Gronings ( Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɣroːnɪŋs] ; Gronings : Grunnegs or Grönnegs ), is a collective name for some Low Saxon dialects spoken in the province of Groningen and around the Groningen border in Drenthe and Friesland . Gronings and the strongly related varieties in East Frisia have a strong East Frisian influence and take a remarkable position within West Low German . Its typical accent and vocabulary differ strongly from the other Low Saxon dialects.
35-455: Midwolde ( Dutch: [mɪtˈʋɔldə] ; Gronings : Midwolle ) is a village in the municipality of Westerkwartier in the province of Groningen in the Netherlands . As of 2021, it had a population of 185. It is located just to the northeast of Leek . Midwolde is known for its church , the oldest part of which (the nave ) dates from the 12th century. The church is located north of
70-481: A glottal stop , thus making the words ending in [ʔŋ] , [ʔn] or [ʔm] . 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. Gronings is also a dialect with many unique 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
105-528: A large group of very differing varieties. Some linguists see it as a variety of Low German , also called Nedersaksisch in the Netherlands, but there is controversy surrounding whether all the dialects that have been called Low German are similar enough to be placed in one category. Other linguists, especially in Germany, see Gronings–East Frisian as a separate group of German dialects . The East Frisian influence,
140-514: 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
175-510: 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. Today, according to an investigation among the listeners to the regional broadcasting station ( Radio Noord ), approximately 65% of them can speak and write Gronings. Perhaps, if the larger cities and villages of Groningen , Hoogezand-Sappemeer , Veendam , Stadskanaal , Delfzijl and Winschoten are excluded from this count,
210-649: Is commonly also called "High German" – comprise the varieties of German spoken south of the Benrath and Uerdingen isoglosses in central and southern Germany , Austria , Liechtenstein , Switzerland , Luxembourg , and eastern Belgium , as well as in neighbouring portions of France ( Alsace and northern Lorraine ), Italy ( South Tyrol ), the Czech Republic ( Bohemia ), and Poland ( Upper Silesia ). They are also spoken in diasporas in Romania , Russia , Canada ,
245-527: Is now a standard language ). High German varieties are distinguished from other West Germanic varieties in that they took part in the High German consonant shift ( c. AD 500 ) to various degrees. To see this, compare the following: In the southernmost High Alemannic dialects, there is a further shift: Sack (like English/Low German "sack/Sack") is pronounced [z̥ak͡x] ( [k] to [k͡x] ). Old High German evolved from about 500 AD. Around 1200
280-558: Is pronounced like a in the British English word “water” ([ɔː]). 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” ([aɪ]) ( [naɪt] ; Gronings: nyt )*. After Limburgish , Gronings
315-457: Is seen as an essential factor contrasting with the greater influence of High German languages found in the dialects on the other side of the national border. These influences concern especially the vocabulary: for example the Dutch word "voorbeeld" is "veurbeeld" in Gronings, while the East Frisian dialects use "biespööl" , related to the High German word "beispiel" . From this point of view
350-542: 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 Het Huis van de Groninger Cultuur ( English : House of the Groningen Culture) organises a writing contest in every municipality in Groningen. Everyone can participate and send in a poem or some prose. The winners of
385-402: 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: The pronunciation differs from the writing system. The -en ending of many words is pronounced like (ə or ən) in most varieties of Dutch . In Gronings and many other Low Saxon dialects these words are pronounced with
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#1733093967455420-409: Is titled Gezondhaid en Groutnis (sanity and greetings). Although Gronings, as part of Low Saxon, is an official language, it is not a mandatory subject in schools. Still, many primary schools in Groningen choose to give attention to the regional language. This attention varies from inviting storytellers to teaching about the language. In secondary schools Gronings does not receive much attention. At
455-654: Is used less, but the weather forecast is always presented in Gronings. The news is always presented in Dutch, since not all viewers understand Gronings. In the second half of 2007, the local television broadcast a series in Gronings called Boven Wotter [ nds-nl ] . 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 [ nds-nl ] (language and signs) and Krödde [ nds-nl ] , which actually means cannabis . There are many Gronings dictionaries as well. The first official dictionary
490-445: Is very similar to that of Midwolda , which is located in the east of the province of Groningen in the municipality of Oldambt and which is much larger. [REDACTED] Media related to Midwolde at Wikimedia Commons Gronings language The name Gronings can almost be defined geographically, as can be seen on the map below. This is especially true for the northern part of Drenthe (number 8 on that map). Drents , spoken in
525-574: The Central Uplands ( Mittelgebirge ) and Alpine areas of central and southern Germany; it also includes Luxembourg, Austria, Liechtenstein, and most of Switzerland. This is opposed to Low German , which is spoken in the lowlands and along the flat sea coasts of the North German Plain . High German can be subdivided into Upper German ( Oberdeutsch ) and Central or Middle German ( Mitteldeutsch , this includes Luxembourgish , which itself
560-764: The Early modern period , the Early New High German varieties, especially the East Central German of the Luther Bible , formed an important basis for the development of Standard German. Divisions between subfamilies within Germanic are rarely precisely defined, because most form continuous clines, with adjacent dialects being mutually intelligible and more separated ones not. In particular, there has never been an original " Proto-High German ". For this and other reasons,
595-557: The Nienoord estate and therefore had close relations with it in the past. In the church is the tomb of Carel Hieronymus von Inn- und Kniphausen (1631-1664), a major work by Rombout Verhulst and Bartholomeus Eggers . A stained glass window recalls the accident in 1907 in which the Van Panhuys family drowned in the Hoendiep . The name means: forest ( wold ) in the middle ( mid- ). The name
630-502: The Swabian and East Franconian varieties of Middle High German became dominant as a court and poetry language ( Minnesang ) under the rule of the House of Hohenstaufen . The term "High German" as spoken in central and southern Germany ( Upper Saxony , Franconia , Swabia , Bavaria ) and Austria was first documented in the 15th century. Gradually driving back Low German variants since
665-578: The United States , Brazil , Argentina , Mexico , Chile , and Namibia . High German is marked by the High German consonant shift , separating it from Low German (Low Saxon) and Low Franconian (including Dutch ) within the continental West Germanic dialect continuum . As a technical term, the "high" in High German is a geographical reference to the group of dialects that forms "High German" (i.e. "Highland" German), out of which developed Standard German , Yiddish and Luxembourgish . It refers to
700-452: The University of Groningen it is possible to study the language. In October 2007 Gronings became an official study within the faculty of letteren (language and literature). 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
735-459: 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 West Frisian , Gronings is considered as a separate language by some of its native speakers, while linguists consider it part of Dutch Low Saxon . Lord’s Prayer The Gronings vocabulary is strongly related to East Frisian Low Saxon, Saterfrisian and West Frisian. However, today
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#1733093967455770-554: 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 are listed below: High German languages This is an accepted version of this page The High German languages ( German : hochdeutsche Mundarten , i.e. High German dialects ), or simply High German ( Hochdeutsch [ˈhoːxˌdɔɪ̯t͡ʃ] ) – not to be confused with Standard High German which
805-422: The Gronings vocabulary is in decline. More and more Gronings words are being replaced by Dutch words that have been "Groningized". For example, the word "stevel" (boot, German "Stiefel") is sometimes replaced by the word "leers" (Dutch "laars"). Although most people do know the Gronings words, they are less and less used, for example because people think others will not understand them or because they are too long and
840-561: The city of Groningen ), while the city, the surrounding rural area called Gorecht [ nds-nl ] and the eastern lordship of Westerwolde were Low Saxon. When the city of Groningen developed an important position in the Ommelanden, a switch from East Frisian to Saxon occurred, although it was not a complete switch because there are many East Frisian influences in the "new" Groningen language. Many East Frisian words and grammatic features are still in use today. In less than one century,
875-416: The dialects, they form a single dialect group. Most words are written the same way, but the pronunciation can differ. The examples, all using the sentence "The only thing we're not doing is giving out sweets", show the pronunciation. There are many uncertainties about the classification and categorization of Gronings. Words used in classifying it are often more political than linguistic, because it encompasses
910-580: The different ages succeed to the provincial round. Notable Groningen musical artists include Wia Buze, Alje van Bolhuis, Alex Vissering, Eltje Doddema, Pé Daalemmer & Rooie Rinus, Burdy, Wat Aans!, Hail Gewoon, Erwin de Vries, and Ede Staal (†). Every year the supply of successful artists in regional languages in the Netherlands is rising. Some linguists classify Gronings to North Low Saxon, to which also East Frisian Low Saxon belongs. Both related dialects are characterized by an East Frisian influence. Hence other linguists classify Gronings-East Frisian as
945-575: The north of the province of Drenthe ( Noordenveld ) is somewhat related with the Groninger language, but the core linguistics is Drents . For the dialects in the southeast, called Veenkoloniaals , it is a bit different on both sides of the Groningen-Drenthe border, as the dialect spoken there is much more related to Gronings . In the easternmost part of the Frisian municipality of Noardeast-Fryslân ,
980-482: The percentage would rise to about 80%. Of course, this is not a representative picture of the linguistic capacity of the inhabitants of Groningen province. Most 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. Younger people also speak the language, however in a regiolectical mixed way, because many pure Gronings words are lost. The youngest generation passed to Dutch. Since
1015-566: The pronunciation is almost alike. Here are a few examples of words compared to West Frisian, East Frisian Low Saxon, German, Dutch and English. The East Frisian combination oo (for example in Bloot/Blood = blood) is pronounced like ow in the English word “now” ([aʊ]) ( [blaʊt] ; 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 )
1050-521: The same process also started in East Frisia , from the city of Emden, which was influenced by the Hanseatic League . This explains the strong relation between both varieties. In the second half of the 16th century Gronings started to evolve towards Middle Dutch because of the strong influence of the new standard language. But because of the political, geographical and cultural isolation of Groningen,
1085-416: The second half of the 20th century, the usage of the language is declining. Because of globalization, other languages like Dutch and English are becoming more important. Parents today choose to raise their children in the Dutch language. 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 local television Gronings
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1120-468: The separation is not between Westphalian and Groningen–East Frisian (or North Low Saxon), but rather between Groningen on one side and East Frisian on the other, with the national border also functioning as the linguistic border. The Gronings dialects are a kind of mix between two languages: Old Frisian ( East Frisian ) and Middle Low German. East Frisian was spoken in the Ommelanden (surrounding lands of
1155-447: The sounds ou , ai and ui and the typical accent are part of that distinction. Other linguists categorize all Gronings–East Frisian dialects as part of North Low German. When that is the case, all the other Low German varieties in the Netherlands are categorized as Westphalian . Dutch linguists in particular have classified Gronings as Dutch Low Saxon . In this case the Dutch influence
1190-523: 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 Kollumerpomp and has more West Frisian influences, while most Groningen dialects have a strong influence from the East Frisian language . Gronings can be subdivided into eight dialects: Though there are several differences between
1225-431: 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 [ nl ] , which is a little less specific. K. G. Pieterman wrote a dictionary of Gronings alliterations which
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