Zeeland
The Zeeland (Dutch Zeeuws ) is a group of Low Franconian dialects , in the Dutch province of Zeeland and on the lying north of Seeland former island Goeree-Overflakkee are spoken. They are generally considered to be a dialect of Dutch ; however, the differences in pronunciation and, here and there, in vocabulary and grammar make it particularly difficult for a speaker of the standard Dutch language or a Dutch dialect to understand Zeeland. Ethnologue describes it as a separate language (language code zea; adopted by ISO in the ISO 639-3 list).
The Zeeland dialects form a transition from Dutch to West Flemish. As you travel from north to south, you will notice a gradual increase in southwestern language features.
In Zeeuws-Vlaanderen one speaks dialects that are assigned to West and East Flemish. However, the West Flemish variants spoken there are sometimes also called Zeeuws . The Zeeland dialects are still actively used by around 200,000 people; the Zeeuws-Vlaanderens variants are not included.
Jersey Dutch, which was spoken in parts of the US state of New Jersey until the early 20th century, was based on Zeeland.
In Zealand, work has been going on for a long time to have Zeeland officially recognized. An attempt to be recognized under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages failed in 2004.
