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Frisian ("Frysk") in the Netherlands
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| Frisian ("Frysk") in the Netherlands | |
1. Introduction
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2. The language in the country
2.1. General information on the language community
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2.2. Geographical and language background
Frisian, known locally by its Dutch name as 'Frysk', is a West Germanic language spoken by about 400,000 people in the Dutch province of Friesland, whose total population numbers approx. 600,000. Its earliest documents, Old Frisian Laws, go back to the 12th century. Orthographic codification of Standard Frisian began in the 1830's, with the latest reform of the orthography authorized by the Provincial Government of Friesland as recently as 1980. Frisian is written in the Roman alphabet. In Friesland it is in regular contact with Dutch and its regional dialects of Stellingwerf and Bilts. Outside of Friesland, Frisian is spoken in the Westerkwartier in the Province of Groningen and in its Eastern and Northern varieties in Germany by approximately another 10,000 people. Within Friesland the language is officially recognized, though without an explicit policy governing its usage. It is used as a medium of instruction and in the news media. Two daily papers, the Leeuwarder Courant and the Friesch Dagblad, publish some of their reports in Frisian; television programmes are broadcast up to two hours a day; radio transmissions in Frisian amount to about 70 hours a week. There is very little use of Frisian in business outside a bilingual answering service for checking balance inquiries by the Bank of Friesland.
During the past 30 years Friesland's population has grown from about 475,000 in 1960 to its present 600,000. Previous to that time, around 1950, a number of people had left the area because of lack of jobs, especially in the agricultural sector. Since then, many 'emigree' Frieslanders have returned home to retire and quite a few non-Frisians have bought (retirement) homes in Friesland in the seventies and eighties. The latter were mostly speakers of Dutch.
Friesland is predominantly rural. Its largest town, Ljouwert (Leeuwarden), the capital of Friesland, has just over 50,000 inhabitants; its second largest, Drachten, 40,000. There are another five towns ranging from 15 to 30 thousand people each, which adds up to a total of approx. 220,000 or just over 1/3 of the population to be considered as urban (by residence).
According to a survey by the Frisian Academy (Taal yn Fryslan, 1984), approx. 60 % of Friesland's population have Frisian as their first language. In the late 1960's nearly all Frieslanders (97%) could understand F., 83% could speak it, 69% read it and 11% could write it (cf. Pietersen, 1969). A decade later, the intelligibilty ratio had dropped only slightly (to 94%), but speaking ability had decreased to 73%, while the literacy rates had suffered only very slight losses (read 65%, write 10%, Taal yn Fryslan 1984).
As a bilingual area on the geographic and economic periphery of the Netherlands, Friesland's economy is characterized by higher unemployment and lower income ratios, cp. the average Dutch annual income of hfl. 41,000 to 37,000 in Friesland. 62% of Friesland's population is employed in services, 30.2% in trades, 7.7% in agriculture. The latest innovation in business has been the establishment of large new offices by several insurance companies in Friesland.
2.3. General history and history of the language
The first society for the promotion of the Frisian language was founded in 1844. During the 20th century Protestant and Roman Catholic groups established separate organizations to promote Frisian. Today the core of the Frisian movement representing various organizations is the Ried van de Fries Beweging (Council of the Frisian Movement) which is actively engaged in policies favoring Friesland. Inspired by the Frisian National Party all political parties in Friesland share a favorable attitude towards Frisian. A special body of the provincial administration is charged with developing regulations for the use of Frisian in the public domain, including education, and with drawing up documents in the language.
Protests against the exclusive use of Dutch are numerous and include objections to roadsigns in Dutch, Dutch placenames in, e.g., telephone books, and posters stuck on all church doors asserting the legal and moral right to use Frisian in worship. Major recent gains in the use of Frisian have occurred in the educational sector where it became mandatory in primary education in 1980, in secondary and special education in 1993, as well as in television where it went up from nothing to two hours a day in 1994.
While Frisian is now well recognized and accepted by all political parties the implementation of pro-Frisian policies moves along very slowly. An increasing awareness of and regard for Frisian does, however, not mean greater involvement by more Frisians to protect and promote the language.
Support for Frisian by the European Community takes the form of grants for educational activities as, e.g., developing teaching methods for Frisian, teaching Frisian to students trained as social workers for the elderly, producing a children's dictionary, supporting Euroskoalle (an international children's summer school and camp), and for occasional conferences.
2.4. Legal status and official policies
The status of Dutch and Frisian in Friesland is not legally codified. The policy of the Dutch national government is one of repressive tolerance. The provincial government of Friesland actively promotes and strengthens Frisian language and culture. Some municipal administrations as, e.g., the municipality of Tytsjerksteradiel, have adopted policies governing the use of Frisian, e.g., mandating the translation of official documents into Frisian as the result of a lawsuit.
3. The use of the language in various fields
3.1. Education
Pre-school education (for children ages 2-4) is not part of the national education system. Some of the pre-schools teach in Frisian. Kindergarten and primary education were integrated into one school in 1985. Regulations regarding Frisian apply to kindergarten as well. Since the 1955 amendment to the Dutch Education Act Frisian could be used as medium of instruction in grades 1-3 and be taught as a subject in grades 1-6. In 1974 it was made an obligatory subject in all primary schools in Friesland. The guarantee of educational freedom in the 1920 Dutch Education Act prevents the government from strict prescriptions of educational content and curriculum, and gives public and private education equal access to government funding. The right to teach any subject in Frisian is, however, usually employed in subject of lesser frequency and importance like, e.g., biology and history.
Textbooks in Frisian are available for language and reading instruction, biology, geography, history, music and religious education. Educational programmes for radio and television are produced and transmitted by the Frisian Broadcasting Company in cooperation with the Center for Educational Advice in Friesland. Two Frisian youth magazines complement the instructional materials.
The Dutch language is the general medium of secondary education. Since 1948 secondary schools have been allowed to teach Frisian. As of 1993 Frisian must be taught as a compulsory subject on the lower level of secondary school, though the amount is not and cannot be specified. In 25% of all secondary schools Frisian is offered. 5% of all students are enrolled in at least one class-hour of Frisian per week for one to two years. No methodological distinction is made between Frisian as first and second language.
Friesland does not have a university of its own. There are Frisian studies programmes at the state universities of Amsterdam, Groningen and Leiden (The Frisian chair at Utrecht is presently vacant). The colleges in Friesland use Dutch as medium of instruction. Teachers colleges require Frisian as a mandatory subject, and some instructors teach their courses or parts of their courses in Frisian. A popular text covering various aspects of the status and use of Frisian, including issues of bilingual education, is "Twataligens". The materials developed by the Center for Educational Advice in Friesland for Frisian as a subject and medium of instruction are central to the students' programme. Special in-service training programs are available for teachers to get certified to teach Frisian in secondary schools. Such a 'diploma' has the same status as a master's degree in Frisian from a university.
Her Majesty's inspectors are responsaible for supervising the implementation of (national) educational policy. Outside of Friesland Frisian is taught at the university of Kiel in Germany, and in Grand Rapids, Michigan (USA) there are occasional courses for the children of Frisian emigrants.
There is no official encouragement or support for the teaching of Frisian outside of Friesland in the Netherlands.
Adult education is in Dutch. However, the General Frisian Education Council offers courses in Frisian, which are attended by approx. 500 students each year.
3.2. Judicial authorities
A 1956 Dutch Government Act provides for the use of Frisian in courts of law under certain conditions. Sworn testimony can be given in Frisian; plaintiffs and defendants are allowed to use their language. Some judges use Frisian orally. The language of legal documents, however, is Dutch.
3.3. Public authorities and services
Frisian is frequently used in oral exchange of communication between central administrative offices and the public. For most written communication Dutch is used. In local administration communication is also very often in Frisian. Conversations between office personnel and clients can be bilingual. Written communication is very often in Dutch, partly because no more than 10% of the population are literate in Frisian. If a letter in Frisian is received by a provincial or municipal office it will generally also be answered in Frisian. Some municipalities are using the Frisian version of their name as the official form. The national government has not taken any significant measures to ensure the use of Frisian in administration, especially not in written form. There is more use of Frisian at the regional provincial level both in debates and in dealings with the public, and even more so at the local municipal level. While Frisian is still used rarely in official documents and outgoing communications, clients can and do write in Frisian. National government personnel is not required to know any Frisian. For provincial and municipal personnel Frisian language courses are available.
The language of all public services (telephone directories, utility bills, notices in post offices, police stations, hospitals) is Dutch. Clients can, however, approach these instances in (spoken) Frisian and will be served in the language. Placename roadsigns in the area are usually bilingual in Dutch and Frisian. Some villages have monolingual (Frisian) placename signs. Streetname signs in towns are usually in Dutch, so are roadside directions to public facilities and business names. A small number of villages have monolingual Frisian streetsigns.
3.4. Mass media and information technology
The use of Frisian in the mass media is not legally sanctioned and does not receive official financial or other public support.
Two DAILY PAPERS, the "Leeuwarder Courant" (circ. 130,000) and the "Friesch Dagblad" (circulation 22,000), publish about 5% of their material in Frisian:
Six MAGAZINES are published entirely in Frisian. "Frysk en Frij", a general monthly, has the largest circulation (5000); the "Stim fan Fryslan" of the Frisian Movement appears bi-monthly and has the second largest circulation of the pure Frisian magazines (1,250); the other four are smaller (circ. 400-850) and are dedicated to literature, education, or culture in general. In addition, the scientific quarterly "Beaken" is over 80% in Frisian (circ. 3000), and the educational bi-monthly "Byntwurk" (circ. 2000) is about half-and-half Frisian and Dutch. Two youth magazines, "De Holder" for primary schools (circ. 2000) and "Sjederrr" for primary and secondary schools (circ. 4000), both published monthly during the school year are monolingual Frisian. The provincial government has stopped subsidizing the magazines mentioned earlier, but gives substantial support to the two youth magazines.
RADIO station "Omrop Fryslaan" broadcasts only in Frisian. Only when a monolingual Dutch speaker is interviewed will the interviewee's language be used. The number of listeners depends on the program: lots of people listen to the weather forecast, not that many tune into religious programs. Radio transmissions in Frisian amount to a total of about 70 hours a week.
Cable TELEVISION is available to most Frieslanders, offering them five channels in Dutch, three in German. Until last year there were just 30 hours Frisian telecast through the whole year. This year (1994) Frisian TV has started a regular programme broadcast two hours a day.
There are no movies dubbed in Frisian.
COMPUTER keyboards and printers can accommodate Frisian orthography without real problems. There is no special DOS or word processing programme designed for or using Frisian. A special spellchecker for Frisian is available, and so is a programme teaching Frisian orthography, both developed by the Frisian Academy. The Academy has also computerized the production of the Frisian scientific dictionary and is accumulating computer data on, e.g., word frequencies.
3.5. The Arts
In 1990 86 BOOKS were published in Frisian. After a brief decline in 1991 (72 books) there was a significant increase in literary production to a total of 97 books in 1992. In addition of educational materials, they include children's books (22), collections of poetry (19), novels (25), scientific publications and dictionaries (31).
At annual MUSIC festivals traditional Frisian folk music is presented by famous groups (e.g., Wiltsje fan Paesem, Doede Veeman). Pop(ular) music is produced by groups like Reboelje, Klinkhamer or Wigels Wjukkel masine. Other popular entertainers are Anneke Douma and Douwe Heeringa. Many of these groups are recorded on CD's and figure in the "Top Five of Frisian CD's" program listing of the Frisian Broadcasting Company.
There is one repertory THEATER group, "Tryater" producing Frisian plays since 1960 with approx. 15,000 spectators per year. Tryater has a (bilingual) educational youth theater division. Since 1987 a Frisian youth choir has given performances mainly in Frisian. A very popular cabaret group "Rients Gratema" whose latest production was seen by 40,000 people, works partly in Frisian. There are about another 150 amateur groups active in the area.
A MOVIE, "De Dream", produced in the language area, attracted 150,000 spectators. Frisian films are shown on TV with Dutch subtitles.
Every five years there is a Frisian Festival with a wide variety of cultural programming, which has gained in popularity over the last ten years. In the summer there are open-air theater productions, many choirs include numbers in Frisian; there is an annual poetry festival for children (aged 8-16), and a bi-annual choir competition for religious music in addition to evening events to promote the use of the Frisian hymnal.
The national government subsidizes the Frisian Academy with hfl. 2,000,000, the "Tryater" with hfl. 1,500,000, the Frisian Department of the Center for Educational Advice in Friesland with hfl. 800,000 and the Frisian Museum for Literature with hfl. 300,000. The provincial government gives a grant of HFl. 700,000 to promote various cultural activities, e.g., music, theater, in Frisian.
3.6. The business world
A knowledge of Frisian is required only for a few positions in the public service sector and for some civil service positions. There are only a few jobs available explicitly for speakers of Frisian. These are found particularly in primary education and especially in rural schools. For jobs involving oral communication with clients in banks, municipal offices and businesses a knowledge of Frisian is an asset.
Frisian is seldom used in advertising. There have been only very few publicity campaigns in Frisian in the past. Note that as of now there are no commercials on Frisian television. Radio commercials are mostly in Dutch. There are recent attempts to increase the number of radio commercials in Frisian. Consumer information, e.g., labels, instructions, manuals, are mostly in Dutch. While companies are allowed to use Frisian besides Dutch and/or English, this apparently does not occur in practice.
3.7. Family and social use of the language
Outside of the cities, almost all parents use Frisian in interaction with their children. 65% of marriages are concluded between speakers of Frisian. There are no significant differences in the use of language between males and females. Frisian is spoken more often by the working class population than by the middle and upper middle classes.
Approx. 100 members of the clergy, members of a society for the promotion of Frisian in religious worship, are able to preach in Frisian. A total of about 1000 services a year, i.e., about 2%, are conducted in Frisian. A bible in Frisian was first published in 1943, a new edition in 1978. A Frisian hymnal was published in 1977. The choice of language for religious ceremonies (weddings, funerals) depends on the family and the ability of the minister. The role of Frisian in the Roman Catholic church is comparable to that of the Protestant denomination.
Speakers of Frisian believe that their language will continue to grow in vitality if publicly supported and consider it quite important as a means of communication in the future; outsiders much less so. Young people appear well-motivated to learn and use the language. Each year about 400 adults outside the speech community take courses offered by the General Frisian Education Committee in Frisian as a second language, which enable them at least to understand and read Frisian. Children learn it as a second language in primary and secondary school.
3.8. Transnational exchanges
The Fryske Rie (Frisian Council) is actively engaged in fostering exchanges and contacts between Dutch Friesland and East and North Friesland in Germany. It coordinates and organizes meetings of farmers, teachers and student conferences at regular intervals.
4. Conclusion
The following is a very brief summarizing comparison between some easily salient features of the three Frisian minority languages in Europe, i.e., in the Netherlands and in Germany, as reported in the questionnaires supplied by the area correspondents and summarized in the preceding report(s).
Most obviously, the three vary significantly in size. Dutch West Frisian is the "giant" with 400,000 speakers, the two German Frisian groups are small "Davids", with the minuscule East Frisian group at 2000 and the North Frisians at 9000 speakers. They also differ strongly in proportion vis-a-vis the total populations of their respective areas, viz.: 2/3 of the population of Dutch Friesland are Frisian speakers, compared to only 18% in the German Saterland and a mere 7% in North Friesland (note, however, that the Frisian speaking population on the remote North Sea islands is much more highly concentrated.)
Linguistically, West Frisian appears much more unified and standardized than either East or North Frisian, which are both smaller and more dialectalized, especially island North Frisian. West Frisian has developed an accepted orthography, offically authorized by the regional government. North Frisian, perhaps because of the strong internal dialect differences, has not been so unified, and the East Frisians have adopted the orthography of their Dutch Frisian neighbours.
In public usage and visibility, again, Dutch Frisian is way ahead of both German Frisian languages. In Dutch Friesland Frisian is a compulsary subject at the primary and junior high school level, in the German provinces it is merely an option in primary schools, though with a much more respectable enrolment in North Friesland than in the Saterland. Enrolments are rising in (West) Friesland and in North Friesland, falling in the Saterland. Even at the academic level much more attention is paid to Frisian in the Netherlands than in Germany. Publications in Frisian number close to one hundred in one year in the Netherlands versus no more than a handful in Germany (4:1 North - East Frisian). There are many publications in pure West Frisian, very few in North and East Frisian, not counting dictionaries. There is a pure Frisian radio station in Dutch Friesland, two minutes weekly news in Frisian in Germany.
Institutional organization is strongest among the West Frisians, who have their own Academy, a Frisian Council, a big Institute in Groningen, and organize an International Frisian Congress every three years. The North Frisians have at least a (small) Institute in Bredstedt, the East Frisians only local clubs.
Official legal and administrative recognition and support appears small in all three cases. Still, there are noticeable differences: The Dutch government has authorized the use of Frisian in courts, the provincial government of Friesland the orthography, and individual municipalities have set offical policies favoring Frisian. For North Frisian there is at least a special counsel at the State ministerial level, while East Frisian is merely recognized (side-by-side with Low German) as a minority language by the state government, with no more specific provisions.
While language use and maintenance of West Frisian appear stable if not rising, that of North Frisian seems on a slow decline, that of East Frisian in more rapid demise.
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