1 Where can you read and hear Frisian?

Where can you find Frisian? Below you will find basic information about the areas where Frisian can be found, whether there is only one Frisian language, or in which contexts people can make use of it.

Do you already know where Frisian is spoken? Click on the image to see if you can find the correct area!

The Frisian that we will learn about in this module is spoken in the Dutch province of Fryslân. Some people call it West Frisian in order to differentiate it from two other Frisian languages that are spoken in Germany. These languages are called North Frisian and Sater Frisian. With approximately 450.000 speakers^[1] (Klinkenberg et al 2018, taalportaal, taalatlas 2020), the Frisian that is spoken in Fryslân is the Frisian language with the biggest number of speakers.

The three main regional varieties of West Frisian are Súdhoeksk, Wâldfrysk, and Klaaifrysk.

Standardised Frisian is mainly based on Klaaifrysk but it differs from all three main regional varieties.

Next to dictionaries and grammar books, standardised Frisian is also codified in teaching materials. You can find out more about Frisian teaching materials in Chapter 2.

Besides West Frisian in Fryslân (dark blue), other Frisian languages are Sater Frisian and North Frisian both spoken in Germany.

Saterfrisian is used in some villages (light blue) near Cloppenburg in the federal state of Lower Saxony.

North Frisian can be found in parts of western Schleswig-Holstein (blue).

 

In the next section you will learn more about the people that speak Frisian.

References

Gerbrich de Jong, Eric Hoekstra 2020: A general introduction to Frisian https://taalportaal.org/taalportaal/topic/pid/topic-14225224491227143 [18-10-2022]

Provinsje Fryslân. (2020). De Fryske Taalatlas: Fryske Taal yn Byld. [The Frisian Language Atlas:
Frisian Language in Image]. Ljouwert/Leeuwarden: Provinsje Fryslân.

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