Dutch dialects

Dutch dialects ( nederlandse dialecten ) are, according to the current definition of German and Dutch studies, all continental West Germanic languages that are now united under the Dutch umbrella and cultural language and are defined as dialects of Dutch. Today the German-Dutch state border is taken as the border between the German and Dutch dialects .

A special feature of the Dutch dialects is that they become "more and more German" when they approach the German state border in the southeast of the language area, whereas the German dialects of northwest Germany become "more and more Dutch" the closer they get to the Dutch border. For example, the "East Sassian dialects", which comprise parts of the provinces of Gelderland ( Achterhoek ) and Overijssel ( Twente ), are mostly similar to the neighboring Westphalian Low German. However, the “West Sassian dialects” already show great similarities with the dialects spoken in Holland or Brabant.

There are three dialect groups in the field of the Dutch standard language, whereby the two smaller dialect groups (Lower Saxon and South Lower Franconian) are directly in a dialect continuum with the neighboring German dialects :

West Lower Franconian (South, West and Central Dutch)
South Lower Franconian (Southeast Dutch)
Lower Saxon (Northeast and East Dutch)

Like the neighboring Low German dialects, the Dutch dialects, with the exception of the southeast, had no share in the second phonetic shift , so that they were counted as the “Low German language area in Holland and Belgium” as part of Low German in the 19th and early 20th centuries . For this reason, the Benrath line essentially also represents its southern border. On the other hand, the Uerdinger line , which was developed in the 19th century , does not represent a sound shift result, but is considered a compensation line for the Ripuarian language expansion that emanated from Cologne (“Cologne Expansion”) and radiated up to this line. Their training took place only through the linguistic adoption of southern elements by the population concerned. In today's linguistics, on the other hand, a continental West Germanic dialect continuum is used when describing the German and Dutch dialect areas in a uniform manner.

Definitions

Map with the Dutch dialects and their assignment

The term Dutch dialects is not easy to define. There are several possible definitions.

Relationship as a criterion

One possible criterion would be the (sometimes close) relationship between individual dialects and languages. However, this criterion leads to the following problem: Low German and East Dutch dialects are very closely related. But the Dutch would not call the former “Dutch dialects”, whereas the latter would. In addition, it is very difficult to precisely determine the degree of relationship between dialects.

The Belgian linguist Guido Geerts shows the problems and uncertainties that can arise when the Dutch-speaking area is tied to dialect features rather than national borders. A dialect like that of Bentheim (Germany) is more similar to the standard Dutch language than the dialect of Maastricht ( Netherlands ) or Hasselt (Belgium). Conversely predominate in the dialects east of the Benrather line but the German characteristics such. B. in the dialect of Kerkrade or Vaals (both in the Netherlands). However, there are also features in the dialects of Kerkrade and Aachen that occur in Dutch but not in German.

On a purely linguistic basis, it cannot be decided whether the language of a place is to be called Dutch or German. For this reason, Geerts does not use a purely linguistic definition.

Canopy and relationship as a criterion

The Belgian linguist Jan Goossens suggested combining the degree of kinship with the roofing of the standard Dutch language.

According to the combined criterion, the dialects that are related to Dutch and that are spoken where Dutch - and not a more closely related language - is the cultural language are Dutch. The restriction “no closely related language” in this criterion is necessary to distinguish the Frisian and Dutch dialects.
Goossens assumes that in most of the Dutch province of Friesland, Frisian is the cultural language (alongside Dutch). Since the dialects there are more closely related to Frisian than to Dutch, they are Frisian, not Dutch dialects.
According to this criterion, the Dutch dialects in French Flanders would not be Dutch dialects, because Dutch is not a cultural language in French Flanders.

Goossens notes that his criterion is not purely linguistic, but rather sociolinguistic . He argues that one cannot work properly with a purely linguistic definition of the term.

Structure of the dialects

large dialect groups

German-Dutch language area with the following German dialects :

Low German

Former Low German language area. Practically nonexistent since 1945/50.

Middle German

Former Central German language area. Practically nonexistent since 1945/50.

Upper German

Former Upper German language area. Practically nonexistent since 1945/50.

Lower Franconian

The former German-speaking area in East Central Europe is highlighted.
Continental West Germanic languages that do not belong to the German-Dutch dialect continuum :

Frisian

The Dutch dialects have repeatedly been structured differently. It has been shown that a clear structure is not easy to find.

At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, the old Germanic tribes played an important role in the dialect structure. This led to the division into Franconian, Saxon and Frisian dialects, with the finer subdivisions being named after provinces.
It was recognized, however, that the dialect borders are not old tribal borders. The old terms Franconian , Saxon and Frisian were retained , but no connection was made between them with the old Franks , Saxons and Frisians . They were only used as a rough breakdown name.
Later dialect maps were drawn on the basis of isoglosses . That is, one examined z. B. in which areas a certain sound was pronounced as monophthong or diphthong and drew a line (isogloss) between the two areas. However, this method has the disadvantage that the person who draws the map decides for himself which linguistic differences he considers important and draws in, and which he considers unimportant and leaves out.
Another method of classifying dialects is based on the judgment of the speakers. You ask dialect speakers which other dialects are similar to your own. If there is some similarity, an arrow is drawn from one dialect to another, hence the name pijltjesmodus ("arrow method"). However, it is not certain whether the information obtained in this way is reliable. In practice, the researcher still has to verify this information, based on his own experience or with the help of other researchers.

Classification of the dialects according to the Levenshtein distance (without Lower Saxony)

This is a cluster grouping according to the Levenshtein distance .

Southwest Limburgish
Brabantian
Dutch , North Brabant , Südgeldersch and West Veluwisch
East Flemish
West Flemish
Zeeland
Rhine-Maasland
Southeast Limburgish

Political and language boundaries

Political and religious boundaries can influence the spread of linguistic features.

Gete line, old political border

The Gete line, a dialect border in the east of Belgium, is between Halen (east of Diest ) and Zoutleeuw (east of Tienen ) the old border between the Duchy of Brabant on the one hand and the County of Loon and the Principality of Liège on the other. To the east of this dialect border are the towns of Donk, Rummen, Graze and Binderveld, which formerly belonged to Loon. To the west of this dialect border are the places Halen, Geetbets, Zoutleeuw and Melkwezer, which formerly belonged to the Duchy of Brabant.

Zeeland Flanders

Zeeland Flanders (Zeeuws-Vlaanderen) is an area in southern Zeeland , on the lower reaches of the Scheldt . This area was fiercely contested during the Eighty Years War and has changed hands several times. During the war, the dikes were neglected or pierced for strategic reasons, so that by 1590 the area was largely flooded and partially depopulated. The west of the area and the Axeler Land (in the municipality of Terneuzen ) were repopulated from Zealand with Protestant populations. The Hulster Land (further east of the area) was repopulated from the Waasland, i.e. from Catholic Flanders . The higher areas were not flooded and remained Catholic . In addition, the flood had washed away land and created arms of water there.

The population shifts, religious differences and the newly created water arms have resulted in dialect borders in Zeeland-Flanders coinciding with the state border more often than elsewhere.
The catholic places in Zeeland Flanders (Netherlands), e.g. B. Eede, Heille, Sint-Kruis and Biezenpolder had a lot of contact with the likewise Catholic East Flanders (Belgium). Many French terms came into the local dialects through these contacts.

Brabant expansion

In the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium, there has been a phenomenon for several decades that Brabantian words spread to West Flanders , East Flanders and Belgian Limburg . The Brabant words can also replace words from the standard language. This is called Brabanter Expansion ( Brabantse expansie ). For example, Limburgers who call kapelaan ("Kaplan") by default can use the Brabant word onderpastoor in their standard Dutch , although kapelaan is common in the standard language .

German-Dutch border

The modern state border between Germany and the Netherlands was not previously an important dialect border . Dialect borders in the East Dutch-West Low German area rarely ran along the state border. In this area there was a continental West Germanic dialect continuum that included the German and Dutch dialects. However, this dialect continuum has been dissolving more and more in recent decades. The German linguist Theodor Frings wrote as early as 1926 that the state border was about to become the dialect border. The linguist Hermann Niebaum notes that the old dialect continuum along the Ems between Vechte and Dollart is in the process of dissolving.

There are several reasons for this:

fewer and fewer people in this area speak dialect
the dialects are increasingly influenced by the respective standard languages
When communicating across national borders, dialects are used less and less and the standard languages are used more and more, so that the dialects can hardly influence one another

There are similar developments further south, in the area between Vechte and Niederrhein . In terms of vocabulary , in particular , there is a striking gap between the East Dutch and West Low German dialects. But there are also clear differences in communication behavior: on the Dutch side, the dialects are better mastered and used more frequently than on the German side. The knowledge that the state border is becoming a dialect border can also be transferred to other German-Dutch border regions.

Belgian-Dutch border

As a rule, there is no change of standard language at the state border between Belgium and the Netherlands. The dialects there are therefore influenced by the same standard language. With the dialects north and south of the state border there are certain differences in all areas of the language: phonology , morphology , syntax and lexicon . However, the similarities are much greater than the differences. These differences are greatest in vocabulary and idioms , and smallest in morphology and syntax. Within the vocabulary, the differences in modern loanwords (from the last 100 to 150 years) are greatest. The dialects south of the state border often use loan words from French. The dialect differences near the state border are greater in the provinces of Flanders and Brabant than in the Limburg area, because the Dutch-Belgian border that divides Limburg only came about in 1830/39 ( Belgian Revolution ), while the border between Flanders and Brabant shares, was established in 1648 ( Westphalian Peace ). There is no dialect border that runs completely along the state border. Sometimes a dialect border runs close to the state border, sometimes it only runs along part of the border.

French Flanders

French Flanders (Frans-Vlaanderen) is the northern part of the Département du Nord . This area has belonged to France since 1678 ( Peace of Nijmegen ). In this area, some people, especially the elderly in the countryside, speak a Dutch dialect , more precisely: a West Flemish dialect . The state border between France and Belgium has become a secondary, i.e. less important dialect border. The uniformity of the language system on both sides of the border was only partially broken. However, the isolation of the Flemish speakers in northern France has resulted in a new language community. As a result, dialect differences, especially in vocabulary, are concentrated more and more at the state border.

There are the following developments:

French Flanders is cut off from the development of Dutch in Belgium and thus retains its ancient language features.
A dialect balance within French Flanders can be seen in a few language features.
In French Flanders, but not Belgium, there is an increasing French influence on the dialects.

Use of the dialect in the Netherlands

In the post-war period the situation of the Dutch dialects changed significantly. Many dialectologists note that the dialects are being replaced by the standard language in almost all areas of the Netherlands. At the same time, the standard language strongly influences the dialects. The local dialects are increasingly being replaced by regiolects , i.e. regional colloquial languages that are somewhere between dialect and standard language. There are several reasons for this:

rural areas are becoming more and more urban ( urbanization )
the population is becoming more and more mobile, work and friends outside the village are becoming more frequent
the mass media are becoming more important
Women are more involved in the world of work, and it is more shaped by the standard language than by dialects
Social advancement became easier, also for the rural population, but the standard language remained a condition for this

In the countryside

In the 19th century, most people in the country spoke almost only dialect, even though they learned to read and write the standard language in school.
In the 20th century, diglossia (bilingualism) existed in rural areas of the Netherlands , which means that dialect and standard language coexisted. They belonged in different areas of life and had different tasks. Dialect use was tied to oral communication, the standard language to written communication.

In the cities

In the cities, especially in the larger ones, there was no diglossia, i.e. no division of tasks between dialect and standard language, but rather a competition between the two. The standard language had the higher reputation. It was the prerequisite for social advancement and at the same time a sign of social advancement. The standard language became authoritative, while the dialect became the hallmark of the lower class. In the country there was a coexistence of standard language and dialect, in the city one on top of the other. This led to a strong influence of the standard language on the city dialects.

Regiolect

In the post-war period, regiolects (regional languages) emerged, which increasingly displace local dialects . The differences are no longer geographical, i.e. between two villages or areas, but are at a distance from the standard language. Some language variants are very close to the standard language, others far from it.

education

Since the mid-1960s, most Dutch parents have tried to speak to their children in the standard language in order to protect the children from alleged or actual disadvantages. However, if the parents themselves do not have sufficient command of the standard language, this can lead to problems when the children are asked to use this standard language in school. In some municipalities there are therefore attempts to pay special attention to the dialect of the schoolchildren in school and to establish or maintain bilingualism (dialect and standard), e.g. B. in Kerkrade .

Dialect renaissance

There is no dialect renaissance in the Netherlands (as of 1992). Many Dutch people say that the dialects should be preserved, but that does not mean that more dialect is spoken.

Influence on the standard language

The Regiolects from the west of the Netherlands are exerting an ever greater influence on the standard language spoken. Regional forms of language get from the Regiolects into the spoken standard language of people from the middle and upper classes. This form of standard language has met with a lot of criticism in Flanders .

Use of the dialect in Belgium

Dialect and standard

In the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium ( Flanders ) there was no Dutch cultural language for a long time, only the dialects. French served as the cultural language .

In the 1930s, “double monolingualism” was introduced in Belgium. This meant that Dutch became the only official language and school language in the north of the country and French in the south of the country. After the introduction of “double monolingualism”, the middle class in cities like Antwerp, Leuven or Mechelen began to use Dutch as a cultural language. However, this Dutch was shaped by dialects because the dialects played an important role. It also sounded more ancient and written than the standard language in the Netherlands because many speakers taught themselves the standard language from books. It was not until the second half of the 20th century that the standard Dutch language became known throughout Flanders (not only among the urban middle class). However, this does not mean that this standard language is also used generally. The Dutch-speaking Belgians are on average not as confident in the standard language as the Dutch. The dialects are more important than the standard language in the everyday life of most Dutch-speaking Belgians. The standard language in the north of Belgium is more influenced by the dialects than in the Netherlands. Until the early 1970s, the standard Dutch language was rarely spoken, only written, by most Dutch-speaking Belgians. So there was a diglossia , a division of tasks between dialect and standard language.

Polls in the 1970s showed that most Dutch-speaking Belgians found the dialect unsuitable for school and mass media use. About half of the respondents considered it suitable for communication between parents and children.

Forms of speech

Some linguists differentiate between five language forms in Dutch in Belgium, which, however, have fluid transitions:

Dialect (A): The “pure” dialect in the north of Belgium is not restricted to rural areas and private occasions. The vast majority of Dutch-speaking Belgians have a command of a dialect, even if they do not always use it.
Dialect variant (B): A dialect variant is a dialect that has been consciously adapted to the standard language. In some cases, words from the standard language are also included. Dialect speakers who do not have sufficient command of the standard language (e.g. older people with little schooling) use this form of language when they want to speak to people who do not understand the local dialect .
Regional slang (C): The regional slang is different from the Regiolekt in the Netherlands. The regional colloquial language is a mixture of standard language and dialect. It is used for supraregional communication, also in the urban middle class, also by people with higher education, but only in family situations.
Belgian Beschaafd (Nederlands), “Belgian Standard Dutch” (D): This is a form of language that is very close to the standard language. This form of language is used throughout the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium. This form of language is not only influenced by local dialects. Outside of Flemish Brabant, there are also Brabant regional influences. This means that Brabant leads the way in this language form to a certain extent. Other characteristics are ancient expressions ( archaisms ), traces of French influence ( Gallicisms ) and purisms . In addition, this form of language has a literal pronunciation and hyper-correct forms (i.e. incorrect avoidance of supposed dialect forms). Even people who speak the actual standard language use "Belgian Standard Dutch" instead of the standard language in certain situations in order not to appear affected .
Standard language (E): The standard language is basically the same as in the Netherlands, despite some Belgian peculiarities. It is the common form of speech on radio and television.

Mastery of dialects

A survey was carried out in all Flemish universities at the end of the 1970s. It showed that they did not grow up with dialect

30% of the students from the province of Brabant
16% of the students from the province of Limburg
2% of students from the Province of West Flanders

In a survey in the Province of West Flanders in 1987, 98% of those questioned said they regularly speak dialect. Similar surveys in Brabant (1985) and Limburg (1987) showed that there are big differences in how well you speak the dialect, how often you speak it and how you (emotionally) assess the dialect. This means that the dialects in West Flanders are still used by very large parts of the population, while in other provinces certain parts of the population prefer other language forms.

literature

AA Weijnen: Nederlandse dialectkunde. (= Studia theodisca. Volume 10). 2nd Edition. Assen 1966.

Individual evidence

↑ Jan Goossens: Dutch dialects - seen from the German. In: Low German word. Small contributions to the Low German dialect and name. Volume 10, Verlag Aschendorf, Münster 1970, p. 61.
↑ Jan Goossens: Dutch dialects - seen from the German. In: Low German word. Small contributions to the Low German dialect and name. Volume 10, Verlag Aschendorf, Münster 1970, p. 63.
^ Jan Goossens: German Dialectology. (= Göschen Collection. 2205). Walter de Gruyter, 1977, ISBN 3-11-007203-3 , p. 48, chapter "German Dialectology".
↑ Jan Goossens: Dutch dialects - seen from the German. In: Low German word. Small contributions to the Low German dialect and name. Volume 10, Verlag Aschendorf, Münster 1970, p. 78.
↑ Patrick Lehn: Deutschlandbilder: historical school atlases between 1871 and 1990. A manual. Böhlau Verlag, 2008, ISBN 978-3-412-20122-7 , p. 199; Footnote 838
↑ Joachim Schildt: Brief history of the German language. 1st edition. Volk und Wissen Verlag, Berlin 1991, ISBN 3-06-101719-4 , p. 60 (map “German language areas in the 10th / 11th century”), p. 89 (map “Area of application of high and late medieval German”) ), P. 129 (map "Lautverschiebungsstufen [around 1880]"), p. 151 (map "The German dialects of the present")
↑ Augustin Speyer: Low German: Collective term for those West Germanic dialects that are spoken north of the Benrath line and south of the Frisian area. [...]. In: Germanic languages. A comparative overview. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht 2007, ISBN 978-3-525-20849-6 , glossary, p. 151.
^ Claus Jürgen Hutterer: The Germanic languages. Your story in outline. Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest / CH Beck'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Munich 1975, ISBN 3-406-05292-4 , p. 259 (Fig. 53 “Limits of the second sound shift”), p. 371 (Fig. 67 “Historical distribution of the German Dialects ")
^ Jan Goossens: Linguistic Atlas of the Northern Rhineland and the Southeastern Netherlands. "Franconian Language Atlas". Second delivery. Text volume, N. G. Elwert Verlag, Marburg 1994, ISBN 3-7708-1034-1 , p. 16 ff.
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e H. Entjes: Dialects in Nederland. Knoop & Niemeijer, Haren (Gn) 1974, ISBN 90-6148-258-5 .
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d Guido Geerts: Voorlopers en variants van het Nederlands. Leuven, Uitgeverij Acco, 4th print.
↑ ^a ^b Johan Taeldeman: Is the Belgian-Dutch border, a dialect border? In: Hermann Niebaum, Ludger Kremer: Grenzdialekte. (= German linguistics. 101–103). Olms-Verlag, Hildesheim 1990, ISBN 3-487-09474-6 , pp. 275-314.
↑ Georg Cornelissen : De dialecten in de Duits-Nederlandse Roerstreek - grensdialectologischer bekeken (= Mededelingen van de Vereniging voor Limburgse Dialect- en Naamkunde. No. 83). Hasselt 1995; quoted from: http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/corn022dial01_01/index.htm (March 18, 2007)
^ Hermann Niebaum: State border as a breaking point? The border dialects between Dollart and the Vecht region. In: Hermann Niebaum, Ludger Kremer: Grenzdialekte. (= German linguistics. 101–103). Olms-Verlag, Hildesheim 1990, ISBN 3-487-09474-6 , pp. 49-83.
↑ Ludger Kremer: Continuum or Breakpoint? For the development of the border dialects between the Vecht region and the Lower Rhine. In: Hermann Niebaum, Ludger Kremer: Grenzdialekte. (= German linguistics. 101–103). Olms-Verlag, Hildesheim 1990, ISBN 3-487-09474-6 , pp. 85-123.
^ Jan Goossens: The development of the German-Dutch language border Results and desiderata of research (= Mededelingen van de Vereniging voor Limburgse Dialect- en Naamkunde. No. 29). Hasselt 1984; Quoted from: http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/goos003dieh01_01/index.htm (March 18, 2007).
^ Hugo Ryckeboer: Beyond the Belgian-French border. The remnant of the westernmost continental Germanic. In: Hermann Niebaum, Ludger Kremer: Grenzdialekte. (= German linguistics. 101–103). Olms-Verlag, Hildesheim 1990, ISBN 3-487-09474-6 , pp. 241-271.
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l Herman Vekeman, Andreas Ecke: History of the Dutch language. Bern 1992, ISBN 3-906750-37-X .

[1] Jan Goossens: Dutch dialects - seen from the German. In: Low German word. Small contributions to the Low German dialect and name. Volume 10, Verlag Aschendorf, Münster 1970, p. 61.

[2] Jan Goossens: Dutch dialects - seen from the German. In: Low German word. Small contributions to the Low German dialect and name. Volume 10, Verlag Aschendorf, Münster 1970, p. 63.

[3] Jan Goossens: German Dialectology. (= Göschen Collection. 2205). Walter de Gruyter, 1977, ISBN 3-11-007203-3 , p. 48, chapter "German Dialectology".

[4] Jan Goossens: Dutch dialects - seen from the German. In: Low German word. Small contributions to the Low German dialect and name. Volume 10, Verlag Aschendorf, Münster 1970, p. 78.

[5] Patrick Lehn: Deutschlandbilder: historical school atlases between 1871 and 1990. A manual. Böhlau Verlag, 2008, ISBN 978-3-412-20122-7 , p. 199; Footnote 838

[6] Joachim Schildt: Brief history of the German language. 1st edition. Volk und Wissen Verlag, Berlin 1991, ISBN 3-06-101719-4 , p. 60 (map “German language areas in the 10th / 11th century”), p. 89 (map “Area of application of high and late medieval German”) ), P. 129 (map "Lautverschiebungsstufen [around 1880]"), p. 151 (map "The German dialects of the present")

[7] Augustin Speyer: Low German: Collective term for those West Germanic dialects that are spoken north of the Benrath line and south of the Frisian area. [...]. In: Germanic languages. A comparative overview. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht 2007, ISBN 978-3-525-20849-6 , glossary, p. 151.

[8] Claus Jürgen Hutterer: The Germanic languages. Your story in outline. Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest / CH Beck'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Munich 1975, ISBN 3-406-05292-4 , p. 259 (Fig. 53 “Limits of the second sound shift”), p. 371 (Fig. 67 “Historical distribution of the German Dialects ")

[9] Jan Goossens: Linguistic Atlas of the Northern Rhineland and the Southeastern Netherlands. "Franconian Language Atlas". Second delivery. Text volume, N. G. Elwert Verlag, Marburg 1994, ISBN 3-7708-1034-1 , p. 16 ff.

[entjes-10] H. Entjes: Dialects in Nederland. Knoop & Niemeijer, Haren (Gn) 1974, ISBN 90-6148-258-5 .

[geerts-11] Guido Geerts: Voorlopers en variants van het Nederlands. Leuven, Uitgeverij Acco, 4th print.

[taeldeman-12] Johan Taeldeman: Is the Belgian-Dutch border, a dialect border? In: Hermann Niebaum, Ludger Kremer: Grenzdialekte. (= German linguistics. 101–103). Olms-Verlag, Hildesheim 1990, ISBN 3-487-09474-6 , pp. 275-314.

[cornelissen-13] Georg Cornelissen : De dialecten in de Duits-Nederlandse Roerstreek - grensdialectologischer bekeken (= Mededelingen van de Vereniging voor Limburgse Dialect- en Naamkunde. No. 83). Hasselt 1995; quoted from: http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/corn022dial01_01/index.htm (March 18, 2007)

[niebaum-14] Hermann Niebaum: State border as a breaking point? The border dialects between Dollart and the Vecht region. In: Hermann Niebaum, Ludger Kremer: Grenzdialekte. (= German linguistics. 101–103). Olms-Verlag, Hildesheim 1990, ISBN 3-487-09474-6 , pp. 49-83.

[kremer-15] Ludger Kremer: Continuum or Breakpoint? For the development of the border dialects between the Vecht region and the Lower Rhine. In: Hermann Niebaum, Ludger Kremer: Grenzdialekte. (= German linguistics. 101–103). Olms-Verlag, Hildesheim 1990, ISBN 3-487-09474-6 , pp. 85-123.

[goossens-16] Jan Goossens: The development of the German-Dutch language border Results and desiderata of research (= Mededelingen van de Vereniging voor Limburgse Dialect- en Naamkunde. No. 29). Hasselt 1984; Quoted from: http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/goos003dieh01_01/index.htm (March 18, 2007).

[ryckeboer-17] Hugo Ryckeboer: Beyond the Belgian-French border. The remnant of the westernmost continental Germanic. In: Hermann Niebaum, Ludger Kremer: Grenzdialekte. (= German linguistics. 101–103). Olms-Verlag, Hildesheim 1990, ISBN 3-487-09474-6 , pp. 241-271.

[vekeman_ecke-18] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l Herman Vekeman, Andreas Ecke: History of the Dutch language. Bern 1992, ISBN 3-906750-37-X .