At the opening of the tunnel under the Scheldt a Flemish journalist asked the minister who was cutting the ribbon:
`What is the correct pronunciation in Dutch: tunnel of tunnèl?´
to which the minister replied: `What do your colleagues do to you: pummel
of pummèl?´
(Rombouts, 20)
Many Flemings appear to have difficulties with their language. Where does this uncertainty come from? The answer is complex and one needs to look at the historical background of the use of Dutch in Flanders.
Historical background
The formation of the standard language took place in the seventeenth century, particularly in what is now the Netherlands. Flemish immigrants had certainly brought some southern elements with them in the previous century, but wars and conquests gradually led to a weakening of the former cultural and economical dominance of Flanders. (see historical background of the Netherlands at that time
Between 1814 and 1830 there was a short-lived reunification under king William I. At that time (from 1823) Flemish was the compulsory language of government, education and law, but the Belgian revolution of 1830 reinstated linguistic freedom for the citizens, which in effect meant a restoration of French as the main language. From then onwards, economic, religious and political power was in French and in the hands of French-minded people.
The marked frenchification led to protests, following which came the gradual rise of the Flemish Movement. Literary figures in Ghent, Antwerp and Leuven started the movement, with the central figure being Jan Frans Willems (1793-1846). During this time old Flemish texts were published again and dramatic presentations took place to bring renewed awareness of the glorious past. The famous Antwerp writer Hendrik Conscience set up petitions on the rights of Dutch. However, it was a long time before the first real successes came. In 1856 the so-called "Grievencommissie" ["grievances commission"] was introduced, to which people could complain if they felt that their prospects were being limited by the Francophone government.
In 1873 Dutch was made compulsory in court cases where the accused did not understand French. This was as the result of an incident in 1860, when two innocent men were beheaded for murder because they could not understand French.
The Gelijkheidswet ["Act of Equality"] of 1898 was the first step in the direction of a legal acceptance of Dutch as an official language for government, law and state education alongside French. However French remained more important for public life. Yet the struggle for emancipation by the Flemish-speaking masses also continued to be important. During the First World War the Frontbeweging arose under the leadership of a group of lettered Flemings with their aim being a free Flanders and a free Wallonia within an independent Belgium. They demanded that Flanders should have a single language, and sought an identity of its own. The main object of the struggle at that time was the university of Ghent. They wanted to introduce Dutch as the language of science, but there was a lack of confidence even amongst the Flemings as to whether their language was acceptable as a scientific language. By 1930 education in the university of Ghent was in Dutch; some departments of the university of Leuven gradually gave more and more lectures in Dutch. In 1968 the Francophone campus at "Louvain-la-Neuve" was opened, which meant that higher education in Leuven itself could then become completely Dutch.
In the 1930s, following several language laws, Flanders gradually became a single-language area, Wallonia just French-speaking, and Brussels bilingual. (see also Dutch in Brussels)
The language position today is shown in the following map:
In April 1982 the Nederlandse Taalunie [Dutch language union] was set up, a joint Netherlands / Flemish institution with the aim of advancing Dutch language and literature in the broadest sense of the word.
The Dutch of the Flemings
Until the nineteenth century there was no standard language in Flanders. People spoke different local dialects which were often mutually difficult to understand.
However there was a desire for a "civilised language" of their own, as shown by the slogan "In Vlaanderen Vlaams" ["Flemish in Flanders"]. Since 1973 the official name has no longer been "Flemish" but "Dutch", and the norm is the usage as in the Netherlands.
For years the Flemings then tried to pursue a language ideal that was not actually spoken in their own land. However they gradually "had enough" of this position. The spread of education, greater mobility, the media, but also the industrialisation of an earlier mainly agrarian region, all gradually strengthened the language awareness of the Flemings.
Differences between North and South
There are some differences between north and south, but none of them are crucial.
Pronunciation
Literal pronunciation
The Flemish articulation is clearer and more deliberate than in northern Dutch. However the reason for this phenomenon should not be sought in a greater speech discipline and a greater need for norms. The fact is that the Flemings have learned the Dutch of the north mostly from written texts, and for a long time there were only limited opportunities for contact between north and south.
Phonetic variation
A Fleming can usually be easily recognised by a few words, even if a conscious effort is being made to avoid typically Flemish expressions. In what way? Firstly Flemish has an intonation pattern that is markedly different from Dutch. Secondly a number of vowels are articulated differently.
Examples of this are:
- · The sound /w/ is a bilabial in Flemish (as in English), whilst in Dutch it is a labio-dental.
- · The spellings
and as in "officieel" and "nationaal" are pronounced in Flemish with a pure alveolar [s] in contrast to the lightly palatalised variant of northern Dutch. - Flemish has a noticeable tendency to adapt foreign words into Dutch speech patterns; for example in the words "record" and "cabaret" the final letter is pronounced, and in the word "passagier" Flemings use a "soft g".
Vocabulary
The vocabulary is the main source of difference between Flemish and Dutch. However this difference affects at most a couple of thousand words, which can be subdivided in the following groups.
"Official" words
Belgium and the Netherlands are two different countries with their own structure, different political institutions and social provisions etc. It is therefore not surprising that these facts result in a difference in designation.
Examples of this are:
DutchEerste en Tweede Kamer ["First and Second Chamber"] compared to FlemishSenaat en Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers ["Senate and Chamber of Representatives"].
In the Netherlands there is a commissaris at the head of a province whereas the same function in Flanders is called gouverneur. In the Netherlands you get kinderbijslag ["child benefit"] and ga met de VUT whilst in Flanders you get kindergeld and ga met brugpensioen.
You must not be surprised if a Flemish girl says that she is going to marry a regent, since that is merely somebody who has studied at a regentaat (a secondary "normaalschool").
Words from daily life
The main difference is perhaps the fact that Flemings use "gij", "ge" etc with everybody, and do not restrict this form of address to God as happens in the Netherlands.
(see also the use of
personal pronouns in Middle Dutch)
b) Flemish diminutives end in -ke, for example maskes for meisjes or karrekes for karretjes.
Netherlanders studeren in de avondschemer op kamers whilst Flemish students sit bij valavond in their kot and blokken from their books.
Flemish poetsvrouwen make everything gans proper, and in the Netherlands the schoonmaaksters make, for the same salary, everything helemaal schoon.
A bargain-hunter must not forget that the uitverkopen are called solden in Flanders.
Loan words
Foreign words come into Flemish mostly from French. Even anglicisms are often picked up via French.
Typical examples of this group are expressions such as: croque-monsieur for Dutch tosti, morose for Dutch somber, malcontent for Dutch ontevreden.
However there are also some borrowings direct from English, eg handicap or match, though these are also often pronounced in the French way.
Barbarisms
Barbarisms are loan words in a pejorative sense: they are often expressions that have been translated literally, or have been constructed on the model of another language. Many words in this group come from sport.
Examples are: recupereren for zich herstellen; remonteren for inhalen; penaliseren for straffen or cycling terms such as de arrivée for aankomst and demarreren for proberen om de leiding te overnemen.
Purisms
Purisms are consciously created to counter alien elements in a language.
Examples from Flemish are regenscherm for paraplu; droogzwierder for centrifuge; kinderkribbe for crèche; watergladheid for aquaplaning etc.
(see also the text on
language purification / purism in the sixteenth and seventeenth century
Syntax
Although the syntax in Flemish is very close to that of Dutch, there are a few differences. These are often caused by influence from French, as for example in the splitting of verb groups at the end of sentences. It is possible to use the following word order in Flemish:
Hij heeft er niets willen over zeggen.
In Dutch this sort of construction would be regarded as incorrect.
