Frisian and Low Saxon in flux

Raoul Buurke

    Research output: ThesisThesis fully internal (DIV)

    Abstract

    Frisian and Low Saxon are regional languages in the northern and eastern Netherlands. We investigated how many people speak these languages nowadays and how often they are passed on from parents to children. It became clear that Frisian is more widely in use in the province of Fryslân than Low Saxon is in the provinces of Groningen and Drenthe, especially among younger generations. Frisian-speaking parents pass on their regional language more often than Low Saxon-speaking parents, especially when they use the language frequently and their partner speaks Frisian.

    We also investigated how much the pronunciation of Frisian and Low Saxon varieties changed over time, because earlier studies showed evidence of increasing Standard Dutch influence in these regional varieties. To investigate this, we asked regional language users to translate Standard Dutch words into their own local language variety in 32 locations across the northern and eastern Netherlands. This type of research was already done in the 1980s, and we collected new data using a mobile laboratory in the 2020s, after which we could compare the pronunciations of the same target words. We found that Frisian and northern Low Saxon varieties had become more similar over time. For the more southern Low Saxon varieties, the pronunciation patterns became less similar between neighboring dialects. These findings indicate that more regional (instead of local) pronunciation patterns may be emerging in the northern Netherlands, but there is no evidence for this in the southern Low Saxon areas.
    Original languageEnglish
    QualificationDoctor of Philosophy
    Awarding Institution
    • University of Groningen
    Supervisors/Advisors
    • Wieling, Martijn, Supervisor
    • Knooihuizen, Remco, Co-supervisor
    • Heeringa, Wilbert, Co-supervisor
    Award date13-Feb-2025
    Place of Publication[Groningen]
    Publisher
    Print ISBNs978-94-6473-710-3
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2025

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