Frisian Language
Frisian is a West Germanic language primarily spoken in the Netherlands and Germany, with three main classifications: West Frisian (Frysk), East Frisian (Seeltersk), and North Frisian (Frasch), each containing numerous dialects. Although Frisian has historical significance, dating back to the Frisians' seafaring civilization between 400 and 200 BCE, many of its dialects are currently endangered due to declining speaker numbers and the influence of Dutch and German. West Frisian is recognized as an official minority language in the Dutch province of Friesland, where it is taught in schools and used in legal contexts, with approximately 450,000 speakers. In contrast, North Frisian has around 8,000 speakers in Schleswig-Holstein, while East Frisian has about 2,000 speakers, both facing significant pressures from dominant languages. The European Languages Charter acknowledges the need for the preservation of Frisian languages, prompting efforts to protect and promote these minority languages amid cultural shifts. Historically, Frisian played a vital role in trade across the North and Baltic Seas, but its usage has diminished, particularly after the 16th century, when Dutch became the dominant language in education and administration. Today, Frisian communities exist worldwide, stemming from 19th-century emigration, particularly in North America and Australia.
Frisian Language
Frisian is a West Germanic language spoken in the Netherlands and Germany. Frisian is categorized in geographical terms: West Frisian (or Frysk), East Frisian (or Seeltersk), and North Frisian (or Frasch, Fresk, Freesk, or Friisk). Within these three groups are more than twenty dialects. Many Frisian dialects are threatened, which means they are fading into obscurity and extinction in the twenty-first century. In Frisian-speaking regions of Germany in particular, fewer people speak Frisian in each generation.
The European Languages Charter officially recognizes the surviving variations of Frisian; however, the North Frisian and East Frisian are jeopardized by the encroachment of Dutch and German, respectively. Steps have been taken to preserve, protect, and promote these minority languages. The Dutch Parliament voted unanimously on June 4, 2013, to confirm Frisian as the second official language of the Netherlands.
History and Classification
Frisian is Germanic with heavy Dutch influences. It belongs to the West Germanic family along with German, Afrikaans, Dutch, Yiddish, and English. The Germanic languages hail from the Indo-European linguistic group, which is the largest family of languages in the world.
People first settled in the region that became the province of Friesland (or Fryslân) between 400 and 200 BCE. Records from the first century CE indicate that the Frisians settled near the mouth of the Rhine and were a seafaring civilization filled with pirates and traders.
By the fifth century, tribes such as the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes traveled from this region. Coastal dwellers and sailors spoke Frisian, which became the common language of a large population of Germanic tribes who eventually settled in the British Isles. Frisian was an important language for trade and commerce throughout the North and Baltic Seas. The Frisians’ power base was located at Dorestad, near Utrecht, but the Frisians’ influence waned under attacks and influence from the Vikings and Franks.
In the eighth century, the Holy Roman Empire absorbed Friesland, and Latin began to influence the Frisian language, although the province remained mostly autonomous. It is presumed that Frisian laws and traditions were maintained through an oral tradition before being written down in Latin during later periods. By 1289, the Counts of Holland had absorbed West Friesland, and the area had become Dutch both linguistically and culturally. In the sixteenth century, the western Frisians joined the Dutch United Provinces to revolt against the Spanish Hapsburgs, and Dutch became the official language, thereby replacing Frisian in areas of education, administration, religion, and culture. It was not until the nineteenth century that Frisian began to gradually regain ground as an official language.
The remainder of Friesland remained autonomous from the far-off Roman Empire. By 1498, however, the region had been absorbed first by Saxony and then by Burgundy. During the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, Middle Friesland formed a united group of agrarian states. The Prussians absorbed the eastern region in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Old Frisian is categorized as a variation of the language lasting from 1300 to 1550. It shows all the distinguishing features that characterize Frisian from other Germanic languages. Middle Frisian dates from about 1550 to 1800, a period of Frisian revival. The current standardized Frisian developed around 1830.
Geographic Distribution and Modern Usage
Historically, Frisians resided on the European lowland coast where Northern Germany and the Netherlands are located today. They later expanded their reach to the western coast of the Jutish peninsula.
Many Frisian-speaking peoples emigrated from Europe during the nineteenth century and settled in North America, Australia, and New Zealand. Frisian immigrants to the United States were mostly dairy farmers whose skills were jeopardized by the arrival of mechanized agriculture. Many chose to move and form Frisian communities in the Midwest, Washington state, Montana, and California in hopes of recreating what they had lost.
West Frisian (Frysk) is an official minority language spoken by about 450,000 people in the Dutch province of Friesland (Fryslân). In Friesland, the Frisian language is taught in schools and also is used for legal and administrative purposes, but all Frisian-speakers are bilingual in Dutch. West Frisian can be further divided into a number of different dialects.
Around eight thousand people in the Schleswig-Holstein region of Germany, in the rural district of North Frisia (Nordfriesland) and the islands of Sylt, Föhr, Amrum, and Heligoland and the Halligen archipelago speak North Frisian. Nine different dialects of North Frisian exist, all of which are being replaced by German and none of which have official status in Germany. The Frisian Islands have their own dialects that are not only different from one another but also different from those on the mainland. The language is taught to some extent in schools and occasionally appears in German newspapers, literature, theater, and radio.
Between Oldenburg and Lower Saxony, the population of East Frisian speakers, which is dwindling, is about two thousand. Primary schools and kindergartens in the region offer basic lessons in East Frisian, but little is published or produced in the language. The German language has come to dominate the region.
Bibliography
Dalby, Andrew. "Frisian." Dictionary of Languages. London, UK: A&C Black, 2004. Print.
"Frisians." Cassell’s Peoples, Nations and Cultures. Ed. John Mackenzie. London, UK: Cassell, 2005. Print.
"The Frisians in the Netherlands." Language Diversity. Fuen.org. 2013. Web. 19 Aug. 2015. http://language-diversity.eu/en/knowledge/regions-of-europe/die-westfriesen-in-den-niederlanden/
Hahn, Reinhard F. "Frisian." Lowlands-L.net. Lowlands-L Anniversary Celebration. Web. 19 Aug. 2015. http://www.lowlands-l.net/anniversary/frysk-info.php
"History of the Germanic Languages." The Arctic University of Norway. 2001. Web. 19 Aug. 2015. http://www.hum.uit.no/a/svenonius/lingua/history/histgerm.html
Markey, Thomas L. Trends in Linguistics. State-of-the-Art Reports: Frisian. Munich, Germany: Walter de Gruyter, 2011. 52–257. Web. 19 Aug. 2015. http://www.ebrary.com
Smith, Laura Catharine. "Old Frisian: Renewed Interest in an ‘Old’ Germanic Language." Diachronica 29.1 (2012): 98–115. Web. 19 Aug. 2015. https://benjamins.com/#catalog/journals/dia.29.1.04smi/fulltext
Tintle, Rhonda. "Frisians." Encyclopedia of Immigration and Migration in the American West. Ed. Gordon Morris Bakken and Alexandra Kindell. Vol 1. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2006. 255–259. Print.