The termFlemish itself has become ambiguous. Nowadays, it is used in at least five ways, depending on the context. These include:
An indication of Dutch written and spoken inFlanders including the Dutchstandard language as well as thenon-standardized dialects, including intermediate forms between vernacular dialects and the standard. Some linguists avoid the termFlemish in this context and prefer the designationBelgian-Dutch orSouth-Dutch
Glottolog considers Western Flemish to be a separate language, classified as a part of the Southwestern Dutch family together with theZeelandic language. According to Glottolog, Western Flemish includes the dialects of French Flemish and West Flemish. Brabantian and East Flemish are classified as Dutch dialects, under the Central Southern Dutch dialect group.[12]Ethnologue considers Limburgish and West Flemish to be separate (regional) languages.[13][14]
Dutch is themajority language in Belgium, used in the written language by three-fifths of the population of Belgium. It is one of the three national and state languages of Belgium, together withFrench andGerman, and is the only official language of theFlemish Region.
The various Dutch dialects spoken in Belgium contain a number of lexical and grammatical features that distinguish them from the standard Dutch. Standard Dutch words can have a completely different meaning in Flemish or imply different context,[15] comparable to the differences between the British and North American variants ofEnglish. As is also the case in the Netherlands, the pronunciation of Standard Dutch is affected by the native dialect of the speaker.
All Dutch dialect groups spoken in Belgium are spoken in adjacent areas of the Netherlands as well. East Flemish forms a continuum with both Brabantic and West Flemish. Standard Dutch is primarily based on theHollandic dialect[16] (spoken in the Western provinces of the Netherlands) and to a lesser extent onBrabantian, which is the dominant dialect inFlanders, as well as in the south of the Netherlands.
The supra-regional, semi-standardized colloquial form (mesolect) of Dutch spoken in Belgium uses the vocabulary and the sound inventory of the Brabantic dialects. It is often called an "in-between-language" or "intermediate language", intermediate between dialects and standard Dutch.[17] Despite its name, Brabantian is the dominant contributor to the Flemish Dutchtussentaal.
It is a rather informalvariety of speech, which occupies an intermediate position betweenvernacular dialects and thestandard language. It incorporates phonetic, lexical and grammatical elements not part of the standard language but drawn from local dialects.
It is a relatively new phenomenon that has been gaining popularity during the past decades.[when?] Some linguists note that it seems to be undergoing a process of (limited) standardisation[18][19] or that it is evolving into akoiné variety.[20]
Tussentaal is slowly gaining popularity in Flanders[when?] because it is used a lot in television dramas and comedies. Often, middle-class characters in a television series will be speakingtussentaal, lower-class characters use the dialect of the location where the show is set (such as Western Flanders), and upper-class characters will speak Standard Dutch.[21] That has giventussentaal the status of normality in Flanders. It is slowly being accepted by the general population, but it has met with objections from writers and academics who argue that it dilutes the usage of Standard Dutch.[22]Tussentaal is used in entertainment television but rarely in informative programmes (like the news), which normally use Flemish accents with standard Dutch vocabulary.
Abelgicism is a word or expression that occurs only in the Belgian variant of Dutch. Some are rarely used, others are used daily and are considered part of the Belgian-Dutch standard language.[23] Many belgicisms are loanwords and words or expressions literally translated from French (also calledgallicisms); others, in contrast, are actually remarkablypurist, such asdroogzwierder (a compound of Dutchdroog "dry" andzwierder "spinner") meaning "spin dryer" (common standard Dutch:centrifuge, a loanword from French), andduimspijker (a compound of Dutchduim "thumb" andspijker "nail") meaning "thumbtack" (common standard Dutch:punaise, a loanword from French). Among the belgicisms, there are also many words that are considered obsolete, formal, or purist in standard Dutch. Moreover, many belgicisms have their origin in theBelgian official nomenclature. For example,misdaad "felony" is not a legal term in the Netherlands, but it is in Belgium.
The wordVlaams itself is derived fromIngvaeonic*flâm-, from Germanic*flauma-, meaning 'flooded'. The nameVlaanderen was formed from a stem*flâm-, with a suffix-đr/dr- attached.[28]
^Depending on the definition of "Flemish" in context. Brabantian is classified as a dialect of Dutch. It is spoken in the historicalDuchy of Brabant, spanning the Belgian provinces ofAntwerp,Flemish Brabant andBrussels that are part of the modern region of Flanders.
^Depending on the definition of "Flemish" in context. Limburgish is either classified as a dialect of Dutch or as a separate language altogether. It is spoken in the historicalDuchy of Limburg andCounty of Loon, spanning the Belgian province ofLimburg that is part of the modern region of Flanders.
^Janssens, Guy; Marynissen, Ann (2005).Het Nederlands vroeger en nu. Leuven & Voorburg: Acco., 155 ff.
^"De gesproken standaardtaal: het Algemeen Beschaafd Nederlands" [The standard spoken language: General Civilized Dutch].Structuur en geschiedenis van het Nederlands Een inleiding tot de taalkunde van het Nederlands (in Dutch). Niederländische Philologie, Freie Universität Berlin. 2014-06-10. Retrieved2015-08-10.
^Rys, K. & J. Taeldeman (2007). Fonologische ingrediënten van Vlaamse tussentaal. In: D. Sandra, R. Rymenans, P. Cuvelier et al. (red.),Tussen taal, spelling en onderwijsArchived 2022-12-26 at theWayback Machine. Essays bij het emeritaat van Frans Daems. Gent: Academia Press, 1–9, p.2.
^"Flemish".Online Etymological Dictionary. Etymonline.com. which citesFlemische as an Old Frisian form; but compare"flāmisk",Oudnederlands Woordenboek (ONW), which givesflēmisk, flāmisk
^Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal:De Geïntegreerde Taal-Bank: Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal (WNT), entryVlamingI; cp.: Oudnederlands Woordenboek (ONW), entryflāmink: "Morfologie:afleiding, basiswoord (substantief): flāma ‘overstroomd gebied’;suffix: ink ‘vormt afstammingsnamen’"; Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek (VMNW), entryVlaendren: "Etymologie:Dat.pl. van flandr-'overstroomd gebied' met het suffix -dr-.". Cognate to Middle Englishflēm 'current of a stream':Middle English Compendium → Middle English Dictionary (MED):flēm n.(2)
