| Heligoland Frisian | |
|---|---|
| Halunder | |
| Native to | Germany |
| Region | Heligoland |
Native speakers | c. 500 (2009)[1] |
Indo-European
| |
| Official status | |
Official language in | Heligoland |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
| Glottolog | helg1238 |
| Linguasphere | 52-ACA-dbe[2] |
 North Frisian dialects | |
Heligolandic (Halunder) is thedialect of theNorth Frisian language spoken on theGerman island ofHeligoland in theNorth Sea.[3] It is spoken today by some 500 of the island's 1,650 inhabitants and is also taught in schools.[1] Heligolandic is closely related to the insular North Frisian dialects ofFering andÖömrang because medieval fishery around Heligoland attracted Frisians fromFöhr andAmrum, and close contacts have been maintained ever since. In fact Fering and Öömrang are closer in linguistic aspects to the dialect of Heligoland than to that of their neighbouring island Sylt,Söl'ring.[4] Heligolandic also contains a variety of loanwords from 19th-centuryModern English due to the83-year British control of the island.
James Krüss is probably the most notable author of poems and narrations in Heligolandic while Maria Leitgeber (1906–1979) wrote the most substantial prose.[5]
On 24 December 2004, a state law became effective in the German state ofSchleswig-Holstein that recognises the North Frisian language for official use in theNordfriesland district and on Heligoland.[6]
Since August 2025 the websitehalunder.ai offersAI basedmachine translation between German and Halunder. The dictionary contains over 40000 unique words, idioms and samples. The data is based on Heligoland literature and digitized editions of the monthly magazineDer Helgoländer.[7]
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