Frisian languages
| Frisian | |
|---|---|
| Frysk | |
|
|
| Native to | Netherlands and Germany |
| Region | Friesland, Groningen, Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein |
| Ethnicity | Frisians |
|
Native speakers
|
480,000 (ca. 2001 census) |
|
Early forms
|
Old Frisian
|
| Dialects | |
| Latin | |
| Official status | |
|
Official language in
|
Netherlands Germany |
| Regulated by | NL: Fryske Akademy D: no official regulation unofficial: the Seelter Buund (for Sater Frisian), the Nordfriisk Instituut (for North Frisian) |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Variously: fry – West Frisian frr – North Frisian stq – Saterland Frisian |
| Glottolog | fris1239 |
| Linguasphere | 52-ACA |
Present-day distribution of the Frisian languages in Europe:
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The Frisian /ˈfriːʒən/ languages are a closely related group of Germanic languages, spoken by about 500,000 Frisian people, who live on the southern fringes of the North Sea in the Netherlands and Germany. The Frisian languages are the closest living language group to the English languages, and are together grouped into the Anglo-Frisian languages. However, modern English and Frisian are not mutually intelligible, nor are Frisian languages intelligible among themselves, due to indepedent linguistic innovations and foreign influences. The three Frisian languages have been heavily influenced by and bear similarities to Dutch, Danish, and/or Low German, depending upon their location. Additional shared linguistic characteristics between the Great Yarmouth area, Friesland, and Denmark are likely to have resulted from the close trading relationship these areas maintained during the centuries-long Hanseatic League of the Late Middle Ages.
There are three varieties of Frisian: West Frisian, Saterland Frisian, and North Frisian. Some linguists consider these three varieties, despite their mutual unintelligibility, to be dialects of one single Frisian language, whereas others consider them to be three separate languages, as do their speakers. West Frisian is strongly influenced by Dutch, and, similar to Dutch, is described as being "between" English and German. The other Frisian varieties, meanwhile, have been influenced by German, Low German, and Danish. The North Frisian language especially is further segmented into several strongly diverse dialects. Stadsfries is not Frisian, but a Dutch dialect influenced by Frisian. Frisian is called Frysk in West Frisian, Fräisk in Saterland Frisian, and Frasch, Fresk, Freesk, and Friisk in the dialects of North Frisian.
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