New Dutch language
The nine-Dutch language , also known as modern Dutch , is the most recent form of Dutch from a linguistic perspective . It has been spoken since around 1500 and represents the basis of the Dutch standard language . This originated mainly in the north of the Dutch-speaking area ( Dutch and Brabantian ). This is why this form of language was often referred to as Northern Dutch in German studies .
Historical background
In the course of the Eighty Years' War , the Netherlands became the economic and political leader in the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands . After the Spanish retook the southern Netherlands and the fall of Antwerp , Brabant became less and less important economically and politically. During that time, many Brabantians emigrated to Holland and Zeeland for religious reasons .
Dutch in the south
Linguistic connection with the north
The southern language area of Dutch, in today's region of Flanders , (also referred to as southern Dutch out of date ) existed under completely different social conditions than the northern (in today's Netherlands ). The south belonged to the Spanish and later to the Austrian Netherlands even after 1648 ( Peace of Münster ) . From 1648 the northern language area went its own way politically. Between 1795 and 1815, however, the entire language area was reunited in the French Empire and French was the favored language during this time . From 1815 to 1830 the Dutch-speaking area formed the Kingdom of the United Netherlands , in which Northern Dutch dominated. So this state fell apart again in 1830 when the Catholic south separated from the Protestant north. But it was not until 1839 that the Kingdom of the Netherlands recognized the newly established borders and the Kingdom of Belgium (see also History of Belgium ).
Bilingualism of the bourgeoisie
The higher social classes were bilingual (Dutch and French), but preferred French . Literature in Dutch was limited to the Rederijkers , whose work had little artistic value, and to literature for ordinary people. In the south, Dutch lost its role as a cultural language more and more. At the same time, Dutch in the south was cut off from the linguistic developments in the north.
Holland becomes a language center
The people who shaped the emerging New Dutch were the noble citizens (patricians) in the Dutch cities south of the IJ .
On the one hand, Amsterdam set the tone for the other areas of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands in the linguistic area . On the other hand, Amsterdam was a recipient of southern (Brabant) influences. In Friesland, under Dutch influence, the city Frisian came into being from the 16th century . Utrecht and the areas on the IJssel also came under Dutch influence. This subsequently changed the traditional division of the Dutch dialects or languages into Franconian, Frisian and Saxon. Today's dialect features also reflect the linguistic dependence on the area of Holland.
The East Dutch regions (like the other regions) were dominated economically and politically by the Holland region. In the eastern Dutch areas, the Lower Saxon dialects were pushed back and influenced by Dutch . Outside the Netherlands, the Netherlands was to the 18th century in writing language and lingua franca of the Reformed Church and the upper classes, such as in East Frisia and the county of Bentheim . But Dutch was also used as a written language in the duchies of Kleve , Geldern and Jülich . In the Duchy of Jülich, however, the use of Dutch was limited to the area around Erkelenz acquired by Geldern in 1713 .
Origin of the standard language
State Bible
The Dutch translation of the Bible from 1618 to 1637 was of great importance for the development of the standard Dutch language. The translation was carried out at the behest of the Dordrecht Synod and was based on the Greek and Hebrew text sources. This translation is also associated with the Northern Dutch States General , the governing representation of the estates. Therefore, this Bible is for these States often Statenbijbel 'called, and the translation (states Bible) Statenvertaling (, Statenvertaling '). This translation of the Bible is as important as the German translation of the Bible by Martin Luther .
The translators tried to create a linguistic balance between the individual dialects. The language should be generally acceptable and avoid an overly pronounced dialect. However, the south of the Dutch-speaking area, especially Brabant , played a large part in the language of translation. However, when a negative attitude towards Brabantian arose in Holland in the 17th century, no revision of the Bible translation was undertaken.
Style differences between the north and the south
The southern ( Brabant and Flemish ) influence on the emerging standard language is evident in the style of some words. In several cases, a southern dialect word has been adopted into the written language, giving it a sophisticated style or a transferred meaning. In the southern dialects, however, it retained its everyday stylistic value and its old meaning. This can cause southern dialect words to sound spelling, solemn or old-fashioned to those who are not familiar with these dialects.
For example, in the southern dialects , opheffen is the common and everyday word for "pick up" (" pick something up from the ground"). In the Holland area they say optillen for this . The southern word opheffen found its way into the written language and thus belonged to the sophisticated style and was suitable for figurative meanings. Accordingly, opheffen is used in elevated language or with figurative meaning : hij hief zijn ogen ten hemel ("he raised his eyes to heaven") or de zitting werd opgeheven ("the session was canceled / ended"). In the south of the Dutch-speaking area one can formulate under the influence of the local dialects: hij heft de fiets op ("he picks up the bicycle (from the ground)"). In the north of the language area this sounds a bit unusual because opheffen is only known there from the written language. In the north they say: hij tilt de fiets op .
Other such cases are:
| southern variant | northern variant | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| collapsing ( West Flemish and written language) | stubborn | "to send" |
| werpen (West Flemish and written language) | gooien | "throw" |
| the salutation gij (East Flemish, Brabant and written language) | jij | "you" |
| nu (West Flemish and written language) | nou | "now" |
Working with the Dutch language
In addition to the translation of the Bible, there were other significant publications that influenced the development of the standard language, e. B. the first Dutch grammar primer Twe-sprack vande Nederduitsche letterkunst , which Hendrik Laurenszoon Spieghel developed with other members of the respected Amsterdam " Rederijkerskamer " around the year 1584 and the basic work Aanleidinghe ter Nederduitsche poetry , written by Joost van den Vondel in 1650.
Components of the standard language
Flemish and Brabant influence
In the 16th century the language center shifted from the south to the north of the Netherlands. At the same time, the south ( County of Flanders and Duchy of Brabant ) exerts a great linguistic influence on the north. This influence can be seen in several points:
- in vocabulary
- in the diphthongization of Central Dutch uu [yː] to New Dutch ui [øɪ̯] and from Central Dutch i [iː] to New Dutch ij [ɛɪ̯]
- in the coincidence of â (West Germanic long a , Old Germanic long æ ) and a (West Germanic stretched short a ), as in schaap or water
- in the transition from d to j in cases like braaien versus braden
- in the accelerated disappearance of du (form of address, 2nd person singular) in favor of jij and gij
Frisian influence
Frisian influence in New Dutch can be seen in the following points, among others:
- the initial voiceless pronunciation of v , z and g ( voet [fuˑt] , zien [siˑn] , gaan [χaːn] )
- the phonetic connections sj and tj (as in sjouwen and tjalk )
- gn at the beginning of the word (as in gniffelen )
- single words
Saxon influence
Saxon (i.e. Low German) influence can be seen in the following points, among others:
- in vocabulary
- the umlaut of long vowels: eu [øː] instead of oe [uˑ] and oo (as in neugte versus genoegen and bleu versus blo , blode )
- lack of diphthongization of Mnl. uu and i : oe and ie instead of ui and ij
- ee instead of ie (as in deemoed )
Some of the phonetic characteristics of the Saxon dialects can also be found in other dialects, especially the lack of diphthongization and the umlaut of long vowels.
See also
swell
- ↑ a b Guido Geerts, "Voorlopers en variants van het Nederlands", 4th print, Leuven 1979
- ↑ a b c d e A. van Loey, Schönfelds Historische Grammatica van het Nederlands , eighth print, Zutphen 1970; § XI, XII, XIII
- ^ Ivo Schöffer : The Republic of the United Netherlands from 1648 to 1795 , from the Dutch by Erhard Barth; in: Franz Petri, Ivo Schöffer and Jan Juliaan Woltjer: History of the Netherlands , Munich 1991, ISBN 3-423-04571-X ; P. 51 and 52
- ↑ Irmgard Hantsche: Atlas for the history of the Niederrhein , series of publications of the Niederrhein-Akademie Volume 4, p. 95
- ^ Herman Vekeman and Andreas corner: History of the Dutch language. Bern 1993, ISBN 3-906750-37-X