Limburgish - Wikipedia

Limburgish - Wikipedia
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Limburgs
South/Eastern branch of Low Franconian spoken in and around Limburg
"Limburgs" redirects here. For other uses, see
Limburg
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Limburgish
Limburgan, Limburgian, Limburgic, East Low Franconian, South Low Franconian
Limburgs
Lèmburgs
Pronunciation
[ˈlɪm˦bʏʀ(ə)xs,
ˈlɛm˦-]
Native to
Netherlands
Limburg
Belgium
Limburg
Liège
Germany
North Rhine-Westphalia
Region
Limburg (Netherlands)
Limburg (Belgium)
Native speakers
800,000
(2025)
unknown number in Germany
Language family
Indo-European
Germanic
West Germanic
Weser–Rhine Germanic
Low Franconian
Limburgish
Writing system
Latin
Official status
Recognised minority
language in
Netherlands
– Statutory provincial language in Limburg Province (1996, Ratification Act, ECRML, No. 136), effective 1997.
Regulated by
Veldeke Limburg (unofficial), Raod veur 't Limburgs (unofficial)
Language codes
ISO 639-1
li
ISO 639-2
lim
ISO 639-3
lim
Glottolog
limb1263
Limburgan
Linguasphere
52-ACB-al
This article contains
IPA
phonetic symbols.
Without proper
rendering support
, you may see
question marks, boxes, or other symbols
instead of
Unicode
characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see
Help:IPA
Limburgish
Limburgs
[ˈlɪm˦bʏʀ(ə)xs]
or
Lèmburgs
[ˈlɛm˦-]
Dutch
Limburgs
[ˈlɪmbʏr(ə)xs]
; also
Limburgian
Limburgic
or
Limburgan
) is the collective designation for a group of closely related language varieties spoken in most of
Belgian
and
Dutch Limburg
and in the adjacent areas of
North Rhine-Westphalia
The Limburgish dialects lack a
standardized form
and instead comprise multiple varieties, each with its own distinctive features. A characteristic feature of many dialects of Limburgish is the occurrence of a
lexical
pitch accent
Franconian tone accent
), which these dialects adopted from and share with the adjacent
Central Franconian
dialects of German.
In the Netherlands, Limburgish has been officially
recognized as a regional language
by the Dutch government since 1997.
In Belgium and Germany, Limburgish dialects have no formal legal status.
Etymology
edit
The name
Limburgish
(and variants of it) derives only indirectly from the now Belgian town of
Limbourg
Laeboer
in Limburgish, IPA: /ˈlæːbuʁ/), which was the capital of the
Duchy of Limburg
during the
Middle Ages
. More directly it is derived from the more modern name of the
Province of Limburg (1815–39)
in the
Kingdom of the Netherlands
, which has been split today into a
Belgian Limburg
and a
Dutch Limburg
. In the area around the old Duchy of Limburg the main language today is French, but there is also a particular cluster of Limburgish (or Limburgish-like, depending on definitions) dialects. The use of the word
Limburgish
is first attested at the close of the 19th century.
People from Limburg usually call their language
plat
a term also used by speakers of
Low Saxon
to refer to their respective dialects.
Definition
edit
Overlap and Delimitation between East Low Franconian and Various Definitions of “Limburgish”:
East Low Franconian including transitional dialects, without internal subdivisions.
The "Limburg group" (without internal subdivisions) based on the feature frequency method.
The area where local dialects are defined as "Limburgish" by the Dutch state and protected as regional language.
Definition of Limburgish based on tonality within the broader Dutch language area.
There are various interpretations of the Limburgish dialect area, and its delineation depends on the definition employed.
In everyday usage in the Netherlands and Belgium, the term “Limburgish” generally refers to the endogenous language varieties spoken in the two Limburg provinces. Within Belgian and Dutch Limburg itself, however, a more nuanced
socio-linguistic
definition prevails. For most Limburgers, “Limburgish” as such does not exist; instead, speakers primarily identify their individual dialect with their town or region or more generally as
plat
, the colloquial term for “dialect”. For them, the label “Limburgish” is typically applied to those dialects with which mutual communication is possible without substantial adaptation of one’s own variety. This definition covers most, though not all, dialects spoken within the provinces. For instance, the dialects in the North of Dutch Limburg are not necessarily considered Limburgish, and speakers of the
Kerkrade dialect
— although the speakers themselves classify their dialect as Limburgish — tend to adjust their speech and choice of words when interacting with speakers of the more none-peripheral Limburgish varieties, due to the relatively divergent character of their dialect.
10
11
In administrative law, under the provisions of the
European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages
, “Limburgish” is defined for the purposes of Dutch legislation as “the regional language which, in various forms, is spoken in the Dutch province of Limburg.”
10
12
From a linguistic perspective, “Limburgish” has traditionally denoted the
Low Franconian
varieties spoken between the
Benrath Line
(maken/machen) and the
Uerdingen Line
(ik/ich). The defining characteristic of these dialects, within this definition, is their partial participation in the
Second Germanic consonant shift
, which spread concentrically from
Cologne
northwestwards, diminishing in intensity, as part of the so-called
Rhenish fan
. A more recent linguistic definition, which overlaps with but does not fully coincide with the traditional one, delineates Limburgish dialects in the stricter sense on the basis of the distribution of
tonal accent
within the southeastern Low Franconian varieties.
13
Regardless of the exact definition used, the term
Limburgish
itself is specific to the Netherlands and Belgium, where it used by linguists and laymen alike and is strongly connected to the cultural and regional identity of the inhabitants of both Belgian and Dutch Limburg. This regional identity is notably absent from the speakers of closely related Low Franconian dialects in adjacent parts of Germany, who do not refer to their local dialects as
Limburgish
14
In German linguistic discourse too, the term is uncommon with German linguists instead tending to use
Southern Low Franconian
(German:
Südniederfränkisch
), which, depending on the definition used, can refer to the same dialect grouping.
Status
edit
Netherlands
edit
In the aftermath of the Netherlands’ inclusion of
Low Saxon
under the
European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages
in 1996, the Province of Limburg asked the Veldeke dialect association to investigate to what extent Limburgish could claim the same status.
15
In response, Veldeke established a working group, whose primary task was to examine whether Limburgish met the same criteria on which the earlier recognition of Low Saxon had been based.
15
16
The working group did not assess Limburgish separately against the relatively limited requirements of the Charter, but instead compared its linguistic features with those of Frisian and Low Saxon, both of which had already been recognized. On the basis of attestations by three external experts, the group concluded that Limburgish fulfilled the criteria at least as strongly as Low Saxon and would therefore qualify for inclusion under the Charter. The working group emphasized that recognition of Limburgish should not be regarded as an intervention in scientific terminology or linguistic practice, but rather as a public-law recognition of cultural variation and diversity within the Limburgish dialects and of their position in relation to Standard Dutch.
16
Accordingly, the group’s advice explicitly refrained from making claims about the status of Limburgish as a “language” or a “dialect,” instead defining it as “the regional language which, in various forms, is spoken in the Dutch province of Limburg.”
16
10
12
On 1 March 1996, the working group published its “Advice concerning the recognition of Limburgish as a regional language”, which led the Province of Limburg to request that Limburgish be recognized under the European Charter. This request was subsequently granted by the Dutch government in 1997 without further substantive review.
16
As a result, Limburgish became one of five minority languages in the Netherlands recognized under the Charter, alongside the previously recognized
Low Saxon
Yiddish
Sinti-Romani
, and
Frisian
. The dialects and regional languages of Dutch Limburg thus enjoy the same status as Low Saxon, specifically recognition under Part II of the Charter. In contrast to languages recognized under Part III (such as Frisian), those under Part II cannot derive specific legal rights from this recognition. However, it is stipulated that their use must be encouraged by the government.
17
18
The decision to recognize Limburgish as a regional language, as well as the process leading up to it, was not without controversy. Linguist Johan De Caluwe described the recognition of Limburgish as merely symbolic, while the
Dutch Language Union
expressed its dissatisfaction with the fact that it had not been consulted in connection with the request by the Province of Limburg for recognition.
18
The then Secretary-General of the Language Union argued that the Union should indeed have been involved, since Limburgish had always at the very least implicitly been regarded as part of Dutch. Consequently, the argument that Limburgish had nothing to do with Dutch and therefore did not fall within the purview of the Language Union was, in its view, invalid. According to the Language Union, the recognition of Limburgish did in fact constitute a decision concerning Dutch, and it should therefore have been consulted.
Two members of the committee which wrote the advice on the basis of which Limburgish gained recognition, J. Leerssen and A. Weijnen, expressed the opinion that the Dutch Language Union was intrinsically opposed to granting special status to regional languages and that its objections to the regional language status of Limburgish in the Netherlands were primarily due to its possible effects on the complicated linguistic divisions and interests in Belgium.
19
In 2000, the Dutch government acknowledged that it would indeed have been wiser to submit the Province of Limburg’s request for review to the Language Union. As a result, the Committee of Ministers of the Language Union agreed that any future requests of this nature would be referred to the Union.
16
18
A subsequent request to include
Zeelandic
as a recognized regional language under the Charter was, as an indirect consequence of this agreement, rejected.
18
Belgium
edit
Since 24 December 1990, the
French Community of Belgium
has recognized all indigenous minority dialects that, alongside French, originated within the territory of Brussels and
Wallonia
as “indigenous regional languages.” This decree covers both Romance and Germanic varieties, which means that Limburgish dialects, although not explicitly mentioned in the legal text, also fall under this recognition within the region.
20
21
In the
Flemish Community
, where the debate gained momentum following the recognition of Limburgish in the Netherlands, the government sought linguistic advice from, among others, the Dutch Language Union. The request to recognize Limburgish there as well was ultimately rejected in 2000.
18
Classification
edit
Further information:
History of Dutch
Low Franconian
, and
Rhenish fan
The Limburgish dialects are classified as part of
Low Franconian
, together with the
Hollandic
Brabantian
Zeelandic
Flemish
, and
Kleverlandish
dialects.
22
23
24
25
26
The varieties of Dutch South and Central Limburg are traditionally regarded as Low Franconian (or specifically East Low Franconian) dialects with a gradual Middle German influence, or alternatively as a group of transitional dialects between Low and Middle Franconian.
In
historical linguistics
, the Limburgish dialects are included within
Old Dutch
(more specifically
Old East Dutch
) and
Middle Dutch
27
28
29
30
31
Within the latter, Limburgish is grouped together with Flemish, Brabantian, Hollandic, and eastern Dutch dialects.
29
Linguistic features in historical Dutch texts that are considered characteristic of Limburgish are referred to as Limburgisms.
32
This term should not be confused with an alternative definition of Limburgism, in which it denotes interference phenomena between dialect and the Dutch standard language.
33
The linguistic diversity within the Dutch province of Limburg is considerable, since the varieties spoken in North Limburg share many features with
Brabantian
and
Kleverlandish
dialects and differ markedly from those of South and Central Limburg. In Belgian Limburg, with the exception of part of the Voeren region,
East Limburgish
is not spoken; instead, West and
Central Limburgish
varieties are found. The dialect group spoken in the central part of the province of Limburg represents the transition toward South Brabantian.
34
The Limburgish dialects are intersected by various isoglosses, both in east–west and north–south directions, and therefore constitute only a limited linguistic unity.
35
One of the most significant of these isoglosses is the
Panningen Line
, which roughly separates the western and eastern Limburgish dialects. These Limburgish dialects represent the southeasternmost varieties of the Dutch language area.
36
37
38
Because of the adoption of some features associated with the
Second Germanic consonant shift
, the Limburgish varieties were sometimes seen as
West Central German
, and as such, as part of
High German
39
40
This difference is caused by 19th and early 20th century German linguists defining a High German variety as one that has taken part in any of the first three phases of the High German consonant shift.
The traditional terminology can be confusing as the differences between the historical groupings Old West Franconian and Old East Franconian (which mainly concern certain vowel variations and the presence of
Ingvaeonic features
) is different from the modern modern dialectal dichotomy between Western and Eastern Low Franconian, which is based on the presence or absence of
High German features
in Low Franconian, which did not occur until the advent of the Middle Dutch period.
41
42
Subdivisions
edit
Various taxonomies of the Limburgish dialects exist. The one below is based on R. Belemans, J. Kruijsen, J. Van Keymeulen (1998)
43
44
Truierlands
Lommels
(around
Lommel
Brabants-Limburgs
Noorderkempens
Zuiderkempens
Getelands
West-Limburgs
West Limburgish
Dommellands
Demerkempens
Beringerlands
(cp.
Beringen
Lonerlands
Centraal-Limburgs
Central Limburgish
Weertlands
Horns
Maaskempens
Centraal-Maaslands
Trichterlands
Bilzerlands
(cp.
Bilzen
Tongerlands
(cp.
Tongeren
Oost-Limburgs
East Limburgish
Noordelijk Oost-Limburgs
Northern East Limburgish
Zuidelijk Oost-Limburgs
Southern East Limburgish
Zuid-Gelders Limburgs
(around Venlo)
Noord-Gelders Limburgs
or
Kleverlands
History
edit
After the third century, the dynamics between the
Germanic peoples
and the Romans along the lower course of the Rhine began to change. Whereas in earlier centuries relations had primarily consisted of trade with occasional raids, the crises that increasingly beset the Roman Empire led to larger numbers of Germanic groups settling on the left bank of the major rivers. These tribes most likely spoke dialects that had developed from
Weser-Rhine Germanic
, which by the fifth century had merged into what is known as
Old Frankish
45
46
The cultural predominance of the Romans nevertheless remained significant, manifesting itself in a relatively gradual transformation of the linguistic landscape and in the adoption of numerous Latin loanwords, particularly in formerly strongly Romanized areas where these Germanic peoples settled. As a result, compared to all other West Germanic varieties, the Limburgish dialects and those of the adjacent Rhineland contain the greatest number of early Latin loanwords, and for a long time, bilingual Romance–Germanic language islands continued to exist in parts of Limburg.
47
The region around Sint-Truiden and the area between Aachen and Vaals, for instance, were only definitively Germanized after the tenth century. Traces of this linguistic development remain, such as in the village of
Cadier en Keer
near Maastricht, where Cadier represents the Romance evolution and Keer the Germanic evolution of the original Latin word
calidarium
(a heated bathhouse).
48
Beginning in the sixth century, the
Second Germanic Sound Shift
spread northward from southwestern Germany. This development caused Old Frankish to split into a non-shifted variety (
Old Dutch
, also known as
Old Low Franconian
) and several shifted varieties: the dialects of
Old High German
spoken in and around the
Middle Rhine
. The later Limburgish dialects trace their origins to the eastern branch of Old Dutch. Some of the earliest known Dutch texts are written in this variety, such as the famous
Wachtendonck Psalms
of the tenth century.
Both East and West Old Dutch contributed to the formation of Middle Dutch, but after the thirteenth century, features characteristic of Flemish and Brabantine (both western dialects) became dominant in the written record. Although Middle Dutch appears relatively homogeneous in writing, this is not assumed to have been the case in the spoken language.
49
Limburgish constitutes one of the five principal dialect groups of Middle Dutch.
50
51
The
Middle Dutch
Limburgish dialects were marked by features of the Second Germanic Sound Shift, which had spread northwestward from the city of
Cologne
. A specific example is the presence of the ik–ich isogloss in Middle Dutch varieties of Limburgish, whereas the shift from ik to ich had not yet taken place in Old East Dutch (the direct predecessor of the present-day dialects in central and southern Limburg).
Traditionally, the Battle of Worringen (1288) is seen as a turning point in the linguistic history of the Limburgish dialects. Following this battle, the Limburg region reoriented itself: the old Duchy of Limburg, the County of Dalhem, and what is now Dutch South Limburg — collectively known as the Lands of Overmaas — came under the rule of the Duchy of Brabant. Instead of looking primarily to nearby German cities, the region shifted its economic and cultural orientation westward, toward the flourishing Brabantine cities and, further afield, to
Ghent
Bruges
, and
Ypres
in Flanders.
52
With the dominance of the Brabantine dialects (the so-called Brabantine expansion), developments in the opposite direction set in: typically Middle Dutch sound changes — such as final devoicing, assimilation, and vowel reduction — spread west-to-east, counteracting the earlier High German influence. The adoption of Brabantine features occurred earliest and most strongly in the dialects west of the Meuse, notably in present-day Belgian Limburg, Maastricht, and Weert.
53
When, in the early sixteenth century, the first extensive attempts were made to standardize Dutch, Brabantine provided the main basis. After the
fall of Antwerp
during the
Eighty Years’ War
, however, the cultural, political, and economic center of gravity shifted to the Northern Netherlands, especially to the province of Holland. The result was that
Hollandic
— though still influenced by Brabantine — acquired a dominant role in the formation of the Dutch standard language, particularly in pronunciation. Consequently, the Limburgish dialects have left relatively few traces in Standard Dutch. By contrast, the Dutch standard language has exerted an increasing influence on Limburgish, particularly since the nineteenth century, as the dialects have moved progressively closer to Standard Dutch
54
The earliest texts written in a Limburgish dialect date from the nineteenth century. A precursor is the
Sermoen euver de Weurd
(“Sermon on the Words”), composed in Maastricht dialect in 1729. Pioneers in the documentation of Limburgish dialects included Pieter Willems (1840–1898), professor at
Leuven University
but born and raised in
Maastricht
, and Joseph Schrijnen (1869–1938), professor first in Utrecht and later in Nijmegen. Their research was, as was common at the time, conducted primarily through written questionnaires.
In the twentieth century, with the rise of radio and television as new media, marked differences arose in the extent to which dialects were spoken in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany. In Belgium, the South Low Franconian dialect lost ground to so-called
Verkavelingsvlaams
, while in Germany the
Rhineland regiolect
increasingly took hold.
55
The linguistically Limburgish dialects in Germany are also subject to the influence of the German standard language. Under the influence of Cologne broadcaster WDR, Ripuarian accents have been spreading on the left bank of the Rhine, at the expense of the traditional Limburgish and Kleverlandish dialects.
55
Speakers
edit
In 2012 it was concluded that dialect use in both Limburg provinces as well as in the adjacent Rhineland has been declining with each generation.
56
57
A 2021 study by dialect society
Veldeke Limburg
found that 67% of the inhabitants of Dutch Limburg reported speaking Limburgish fluently. However, there were marked discrepancies by age group: among the youngest cohort surveyed (18–34 years), only 52% reported fluent command of the dialect. More than half of Limburgers expected that the use of Limburgish dialects would decrease in the future, while only 4% believed it would increase.
58
Alongside Standard Dutch, approximately 57% of Limburgish parents spoke Limburgish with each other in 2003; the percentage who also spoke Limburgish with their children was somewhat lower. This finding corresponds to earlier studies from the 1990s, which indicated that parents tended to consider Standard Dutch more appropriate for addressing their children.
56
Within the Netherlands, dialect use is relatively highest in Limburg.[29] In areas that experienced strong migration flows from other parts of the country, such as the Limburg mining district, the use of the local dialect has weakened. The urban dialect of
Heerlen
reflects this most clearly, largely due to the higher socio-economic status of Standard-Dutch-speaking migrants in the first half of the twentieth century.
In western South Limburg and Central Limburg, Limburgish continues to be spoken relatively most frequently.
57
While the use of Limburgish dialects as spoken language has consistently declined, written use of Limburgish has increased significantly, a trend attributed to the rise of the internet and a reduction in illiteracy.
59
In Belgian Limburg, various studies have likewise revealed a correlation between age and the proportion of Limburgers who are dialect speakers. For instance, in
Bilzen
(located between
Hasselt
and
Maastricht
), 42% of the population still reported speaking dialect, though this percentage varied substantially by age. Among those over 55 years of age, 60% spoke dialect; among those aged 25–54, this declined to just over 40%; and in the under-25 group, only 11% spoke the local dialect.
60
Sociolinguistics
edit
Bilingual signs in
Hasselt
, Belgium
Until well into the eighteenth century, the Limburgish elite associated the Limburgish dialects with the lower classes and regarded them as subordinate and inferior to written and cultural languages such as Dutch,
German
, and especially
French
61
In the nineteenth century, appreciation for Limburgish dialects grew in a cultural-historical sense, though their socio-linguistic status remained low.
62
This lower prestige contributed in South Limburg to the emergence of
Koelhollands
(Limburgish: 'Coal Dutch' a play on both the Dutch word
steenkolenengels
and the coal mining industry then present in the area): a sociolect formed through the blending of Standard Dutch and Limburgish dialects, as parents believed their children would have better opportunities if they spoke Standard Dutch.
63
In surveys conducted in 1987 and 1997, many speakers of Limburgish dialects nevertheless identified these as their first language.
10
64
In Belgian Limburg, the status of Limburgish dialects is clearly demarcated in socio-cultural terms, both positively and negatively. The dialect is the language of informal situations, village life, the workplace, carnival, and folklore, but it is also considered the language of older and less educated people.
65
Within several Limburgish dialects, especially urban ones, class distinctions can also be discerned. Although less pronounced than, for example, in the dialect spoken in
The Hague
, both the Roermond- and Maastricht dialect exhibit
upper
and
lower class
variants. Speakers of upper-class Maastricht-variety, for instance, use significantly more French loanwords.
66
Within the Dutch dialect renaissance that began in the early 1990s, Limburgish has held a prominent place, particularly through the music of
Rowwen Hèze
. The band, popular throughout the Netherlands and Belgium, has played a major role in destigmatizing dialect use in the arts, in increasing the visibility of Limburgish among a wider audience, and has developed into an emblem and expression of pride in Limburgish identity.
67
68
The degree to which speakers of various Limburgish dialects perceive them as part of a shared “Limburgish” or identify themselves as belonging to a “Limburgish-speaking community” varies considerably. Dialect diversity is traditionally greater among Belgian Limburg dialects than among those of Dutch Limburg, and as a result, Belgian Limburgers generally do not perceive themselves as speaking one and the same language. With the exception of the Maasland region, many Belgian Limburgers do not readily regard their dialects as part of a broader Limburgish construct that also encompasses the varieties of Dutch Limburg.
69
In Germany, dialect awareness is lowest, and speakers there do not use any overarching term (“Limburgish” or otherwise) for the dialects that could linguistically be seen as Limburgish.
70
By contrast, dialect awareness is relatively high in Dutch Limburg, although even there most people identify the term “Limburgish” primarily with their own local dialect.
10
The dialects of Dutch Limburg have been converging. The dialectologist Toon Weijnen (1909–2008) demonstrated in 1939 that internal differences between Dutch Limburgish dialects had decreased, possibly as a result of increased mobility.
71
Conversely, since the late nineteenth century, dialects on either side of the national border have been diverging under the influence of Standard German and Standard Dutch. In 1995, it was concluded that dialect speakers from Germany and the Netherlands, unless restricting themselves to very limited topics that could be covered using the older shared vocabulary, could no longer converse across the border without some knowledge of the other standard language.
72
Orthography
edit
See also:
Spelling 2003 for the Limburgian dialects
The Limburgish dialects do not constitute a unified language, which means that Limburgish texts are always written in a particular dialect, with spelling conventions often varying from one individual to another. The Limburgish dialect association Veldeke has, however, developed an orthographic system intended for all dialects, with the aim that the same sound be represented in the same way across dialects. This system is known as the Veldeke spelling. The first version was published in 1928, followed by revisions in 1952, 1983, and 2000.
73
Although the spelling system has no official status, it is often described as “officially promoted,” as it is used by both the
Raod veur ’t Limburgs
and the Veldeke dialect association.
74
The Veldeke spelling is also employed, for example, on bilingual place-name signs in Dutch Limburg. The most recent version of the spelling dates from 2003.
In 1994, the regional journalist Paul Prikken (1946–2013) developed his own standard form, called
Algemeen Geschreven Limburgs
(“General Written Limburgish”), which he proposed in his dictionary
De taal van de Maas
and used for his columns in the newspaper
De Limburger
between 1995 and 2004. This form gained little traction. A proposal to adopt it at the provincial level was rejected.
75
Radboud University, Catholic University of Leuven, Veldeke Limburg, and the Belgian province of Limburg opposed the introduction of a standardized written language, arguing that it would not benefit the great diversity of Limburgish dialects.
76
Phonology
edit
A Limburgish speaker, recorded in
Slovakia
The sound inventory below is based on the variety of West-Limburgs spoken in Montfort.
Consonants
edit
Labial
Alveolar
Post-
alveolar
Palatal
Velar
Uvular
Glottal
Nasal
Plosive
Affricate
voiceless
t͡ʃ
voiced
d͡ʒ
Fricative
voiceless
voiced
Approximant
median
lateral
/ɡ/
may not show up in the Hasselt dialect, but is common in other Limburgish dialects, e.g.
zègke
(Dutch:
zeggen
) "to say".
Other Limburgish dialects also have the following sounds:
(lan
dj
);
(te
nj
, teeth).
clarification needed
/w/
is realized as
β̞
in Belgian Limburgish.
[ɫ]
is a common allophone of
/l/
, especially in coda position. It is rare in the Montfortian dialect.
[ç]
and
[ʝ]
are allophones of
/x/
and
/ɣ/
, occurring in a front-vowel environment. This is termed
Soft G
in Dutch dialectology.
[ɦ]
is an allophone of
/h/
. In some dialects, it may be the usual realization of
/h/
In most modern dialects,
/r/
is
uvular
Overall, Limburgish dialects tend to have more consonants than Dutch. They also tend to have more vowels. According to
Peter Ladefoged
, the vowel inventory of the dialect of Weert is perhaps the richest in the world. It has 28 vowels, among which there are 12 long monophthongs (three of which surface as centering diphthongs), 10 short monophthongs and 6 diphthongs.
77
78
In most of the Limburgish dialects spoken to the southeast of
Panningen
—for example those of Roermond, Sittard and Heerlen—
appears at the beginning of words in the consonant clusters
sp
st
sl
sm
sn
and
zw
. The same sound is realized as
elsewhere (e.g.
sjtraot
straot
, "street"). This is not the case, however, in the dialects of for example Venlo, Weert, Maastricht, Echt, Montfort and Posterholt.
clarification needed
Vowels
edit
Monophthongs
of the Maastrichtian dialect, from
Gussenhoven & Aarts (1999
:159)
Diphthongs
of the Maastrichtian dialect, from
Gussenhoven & Aarts (1999
:159)
Monophthongs
edit
Short vowels
Front
Central
Back
Unrounded
Rounded
Close
Close-mid
Open-mid
Open
Long vowels
Front
Central
Back
Unrounded
Rounded
Close
iː
yː
uː
Close-mid
eː
øː
oː
Open-mid
ɛː
œː
œ̃ː
ɔː
ɔ̃ː
Open
æː
æ̃ː
aː
ɑː
ɑ̃ː
/ə/
only occurs in unstressed syllables.
/øː
œː
uː/
are realised as
[øə
œə
uə]
before alveolar consonants.
Diphthongs
edit
The diphthongs
/iə
eɪ
æɪ
uɪ
ɔɪ
aɪ
ou/
clarification needed
occur, as well as combinations of
/uː
ɔː
ɑː/
/j/
/aɪ/
only occurs in French loanwords and
interjections
/ou/
is realized as
[oə]
before alveolar consonants.
/eɪ/
can be realized as
[eə]
or
[ejə]
. In the dialect of
Geleen
/eː/
is realized as
[iɛ]
and
/oː/
as
[ɔː]
. In many dialects such as that of Maastricht and Sittard, the long vowel
/aː/
in Dutch
cognates
is most of the time realized as
[ɒː]
, as in
nao
("after", "to, towards"). The Standard Dutch equivalents are
na
[naː]
and
naar
[naːr]
In about 50 Belgian Limburgish dialects, the rounded front vowels
/y,
yː,
ø,
øː,
œ,
œː,
œy/
are unrounded to
/i,
iː,
ɪ,
eː,
æ,
ɛː,
ɛi/
in most native words. They are retained in French loanwords such as
dzjuus
/dʒys/
79
Tone
edit
Further information:
Tone (linguistics)
Extent (orange) of the region where a pitch accent was historically used in The Benelux, France and Germany
Tone contour in dragging tone
Tone contour in push tone
The pitch accent means having two different accents used in stressed syllables. The difference between these two accents is used for differentiating both various grammatical forms of a single
lexeme
and
minimal tone pairs
one from the other.
80
With specific regards to Limburgish, these two accents are traditionally known as
sjtoettoen
("push tone") and
sjleiptoen
("dragging tone"). For example,
[daːx˦˨˧]
daãg
with a dragging tone means "day" in Limburgish, while in many Limburgish dialects
[daːx˦˨]
daàg
with a push tone is the plural form, "days" (in addition,
[daːx]
can also be articulated in a neutral tone as a third possibility. In this case, it means "bye-bye" ["good day"]). In the preceding example, the difference is grammatical, but not lexical. An example of a lexical difference caused only by tone is the word
[biː˦˨]
biè
which is articulated with a push tone and means "bee", which forms a tonal minimal pair with
[biː˦˨˧]
biẽ
, which is articulated with a dragging tone and means "at". This contrastive pitch accent also occurs in
Central Franconian
dialects spoken to the southeast of Limburgish.
Other
Indo-European
pitch accent languages that use
tone contours
to distinguish the meaning of words that are otherwise phonetically identical include
Lithuanian
Latvian
Swedish
Norwegian
, Standard
Slovene
(only some speakers),
Serbo-Croatian
, and
Punjabi
. This feature is comparable to
tone
systems as found e.g. in
Chinese
or many languages of Africa and Central America, although such "classical" tone languages make much more use of tone distinctions
when compared
to Limburgish.
81
Historically, pitch accent in Limburgish and Central Franconian developed independently from accent systems in other Indo-European languages. While contrastive accent can be reconstructed for
Proto Indo-European
, it was completely lost in
Proto-Germanic
82
Its reemergence in Limburgish (and
Central Franconian
) was phonetically triggered by
vowel height
vowel length
, and
voicing
of a following consonant, and became phonemic with sound changes that must have occurred after 1100 CE, such as lengthening of short vowels in open syllables, loss of
schwa
in final syllables, devoicing of consonants in final position, and
merger
of vowels that had been distinct before.
83
Particular local features
edit
Bitonality
edit
It has been proved
according to whom?
by speech analysis that, in the Belgian Limburgish dialect of
Borgloon
, the dragging tone itself is bitonal, while it has also been proved that this is not the case in the adjacent Limburgish dialects of
Tongeren
and
Hasselt
Steeper fall
edit
Other research has indicated that the push tone has a steeper fall in the eastern dialects of Limburgish (e.g. those of Venlo, Roermond and Maasbracht) than it has in western dialects. In addition, both the phonetic realisation and the syllable-based distribution of the contrasts between push and dragging tone seem to be
mora
-bound in the eastern dialects only. This has been examined especially by Jörg Peters.
84
Diphthongization
edit
Moreover, in some dialects such as that of Sittard and Maastricht, especially the
mid
and
high
vowels tend to
diphthongize
when they have a push tone. So in the dialect of Sittard
keize
means "to choose" while in the dialect of
Maasbracht
no diphthongization takes place, so
keze
means the same here. This difference has been examined in particular by Ben Hermans and Marc van Oostendorp.
85
Other examples include plural
[stæɪn˦˨˧]
steĩn
"stone"
[stæɪn˦˨]
steìn
"stones"
and lexical
[ɡraːf˦˨]
"grave"
[ɡraːf˦˨˧]
"hole next to a road"
Verbs distinguish mood with tone:
[weːʁ˦˨˧ˈkɪ˦˨və˧]
"We conquer!"
[weːʁ˦˨˧ˈkɪ˦˨˧və˧]
"May we conquer!"
The difference between push tone and dragging tone may also purely mark grammatical
declension
without there being any difference in meaning, as in the dialect of Borgloon:
gieël
("yellow", with dragging tone) as opposed to
en gieël peer
("a yellow pear", with push tone). This tonal shift also occurs when the adjective gets an inflectional ending, as in
nen gieëlen appel
("a yellow apple").
86
In some parts of Limburg, the tonal plural is being replaced with the Dutch forms among the younger generation, so that the plural for
daag
becomes
dage
[daːʝə]
).
Samples
edit
The sample texts are readings of the first sentence of
The North Wind and the Sun
Phonetic transcription (Hasselt, West Limburgish)
edit
[də
ˈnɔːʀdəʀˌβɛntʃ˨
ən
də
ˈzɔn
βøːʀən
ɑn
dɪskəˈtɛːʀə
ˈeː˨vəʀ
ˈβiə
vɔn
ɪn
ˈtβɛː
ət
ˈstæʀ˨əkstə
βøːʀ
||
ˈtuːn
ˈkum
təʀ
ˈdʒys
ˈei˨mɑnt
vʀ̩ˈbɛː˨
ˈdiː
nən
ˈdɪkə
ˈβæʀmə
ˈjɑs
ˈɑːn˨ɦaː]
87
Orthographic version (Hasselt, West Limburgish)
edit
De naorderwèndj en de zon weuren an disketaere ever wieë von hin twae het sterrekste weur, toên koem ter dzjuus eejmand verbae diê nen dikke, werme jas àànhaa.
citation needed
Phonetic transcription (Maastricht, Central Limburgish)
edit
[də
ˈnoːʀ˦dəˌβɪnt˦
æn
də
ˈzɔn
ɦɑdən
ən
ˈdʀœkə
dɪsˈkʏsi
ˈøː˦vəʀ
də
ˈvʀɒːx
ˈβeː
vaːn
ɦynən
ˈtβijə
də
ˈstæʀ˦kstə
βɒːʀ
tun
ˈʒys
iːmɑnt
vøːʀˈbɛː˦
kɒːm
deː
nən
ˈdɪkə
ˈβæʀmə
ˈjɑs
ˈɒːnɦɑt]
88
Orthographic version (Maastricht, Central Limburgish)
edit
De noordewind en de zon hadde en drökke discussie euver de vraog wee vaan hunen twieje de sterkste waor, toen zjuus iemand veurbij kaom dee nen dikke, werme jas aonhad.
citation needed
Grammar
edit
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does not
cite
any
sources
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improve this section
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adding citations to reliable sources
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Nouns
edit
Gender
edit
Limburgish has three grammatical genders. In some of the Limburgish dialects
which?
den
is used before masculine words beginning with
or with a vowel and in many other dialects
der
is used before all masculine words. In most dialects, the indefinite article is
eine(n)
for masculine nouns,
ein
for feminine nouns and
ei
or
'n
for neuter nouns. Without stress, these forms are most of the time realized as
ne(n)
and
Plural
edit
For some nouns, Limburgish uses
simulfixes
(i.e.
umlaut
) to form the plural:
broor
breur
(brother – brothers)
sjoon
sjeun
(shoe – shoes): note this can also be 'sjoon' with
sjtoettoen
(pushing tone).
For some nouns, there exists a separate conjugation as well:
thoos
turrest
tezennest
tehurrest
tozzest
toerrest
tehunnest
(my home - your home - his home / her home - our home - their home)
Plural and diminutive nouns based on Umlaut start to prevail east towards Germany. However, towards the west, the phonemic distinction between dragging and pushing tone will stop just before
Riemst
89
Diminutives
edit
The diminutive suffix is most often
-ke
, as in Brabantian, or
-je
-sje
after a dental consonant. For some nouns an umlaut is also used and in
breurke
for 'little brother' and
sjeunke
for 'little shoe'.
Adjectives
edit
According to their declension, Limburgish adjectives can be grouped into two classes. Adjectives of the first class get the ending
-e
in their masculine and feminine singular forms and always in plural, but no ending in their neuter singular form. When combined with a masculine noun in singular adjectives may also end on
-en
, under the same phonological conditions which apply to articles. To this class belong most adjectives ending on a
-ch[t]
-d
-k
-p
-t
or
-s
preceded by another consonant or with one of the suffixes
-eg
-ig
and
-isch
. The other declension class includes most adjectives ending on
-f
-g
-j
-l
-m
-n
-ng
-r
-w
or
-s
preceded by a vowel; these adjectives only get the ending
-e(n)
in their masculine singular form.
When used as a
predicate
, Limburgish adjectives never get an ending:
Dee mins is gek
(Maastrichtian: "That man is crazy"). Except for neuter adjectives which sometimes get -t: "'t Eint of 't angert", though this is dying out.
Pronouns
edit
Personal pronouns
edit
Subject
Object
Venlo
Roermond
Weert
Maastricht
Venlo
Roermond
Weert
Maastricht
First person singular
ik
ich
iech
mich
miech
Second person singular
doe
dich
diech
dich
diech
Third person singular masculine
heej
heer
hae
heer
häöm
häöm, dem
heum
häöm
Third person singular feminine
zie, het
zeuj
zie, zij
häör, häöm
heur
häör
Third person singular neutral
het
het
First person plural
weej
veer
vae
veer
ós
us
Second person plural
geej
geer
gae
geer
óch
uch
uuch
Third person plural
zie
zeuj
die
häör
hun
Possessive pronouns
edit
Singular masculine
Singular feminine
Singular neuter
Plural
First person singular
miene(n)
mien
mie
mien
Second person singular
diene(n)
dien
die
dien
Third person singular masculine
ziene(n)
zien
zie
zien
Third person singular neutral
ziene(n)
zien
zie
zien
Third person singular feminine
häöre(n)
häör
häör
häör
First person plural
ooze(n)
oos
(Maastrichtian:
eus
ós
(Maastrichtian:
us
oos
(Maastrichtian:
eus
Second person plural
eure(n)
eur
eur
eur
Third person plural
häöre(n)
(easterly) /
hunne(n)
(westerly)
häör
(easterly) /
hun
(westerly)
häör
(easterly) /
hun
(westerly)
häör
(easterly) /
hun
(westerly)
In the masculine singular forms of
mien
dien
zien
and
oos
, final
-n
is added under the same phonological conditions which apply to articles and adjectives. Deletion of the final
-n
in the neuter forms of
mien
dien
zien
no longer occurs in the dialect of Venlo and is also disappearing in the dialect of Roermond.
Demonstrative pronouns
edit
The most common demonstrative pronouns in Limburgish are:
Singular masculine
Singular feminine
Singular neuter
Plural
Translation
deze(n)
dizze(n)
dees
dis
dit
dees
this/these
dae(n)
(Maastrichtian:
dee
die
det
(Venlo, Roermond, Weert),
dat
(Maastricht)
die
that/those
Vocabulary
edit
The greater part of the
vocabulary
of the Limburgish dialects represents continuations from
Old
Middle
, and
Modern Dutch
, but Limburgish, depending on the specific variety, also displays strong influences from German and/or French.
The Limburgish dialects, particularly those spoken on the left bank of the
Rhine
, also preserve a relatively large number of old Latin loanwords.
90
The area around
Sint-Truiden
in Belgian Limburg has retained the highest concentration of
Latin
and
Old Romance
loanwords.
91
In Belgian Limburg and Maastricht, French was spoken by the upper
bourgeoisie
until well into the twentieth century. In the extreme southeast, along the German border (Heerlen and Kerkrade),
Standard German
was, for a time, better known than
Standard Dutch
. With the spread of Standard Dutch through education, many Limburgish words of French or German origin were replaced during the twentieth century by Dutch equivalents. Thus, the characteristically Maastricht terms
brazzelèt
(“bracelet”) and
hospitaol
(“hospital”) have been supplanted by
ermband
and
ziekenhoes
, while the Roermond word
balt
(“soon”) has given way to
gaw
17
Conversely, the use of the reflexive pronoun
zich
was found in a 1994 study to be on the increase.
92
Limburgish dialect dictionaries often exhibit a discrepancy between the forms recorded and the actual spoken language, since many compilers believe that the dialects of the two Limburgs are rapidly deteriorating under the influence of Standard Dutch. This perspective, frequently expressed in the introductions to such dictionaries, has led to a vocabulary selection that is more closely associated with the speech of older generations.
93
Vocabulary examples of different Limburgish dialects
Dialect
Meaning
Notes
Sittard-dialect
94
fixeiere
to fasten, to fix
From French
fixer
(to fasten, to fix)
fizzelrae(n)ge
drizzle
Compare German
Fisselregen
(drizzle)
Maastricht-dialect
95
keend
(sg.),
kinder
(pl.)
child, children
aomzeik
ant
Compare German
Ameise
and the
Aachen
-dialect
Omeseeck
(both meaning "
ant
")
klasjenere
to talk, to discuss
From
Ripuarian
klatschen
(to talk), compare German
klatschen
(to gossip)
Venlo-dialect
96
dalles
poverty
From
Yiddish
dalles
, from
Hebrew
dallūþ
(poverty)
97
briek
brick
From French
brique
(brick), compare Middle Dutch
bricke
(brick, tile)
intelik
finally
See also
edit
Limburgish Wikipedia
Southeast Limburgish
Notes
edit
References
edit
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23 August
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4.3
Peters, Jörg (2007).
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. Nijmegen: ITS.
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Syntaktische Besonderheiten im Aachener Dreilãndereck. Eine Übersicht begleitet von einer Analyse aus politisch-gesellschaftlicher Sicht
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(in German)
Frins, Jean (2006):
Karolingisch-Fränkisch. Die
plattdůtsche
Volkssprache im Aachener Dreiländereck
. Groningen: RUG Repro [Master's Thesis, Groningen University]
(in German)
Grootaers, L.; Grauls, J. (1930).
Klankleer van het Hasselt dialect
(in Dutch). Leuven: de Vlaamsche Drukkerij.
Gussenhoven, Carlos; Aarts, Flor (1999).
"The dialect of Maastricht"
(PDF)
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29
(2). University of Nijmegen, Centre for Language Studies:
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166.
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on 2011-06-12
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Gussenhoven, C.; van der Vliet, P. (1999). "The phonology of tone and intonation in the Dutch dialect of Venlo".
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(in Dutch). Hasselt: de Langeman.
Further reading
edit
Aarts, Flor (2019),
Liergaank Mestreechs: 'ne Cursus euver de Mestreechter Taol
, Maastricht: Walters
Bakkes, Pierre (1999),
"Roermond"
(PDF)
, in Kruijsen, Joep; van der Sijs, Nicoline (eds.),
Honderd Jaar Stadstaal
, Uitgeverij Contact, pp.
251–
262
Janssens, Guy (1999),
"Tongeren"
(PDF)
, in Kruijsen, Joep; van der Sijs, Nicoline (eds.),
Honderd Jaar Stadstaal
, Uitgeverij Contact, pp.
263–
271
van der Wijngaard, Ton (1999),
"Maastricht"
(PDF)
, in Kruijsen, Joep; van der Sijs, Nicoline (eds.),
Honderd Jaar Stadstaal
, Uitgeverij Contact, pp.
233–
249
van Oostendorp, Marc (2001).
"The phonology of postvocalic /r/ in Brabant Dutch and Limburg Dutch"
. In van de Velde, Hans; van Hout, Roeland (eds.).
'r-atics: Sociolinguistic, phonetic and phonological characteristics of /r/
. Brussels: Etudes & Travaux. pp.
113–
122.
ISSN
0777-3692
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