Gronings, in the language itself called
Grunnegs or
Grönnegs, is a collective name for some
Friso-SaxonFriso-Saxon is a collective name for a certain group of dialects belonging to the West Germanic languages. Although they are a variant of the Low Saxon language as a whole, these dialects have undergone strong influences from the Frisian language...
dialectThe term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by scholars of language. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other...
s spoken in the province of
GroningenGroningen is the northeasternmost province of the Netherlands. In the east it borders the German state of Niedersachsen , in the south Drenthe, in the west Friesland and in the north the Wadden Sea...
and around the Groningen border in
DrentheDrenthe is a province of the Netherlands, located in the north-east of the country. The capital city is Assen. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and Germany to the east.-History:Drenthe, unlike many other parts of the Netherlands, has been a...
and
FrieslandFriesland is a province in the north of the Netherlands and part of the bigger region known as Frisia. In order to distinguish it from the other Frisian regions, it is commonly specified as Westerlauwer Frisia, Westerlauwer Friesland, West Frisia or West Friesland...
. Gronings and the strongly related
varietiesIn sociolinguistics a variety, also called a lect, is a form of a language used by speakers of that language. This may include dialects, accents, registers, styles or other sociolinguistic variation, as well as the standard language variety itself...
in East-Frisia have a strong
FrisianThe Frisian languages are a closely related group of Germanic languages, spoken by about 500,000 members of Frisian ethnic groups, who live on the southern fringes of the North Sea in Denmark, the Netherlands and Germany. The Frisian languages are the second most closely related living European...
influence and take a remarkable position within the Low Saxon language. The language is characterized by a typical accent and vocabulary, which differ strongly from the other Low Saxon dialects.
Area
The name
Gronings can be perfectly geographically defined. The dialect in the north of the province of
DrentheDrenthe is a province of the Netherlands, located in the north-east of the country. The capital city is Assen. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and Germany to the east.-History:Drenthe, unlike many other parts of the Netherlands, has been a...
(Noordenvelds) are so strongly related that most linguists see it as part of Gronings. The dialect of the southeast, called Veenkoloniaals is alike on both sides of the Groningen-Drenthe border. In the
FrisianFriesland is a province in the north of the Netherlands and part of the bigger region known as Frisia. In order to distinguish it from the other Frisian regions, it is commonly specified as Westerlauwer Frisia, Westerlauwer Friesland, West Frisia or West Friesland...
municipality of Kollumerland, the western dialect called Westerkwartiers is also spoken, as well as a separate Groningen dialect called Kollumerpompsters. The latter is spoken in the Frisian village of
KollumerpompKollumerpomp is a small village in Kollumerland c.a. in the province Friesland of the Netherlands and has around the 440 citizens.-References:...
and has more
West FrisianThe West Frisian can mean:* West Frisian language, the language spoken in the Friesland province of the Netherlands* West Frisian , the Hollandic Dutch dialect spoken in the North Holland province of the Netherlands...
influences, while most Groningen dialects have a strong East Frisian influence.
Dialects
The Gronings language can be subdivided into 8 dialects:
| Subdivision of the Groningen dialects |
|
Gronings dialects in the provinces
of Groningen, Friesland, and Drenthe |
- Kollumerpompsters
- Westerkwartiers
- Stadjeders
- Hogelandsters
- Oldambtsters
- Westerwolds
- Veenkoloniaals
- Noordenvelds
- Other varieties of Dutch/German Low Saxon
Example
Though there are several differences between the dialects, they form a perfect whole. Most words are written the same way, but the pronunciation can differ. The examples show the pronunciation.
- Westerkertiers: t Eenege dat wie niet doun is slik uutdeeln
- Stadsgrunnegs (city): t Oinege dat wie noit doun is baaltjes oetdailn
- Hoogelaandsters: t Ainege dat wie nait dudden is slik oetdijln
- Westerwoolds: t Einege dat wie nich dun is slikkerij uutdeiln
- Veenkelonioals: t Ainege wat wie nait dudden is slikke uutduiln
- East Frisian Low Saxon
East Frisian Low Saxon is a West Low German dialect spoken in the East Frisian peninsula of northwestern Lower Saxony. It is used quite frequent in everyday speech there. About half of the East Frisian population in the coastal region uses Platdüütsk. A number of individuals, despite not being...
: Dat eenzige, dat wi neet doon is Slickeree utdelen.
- Northern Low Saxon
Northern Low Saxon is a West Low German dialect.It is considered to be "Standard Low German" within Germany because it is spoken and understood in a huge central area including most of Lower Saxony, Bremen, Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein, areas north of the Benrath line.As such, it covers a great...
of Germany: Dat eenzige, dat wi nich doot, (dat) is Snabbelkraam uutdeeln.
- Standard Dutch
Dutch is a West Germanic language spoken by over 22 million people as a native language, and over 5 million people as a second language.
"1% of the EU population claims to speak Dutch well enough in order to have a conversation." Outside the European Union the number of second language...
: Het enige dat we niet doen is snoep uitdelen.
- Standard German
German is a West Germanic language, thus related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. It is one of the world's major languages and the most widely spoken first language in the European Union. Around the world, German is spoken by approximately 105 million native speakers and also by...
: Das einzige, dass wir nicht machen, ist Süßigkeiten austeilen.
- Scots
Scots or Lowland Scots is the variety of Germanic language traditionally spoken in lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster. It is not to be confused with Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language varieties traditionally spoken in the Highlands and Hebrides....
: The anerly thing we dinnae dae is gie oot snashters.
- English
English is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
: The only thing we do not do is hand out sweets.
Classification
There are many uncertainties about the classification and categorization of Gronings. Some linguists see it as a variety of
Low GermanLow German or Low Saxon is any of the regional language varieties of the West Germanic languages spoken mainly in northern Germany and the eastern part of the Netherlands.-Geographical extent:-Low German in Europe:Dialects...
, also called
Nedersaksisch in the Netherlands. These words are actually more political than linguistic, because they unite a large group of very differing varieties. Categorizing Gronings as Low German or Low Saxon could be considered correct, but the questioning is about the existence of the linguistic unity called
Low Saxon/
Low German.
Others, especially German linguists, see Gronings-East Frisian as a separate group of
German dialectsGerman dialect is dominated by the geographical spread of the High German consonant shift, and the dialect continuum that connects the German with the Dutch language.-German dialects vis-à-vis varieties of standard German:...
. The Frisian influence, the sounds
ou,
ai and
ui and the typical accent are crucial here. Gronings-East Frisian would be categorized as
Friso-SaxonFriso-Saxon is a collective name for a certain group of dialects belonging to the West Germanic languages. Although they are a variant of the Low Saxon language as a whole, these dialects have undergone strong influences from the Frisian language...
instead of
Low Saxon. Other linguists categorize all Gronings-East Frisian dialects as North Low Saxon. In that case, all the other Low Saxon varieties in the Netherlands are categorized as
WestphalianWestphalian is an adjective with multiple meanings:*The culture or people of Westphalia in present-day western Germany*The Westphalian language in Germany*Westphalian , a horse breed*Of or concerning the 1648 Peace of Westphalia treaties:...
.
Especially Dutch linguists classify Gronings as
Dutch Low SaxonDutch Low Saxon is a group of Low Saxon dialects spoken in the northeastern Netherlands . The class "Dutch Low Saxon" is not unanimous...
, in Germany also called
Westplatt. In this case the
DutchDutch is a West Germanic language spoken by over 22 million people as a native language, and over 5 million people as a second language.
"1% of the EU population claims to speak Dutch well enough in order to have a conversation." Outside the European Union the number of second language...
influence is crucial, while the dialects on the other side of the national border are strongly influenced by High German. These influences concern especially the vocabulary, like the Dutch word
"voorbeeld" (example) which is
"veurbeeld" in Gronings while the East Frisian dialects use
"biespööl", which is related to the High German word
"beispiel". In this case there is no separation between Groningen-East Frisian (or North Low Saxon) and Westphalian, but rather a difference between Groningen and East Frisian. The national border would equal the linguistic border.
Origin
The Gronings dialects are a kind of mix between two languages:
Old FrisianOld Frisian is a West Germanic language spoken between the 8th and 16th centuries in the area between the Rhine and Elbe on the European North Sea coast. Whether the speakers of Frisian are the immediate descendants of the Frisians of Roman times or immigrants from North Germany and Denmark is...
(East Frisian) and Middle Low German. Frisian was spoken in the
OmmelandenThe Ommelanden are the parts of Groningen province that surround Groningen city. Usually mentioned as synonym for the province in the expression Stad en Ommeland ....
(surrounding lands of the city of Groningen), while the city of Groningen, the surrounding rural area called Gorecht and the eastern lordship of
WesterwoldeWesterwolde is a region in the province Groningen in the north of the Netherlands. The region is located in the most eastern part of the Netherlands, alongside the German border. It is situated around the rivers Mussel Aa, Ruiten Aa, and Westerwoldse Aa, and it contains the villages Bellingwolde,...
were Low Saxon. When the city of Groningen developed a mighty position in the Ommelanden, a switch from Frisian to Saxon occurred. Although it was not a complete switch because there are many Frisian influences in the "new" Groningen language. Many Frisian words and grammatic features are still in use today. In less than one century, the same process also started in
East FrisiaEast Frisia or Eastern Friesland is a coastal region in the northwest of the German federal state of Lower Saxony....
, from the city of Emden, which was influenced by the
Hanseatic LeagueThe Hanseatic League was an alliance of trading cities and their guilds that established and maintained a trade monopoly along the coast of Northern Europe, from the Baltic to the North Sea and inland, during the Late Middle Ages and early modern period...
. This declares the strong relation between both varieties.
In the second half of the 16th century Gronings started to grow to
Middle DutchMiddle Dutch is a collective name for a number of closely related West Germanic dialects which were spoken and written between 1150 and 1500...
because of the strong influence of the new standard language. But because of the political, geographical and cultural isolation of Groningen, a strong
provincialism in the first half of the 19th century caused Gronings to develop itself in a significant way. The sounds that are used today were formed in this period.
Daily life
Today approximately 65% of people from Groningen can speak and write their native language. If the larger cities and villages of
Groningen||-| |-| |-| |-| |-| |-| |-| |-| |}Groningen is the capital city of the province of Groningen in the Netherlands. With a population of 185,000, it is by far the largest city in the north of the Netherlands....
,
Hoogezand-SappemeerHoogezand-Sappemeer is a municipality in the northeastern Netherlands. It is the second largest municipality in the province of Groningen, after the city of Groningen. It is well known for its ship building industry....
,
VeendamVeendam is a municipality and a town in the northeastern Dutch province of Groningen.A Holland America Line cruise ship, the MS Veendam, is named for the city.- Population centres :...
,
StadskanaalStadskanaal is a Canal, municipality and a town in the northeastern Netherlands.The area is known for its peat mining.- Population centres :...
,
DelfzijlDelfzijl is a municipality and city in the northeast of the Netherlands. It is situated on the left bank of the river Ems estuary, which forms the border with Germany.- Population centres :...
and
WinschotenWinschoten is a municipality and city in the northeast of the Netherlands.Population : 18.497; area: 22,24 km2....
are abandoned in this count, the percentage would rise to about 80%. Almost all of the older people use Gronings as their main language. Until the second half of the 20th century, Gronings was more important in Groningen than Dutch. Young people also speak the language frequently, although many pure Gronings words are lost.
Since the second half of the 20th century, the usage of the language is declining. Because of the globalization, other languages like Dutch and English are becoming more important. Many parents today chose to raise their children in the Dutch language.
Media
In the media Gronings is used frequently. For example on the local radio station
Radio Noord, Gronings is used by the presenters and listeners. On the local television Gronings is less used. Something that is always in Gronings is the weather forecast. The news is always in Dutch, because not everyone who watches can speak Gronings. In the second half of 2007, the local television broadcast a series in Gronings called Boven Wotter. Another program that is in and about Gronings is
Grunnegers, which is actually some kind of education in Gronings.
Examples of Gronings magazines are Toal en Taiken (language and signs) and Krödde, which actually means
weedA weed in a general sense is a plant that is considered by the user of the term to be a nuisance, and normally applied to unwanted plants in human-made settings such as gardens, lawns or agricultural areas, but also in parks, woods and other natural areas. More specifically, the term is often...
.
There are many Gronings dictionaries as well. The first official dictionary was the "Nieuw Groninger Woordenboek" and was put together by Kornelis ter Laan. This dictionary and the writing system used in the book became the basics of each dictionary and writing system ever since.
More recent is "Zakwoordenboek Gronings - Nederlands / Nederlands - Gronings" by Siemon Reker, which is a little less specific. K. G. Pieterman wrote a dictionary of Gronings
alliterationAlliteration is a literary or rhetorical stylistic device that consists in repeating the same consonant sound at the beginning of several words in close succession...
s which is titled
Gezondhaid en Groutnis (sanity and greetings).
Education and culture
Because Gronings is not an official language it is not an obligatory subject in schools, though many primary schools in Gronginen choose to give attention to the regional language. This attention varies from external storytellers to actual courses. In secondary schools Gronings does not receive much attention.
At the
University of GroningenThe University of Groningen , located in the city of Groningen, was founded in 1614. It is one of the oldest universities in the world and one of the largest universities in the Netherlands. Since its inception more than 100,000 students have graduated...
it is possible to study the language. In October 2007 Gronings became an official study within the faculty of
letteren (language and literature). The new professor, Siemon Reker, had already undergone many studies in the language and is famous for his dictionary.
Another possible way to learn Gronings is taking classes. In the last few years the trend of people taking courses has risen. More and more people, also people from outside who come to live in the area in which Gronings is spoken, are interested in the language and are willing to take courses. There are two types of courses. The first one is understanding and the second one is understanding and speaking.
Every year around march writing contest as held in every municipality in Groningen. Everyone can participate and send in a poem or some prose. The winners of the different ages succeed to the provincial round.
Music
Well known Groningan musical artists are Wia Buze, Alex Vissering, Eltje Doddema, Pé Daalemmer & Rooie Rinus, Burdy, Hail Gewoon and Ede Staal (†). Every year the supply of successful artists in regional languages in the Netherlands is rising.
Frisian substratum
Some linguists classify Gronings to North Low Saxon, to which also
East FrisianEast Frisian Low Saxon is a West Low German dialect spoken in the East Frisian peninsula of northwestern Lower Saxony. It is used quite frequent in everyday speech there. About half of the East Frisian population in the coastal region uses Platdüütsk. A number of individuals, despite not being...
belongs. Both related dialects are characterized by a Frisian influence. Hence other linguists classify Gronings-East Frisian as a separate group of Northwest Low Saxon or Friso-Saxon dialects. The most important similarities are grammar features and the vocabulary. The most important differences are the writing system and the loanwords. The East Frisian writing system is based on High German while Gronings uses many Dutch features. For example the word for “ice skate” is in Gronings “scheuvel” and in East Frisian “Schöfel”, while the pronunciation is almost alike. Here are a few examples of words compared to West Frisian, East Frisian Low Saxon, German, Dutch and English.
West FrisianWest Frisian is a language spoken mostly in the province of Friesland in the north of the Netherlands. West Frisian is the name by which this language is usually known outside of the Netherlands, to distinguish it from the closely related Frisian languages of Saterland Frisian and North Frisian,...
|
East Frisian East Frisian Low Saxon is a West Low German dialect spoken in the East Frisian peninsula of northwestern Lower Saxony. It is used quite frequent in everyday speech there. About half of the East Frisian population in the coastal region uses Platdüütsk. A number of individuals, despite not being...
|
Gronings |
German German is a West Germanic language, thus related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. It is one of the world's major languages and the most widely spoken first language in the European Union. Around the world, German is spoken by approximately 105 million native speakers and also by...
|
DutchDutch is a West Germanic language spoken by over 22 million people as a native language, and over 5 million people as a second language. "1% of the EU population claims to speak Dutch well enough in order to have a conversation." Outside the European Union the number of second language...
|
English English is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
|
| Reed |
Schöfel |
Scheuvel |
Schlittschuh |
Schaats |
Ice skate |
| Lyts |
Lüttje |
Lutje |
Klein |
Klein |
Little |
| Foarbyld |
Bispööl |
Veurbeeld |
Beispiel |
Voorbeeld |
Example |
| Bloet |
Bloot [blout] |
Bloud |
Blut |
Bloed |
Blood |
The East Frisian combination -oo (for example in
Bloot = blood) is pronounced like -ow in the English word “now”(
[blowt]; Gronings:
blowd). In some parts of the Rheiderland they say
blyowt, which is a leftover of Frisian in this area. The East Frisian combination -aa (for example in
quaad) is pronounced like –a in the British English word “water”. In Gronings this sound is written like –oa. The word water would be written like “woatah” in Gronings. The pronunciation of the word “quaad” is similar to the Gronings word “kwoad”, which means “angry”. The East Frisian combination -ee and -eei (for example in
neet) are pronounced like the –y in the English word “fly” (
[nyt]; Gronings:
nyt)*.
Linguistic distance from Standard Dutch
After Limburgish, Gronings is the dialect with the farthest distance from Standard Dutch. Reasons for this are vocabulary and pronunciation. The Gronings vocabulary is quite different from Dutch, for example:
- Gronings: Doe hest n hail ìnde luu dij scheuvellopen kinnen
- Dutch: Jij hebt heel veel werknemers die kunnen schaatsen
- English: You have a lot of employees who can ice skate
The pronunciation differs from the writing system. The combination -en is most of the times pronounced like -'n. The Groningen people speak quite fast compared to the Dutch people, with the result that a lot of words are pronounced together as one word. Thus the example sentence is pronounced in English like "
doo'estn hyil'eande lu dy-skowfle-low'm kinn". In the word
skowfle, the k can also be pronounced like the Dutch -g and the -ow is pronounced like in Australian English ([øw]).
The Dutch pronunciation of that sentence is like "
y'I habt hail vail warke'naymers dee cøhna sgahtse", in which the -g- is pronounced as in Dutch itself.
Another reason is the fact that Gronings is a language with a lot of own expressions. One third of the language consists of these expressions. In the example sentence
n hail ìnde is an example of those expressions. Many of these are given in the 'Nieuwe Groninger Woordenboek' by K. ter Laan published in 1977, (1280pp).
Because of this far distance from Standard Dutch and the official status of the neighbouring "dialect" Frisian, Grunnegs is considered as a separate language by its native speakers, while linguist consider it as part of
Dutch Low SaxonDutch Low Saxon is a group of Low Saxon dialects spoken in the northeastern Netherlands . The class "Dutch Low Saxon" is not unanimous...
.
| |
The German dialectsGerman dialect is dominated by the geographical spread of the High German consonant shift, and the dialect continuum that connects the German with the Dutch language.-German dialects vis-à-vis varieties of standard German:...
. Gronings and East Frisian considered as one language. |
Example
Lord’s Prayer
- Os Voader in Hemel, (litt. Our Father in Heaven)
- dat Joen Noam haailegd worden zel, (litt. May Thy name be hallowed)
- dat Joen Keunenkriek kommen mag, (litt. May Thy kingdom come)
- dat Joen wil doan wordt (litt. May Thy will be done)
- op Eerd net as in hemel. (litt. On earth, like in heaven)
- t Stoet doar wie verlet van hebben (litt. The bread we need so badly)
- geef os dat vandoag, (litt. give it to us today)
- en reken os nait tou wat wie verkeerd doun, (litt. And do not blame us for the things we do wrong)
- net zo as wie vergeven elk dij os wat aandut. (litt. As we forgive those who trespass against us)
- En breng os nait in verlaaiden, (litt. And lead us not into temptation)
- mor wil van verlaaider ons verlözzen. (litt. But deliver us from the tempter)
- Den Joe binnen t Keunenkriek, (litt. Because Thou art the kingdom)
- de Kracht en de Heerlekhaid. (litt. the Power and the Glory)
- Veur in aiweghaid. (litt. For eternity)
- Amen
Vocabulary
As told before, the Gronings vocabulary is strongly related to East Frisian Low Saxon, Saterfrisian and West Frisian. However, today the pure Gronings vocabulary is in decline. More and more Gronings words are being replaced by “Groningized” Dutch words. For example the word “stevel” (boot, German “Stiefel”) is sometimes replaced by the word “leers” (Dutch “laars”). Although most people do know the pure words, they are less and less used, for example because people think others will not understand them or because they are too long and the Dutch word is much easier. An example of the latter is the word for sock, which is “Hozevörrel” in Gronings. The Dutch word “sok” is much easier, so it is more often used than hozevörrel.
Some often used Gronings words.
| Gronings |
Dutch |
English |
| Aingoal |
Voortdurend |
Continuously |
| Aine |
Iemand |
Someone |
| Akkenail |
Dakkapel |
Dormer |
| Beune |
Zolder |
Attic |
| Boksem |
Broek |
Trousers |
| Bolle |
Stier |
Bull |
| Boudel |
Boel/Toestand |
Rampus, mess |
| Bözzem |
Schoorsteenmantel |
Mantelshelf |
| Dammit |
Zometeen |
Right away |
| Edik |
Azijn |
Vinegar |
| Eelsk |
Verwaand/Aanstellerig |
Affected |
| Eerdappel/Eerpel |
Aardappel |
Potato |
| Elkenain |
Iedereen |
Everyone |
| Gounend |
Een aantal (mensen) |
Some (people) |
| Hounder, tuten |
Kippen |
Chickens |
| Hupzelen |
Bretels |
Suspender |
| Jeuzeln |
Zeuren/janken |
To nag |
| Jirre |
Vies water |
Dirty liquid |
| Graimen, klaaien |
Morsen |
To Grime |
| Kloede |
Klont/Dik persoon |
Lump/Fat person |
| Koare |
Kruiwagen |
Wheelbarrow |
| Kopstubber |
Ragebol |
Round ceiling mop |
| Kribben |
Ruzie maken |
To wrangle |
| Krudoorns |
Kruisbessen |
Gooseberry |
| Leeg |
Laag |
Low |
| Liepen |
Huilen |
The weeping |
| Loug |
Dorp |
Village |
| Lutje |
Klein |
Little |
| Mishottjen |
Mislukken |
To fail |
| Mous |
Boerenkool |
Kale |
| Mug |
Vlieg |
Housefly |
| Neefie |
Mug |
Winter Crane Fly |
| Om toch! |
Daarom! (nietszeggend antwoord op vraag met “waarom”) |
"because I say so"(a meaningless answer to a question with “why”) |
| Opoe |
Oma |
Grandmother |
| Poeppetoon, Woalse boon |
Tuinbonen |
Broad bean |
| Puut |
(plastic) Zak |
(plastic) Bag |
| Plof(fiets) |
Brommer |
Moped |
| Rebait |
Rode biet |
Red beet |
| Raive |
Gereedschap |
Tools |
| Schraaien |
Huilen |
To weep |
| Siepel |
Ui |
Onion |
| Sikkom |
Bijna |
Around |
| Slaif |
Pollepel |
Ladle |
| Slik |
Snoep |
Candy |
| Slim |
Erg |
Very, badly |
| Smok |
Zoen |
Kiss |
| Spèren/spijen |
Braken, spugen |
Vomiting |
| Stoer |
Moeilijk |
Difficult |
| Steekruif |
Koolraap |
Turnip cabbage |
| Riepe |
Stoep |
Sidewalk |
| Verlet hebben van |
Nodig hebben |
To need (badly) |
| Vernaggeln |
Vernielen |
To demolish |
| Weg/Vot |
Vandaan |
From (like in: “Where do you come ~?”) |
| Wicht |
Meisje |
Girl |
| Wied |
Ver |
Far |
| Zedel |
Folder |
Leaflet |
External links