had used the term extensively in their propaganda, attempting to invoke (through its common etymological origin with a link with Deutsch) linkage to a "Greater Germanic race".
Flemish
The term Flemish (Vlaams) is used to describe the majority of Dutch dialects found in Belgium. It is derived from the name of the County of FlandersCounty of Flanders
The County of Flanders was one of the territories constituting the Low Countries. The county existed from 862 to 1795. It was one of the original secular fiefs of France and for centuries was one of the most affluent regions in Europe....
, from Middle Dutch
Middle Dutch
Middle Dutch is a collective name for a number of closely related West Germanic dialects which were spoken and written between 1150 and 1500...
vlāmisch, vlemesch "Fleming, Flemish person".
Dutch
From Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz, "folk":
|
The English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
word "Dutch" is derived from the Middle Dutch word "duutsch". Old English itself had the related word "þeod", meaning "people, race or nation", which derives from Proto Germanic "*theudo". Originally this word was used to indicate all continental Germanic people who spoke a West Germanic language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
, but was later restricted to 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...
and the Dutch people
Dutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
.
Etymology
The word Dutch comes from the proto-Germanic word *þiudiskaz, and became Duutsc in Middle DutchMiddle Dutch
Middle Dutch is a collective name for a number of closely related West Germanic dialects which were spoken and written between 1150 and 1500...
, which later gave the two early modern Dutch forms, Duits in the County of Holland and the Duchy of Brabant, and Diets in the County of Flanders. Duits has taken on the meaning of "German" and Diets
Dietsch
-Languages:*German *Middle Dutch*Low German including Dutch*Low German excluding Dutch by definition*Low Dietsch, transitional Limburgish-Ripuarian dialects-People:* John Dietsch, author on the subject of fly fishing...
meaning "Dutch" (along with "Nederlands") but no longer in general use (see the Diets
Dietsch
-Languages:*German *Middle Dutch*Low German including Dutch*Low German excluding Dutch by definition*Low Dietsch, transitional Limburgish-Ripuarian dialects-People:* John Dietsch, author on the subject of fly fishing...
article), dropped for its Nazi-era overtones. German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
Deutsch meaning "German" has the same origin.
The English word Dutch has also changed with time. It was only around 1550, with growing cultural and economic contacts and the rise of an independent country, that the modern meaning arose, i.e., 'designating the people of the Netherlands or their language'. Prior to this, the meaning was more general and could refer to any Germanic-speaking area or the languages there (including the current Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Austria, and Switzerland as well as the Netherlands). For example:
- William CaxtonWilliam CaxtonWilliam Caxton was an English merchant, diplomat, writer and printer. As far as is known, he was the first English person to work as a printer and the first to introduce a printing press into England...
(c. 1422–91) wrote in his Prologue to his Aeneids in 1490 that an old English text was more akin to Dutche than English. In his notes, Professor W.F. Bolton makes clear that this word means German in general rather than Dutch.
- In four books containing the Chronography and History of the whole world, Vol. II (London, 1677: 154) contains "…the Dutch call Leibnitz," adding that Dutch is spoken in the parts of Hungary adjoining to Germany.
Language of Holland
During the Dutch golden ageDutch Golden Age
The Golden Age was a period in Dutch history, roughly spanning the 17th century, in which Dutch trade, science, military and art were among the most acclaimed in the world. The first half is characterised by the Eighty Years' War till 1648...
in which the Netherlands became a world power
World Power
World Power is the debut album of German Eurodance project Snap!, released in 1990 on Bookmark/Ariola Records. The album received generally positive reviews from music critics, as the project's musical style and its vocalists, Turbo B and Penny "Tiny" Ford, were well-received...
and established their empire
Dutch Empire
The Dutch Empire consisted of the overseas territories controlled by the Dutch Republic and later, the modern Netherlands from the 17th to the 20th century. The Dutch followed Portugal and Spain in establishing an overseas colonial empire, but based on military conquest of already-existing...
, the province of Holland was the richest and most influential. Also, foreign visitors often only stayed in the province of Holland. Hence the language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
of the Dutch is often named after this province
Province
A province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state.-Etymology:The English word "province" is attested since about 1330 and derives from the 13th-century Old French "province," which itself comes from the Latin word "provincia," which referred to...
.
From Dutch Hollands:
|
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Lithuanian language Lithuanian is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognized as one of the official languages of the European Union. There are about 2.96 million native Lithuanian speakers in Lithuania and about 170,000 abroad. Lithuanian is a Baltic language, closely related to Latvian, although they... : Olandų kalba Maltese language Maltese is the national language of Malta, and a co-official language of the country alongside English,while also serving as an official language of the European Union, the only Semitic language so distinguished. Maltese is descended from Siculo-Arabic... : Olandiż Persian language Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence... : holandi Polish language Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries... : holenderski Portuguese language Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095... : holandês Romanian language Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova... : olandeză Russian language Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics... : Голландский (Gollandskij) Serbian language Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries.... : холандски (holandski) Slovak language Slovak , is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages .Slovak is the official language of Slovakia, where it is spoken by 5 million people... : holandčina Spanish language Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the... : holandés Swedish language Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish... : holländska Turkish language Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,... : hollandaca Ukrainian language Ukrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet.... : голандська (holandska) Vietnamese language Vietnamese is the national and official language of Vietnam. It is the mother tongue of 86% of Vietnam's population, and of about three million overseas Vietnamese. It is also spoken as a second language by many ethnic minorities of Vietnam... : tiêng Hoà-lan |
Language of the Low Countries
From "Low CountriesLow Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
" (literal translations of Dutch Nederlands):
Some language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
s have literally translated
Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
"Language of the Low Countries", as in the English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
word "Nether-land-ic" meaning "(of the) Low Countries".
|
From or cognate with "Netherlands" (Dutch Nederlands referring to Nederland or (de) Nederlanden):
|
German language German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union.... : Niederländisch Interlingua Interlingua is an international auxiliary language , developed between 1937 and 1951 by the International Auxiliary Language Association... : nederlandese Italian language Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia... : Nederlandese Latin Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and... : Nederlandiensis Latvian language Latvian is the official state language of Latvia. It is also sometimes referred to as Lettish. There are about 1.4 million native Latvian speakers in Latvia and about 150,000 abroad. The Latvian language has a relatively large number of non-native speakers, atypical for a small language... : nīderlandiešu valoda Dutch Low Saxon Dutch Low Saxon is a group of Low Saxon, i.e. West Low German dialects spoken in the northeastern Netherlands. In comparison, the remainder of the Netherlands speak a collection of Low Franconian dialects.The class "Dutch Low Saxon" is not unanimous... : Nederlannsch Norwegian language Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language... : Nederlandsk |
Polish language Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries... : niderlandzki Portuguese language Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095... : neerlandês Romanian language Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova... : neerlandeză Russian language Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics... : Нидерландский (Niderlandskij) Spanish language Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the... : neerlandés Swedish language Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish... : nederländska Ukrainian language Ukrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet.... : нідерландська (niderlandska) West Frisian language West Frisian is a language spoken mostly in the province of Friesland in the north of the Netherlands. West Frisian is the name by which this language is usually known outside the Netherlands, to distinguish it from the closely related Frisian languages of Saterland Frisian and North Frisian,... : Nederlânsk |
In Dutch "Nederland" refers to the country the Netherlands"; however, "Nederlands" (Dutch) does not refer to the "language of the country of the Netherlands", but rather "language of the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
(including Flanders)".
Many languages have a word for the Dutch language derived from this word (such as 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...
), or have a cognate (such as West Frisian
West Frisian language
West Frisian is a language spoken mostly in the province of Friesland in the north of the Netherlands. West Frisian is the name by which this language is usually known outside the Netherlands, to distinguish it from the closely related Frisian languages of Saterland Frisian and North Frisian,...
).
Language of Flanders
From "FlemishFlemish
Flemish can refer to anything related to Flanders, and may refer directly to the following articles:*Flemish, an informal, though linguistically incorrect, name of any kind of the Dutch language as spoken in Belgium....
" (Dutch Vlaams) or from the region this refers to: "Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
" (Dutch Vlaanderen)
|