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Position of Hollandic (colour: light yellow) among the other minority languages, regional languages and dialects in the Benelux

Hollandic or Hollandish (Dutch: Hollands [ˈɦɔ.lɑnts]) is, together with Brabantian, the most frequently used dialect of the Dutch language. Other important Low Franconian language varieties spoken in the same area are Zeelandic, East Flemish, West Flemish and Limburgish.

Development[link]

Originally in the later county of Holland, Old Frisian was spoken. Low Franconian settlers only came in the 12th century and 13th century when Flemish settlers (Frankish speaking) played an important part in draining the swamplands between the coast of Holland and Utrecht. They mixed with the original inhabitants and a Hollandic dialect was created that was partly Franconian, partly Frisian. In the 16th century the Dutch language was standardized, the Brabantian Dutch of Antwerp being the most influential. In that time the written language of the county of Holland, then the most urbanised province in Europe, imitated this Brabantish standard. During the Eighty Years' War and especially after 1585, the sack of Antwerp, and the successes of the Duke of Parma in the 1580s between 100,000 and 200,000 of Brabantish and Flemish Calvinist (and other) refugees and emigrants settled in the cities of Holland proper, which had the result of creating a mixture of their Dutch with the Dutch of the residents before this immigration. This new language perhaps locally destroyed most of the original Hollandic dialects, further diluting the Frisian influences on the Dutch language, and certainly slowed linguistic change through the influence on spoken language of the very conservative written standard.

Distance to standard language[link]

As a result the colloquial Dutch in Holland proper (i.e. the area of the old county), spoken in the urban dialects, is today closer to the standard than any Dutch spoken elsewhere. Traditionally, the Dutch of the city of Haarlem is seen as closest to Standard Dutch. The Dutch in Belgium has diverged more during the last centuries, which is partly because the Dutch standard language had no official status between the 17th and 20th centuries there; the language of administration being French.

Shades of other dialects[link]

In Friesland there are areas and cities where Hollandic is spoken, strongly influenced by Frisian. In the north of North Holland province (especially in the region of West Friesland), Scheveningen, Katwijk and other coastal places the original Frisian substratum of the Hollandic dialect is still an important part of the local West Frisian dialect group.

In the region Zaanstreek ( middle of the province North-Holland) which is an old and traditional region, the old Hollandic dialect can also still be found. This is called: Zaans. This dialect is without large Frisian influence. Some words are similar due to a little influence of migrating westfrisian farmers in the 13th to 15th century. The subdialect "Zaans" can be seen as one of the few (together with Westfries) and oldest original Hollandic dialects. It is also still spoken today. This also goes for the old "Waterlands" dialect, which is still spoken today as well. The town of Volendam is an example of where they still speak their old dialect "Waterlands". Both Zaans and Waterlands are dialects that when they are spoken fluently, they are not understandable for someone who does not come from the that region in North-Holland. However, people who speak Zaans, Westfrisian and Waterlands are able to understand each other better than outsiders. This is because all three dialects use words and sentences that are similar to each other.

On the South Holland province island of Goeree-Overflakkee West Flemish is spoken. In the east and south the Hollandic dialects graduate into more Brabantian forms like the South Guelderish. Utrechts-Alblasserwaards, spoken in the area immediately east of the coastal districts, is variously considered a subdialect of Hollandic or a separate dialect.

List of the subdialects[link]

• Amsterdams
• Bildts, Midslands, Stadsfries, and Amelands
• Kennemerlands
• South Hollandic
• Utrechts-Alblasserwards
• Westhoeks
• Westlands
• West Frisian
• Waterlands and Volendams
• Zaans
• Huizers

Guido Gezelle
Guido Gezelle
Born	(1830-05-01)1 May 1830 Bruges, Belgium
Died	27 November 1899(1899-11-27) (aged 69) Bruges, Belgium
Nationality	Belgium
Occupation	poet, priest, writer

statue of Gezelle in Bruges, Jules Lagae, sculptor

Guido Pieter Theodorus Josephus Gezelle (1 May 1830 – 27 November 1899) was an influential Flemish language writer and poet and a Roman Catholic priest from Belgium.

Life[link]

He was born in Bruges in the province of West Flanders, where he also spent most of his life. He was ordained a priest in 1854, and worked as a teacher and priest in Roeselare. He was always interested in all things in English and was given the prestigious right of being the priest for the 'English Convent' in Bruges. He died there in a small room, where it is still forbidden to enter.

He was the son of Monica Devrieze and Pieter Jan Gezelle, a Flemish gardener in Bruges. Gezelle was the uncle of Flemish writer Stijn Streuvels (Frank Lateur).

There is a museum of his works close by the English convent and also a small bar named after him.

He tried to develop an independent Flemish language, more or less separated from the general Dutch language, which had certain more "Hollandic" aspects. The Dutch he used in his poems was heavily influenced by the local West Flemish dialect. His works are often inspired by his mystic love towards God and Creation. Later, his poetry was associated with literary Impressionism, and he is considered a forerunner of that movement.

Gezelle also was a translator of poetry and prose, most famous now for his translation of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's Song of Hiawatha, published in 1886. He had already read the original at Roeselare in 1856 and was interested in it because on the one hand, the American Indians fascinated him, and, on the other, he liked its portrayal of Christian missionaries.

For his linguistical mastery, Gezelle is till today considered one of the most important poets in Dutch.

Bibliography[link]

• Kerkhofblommen (1858)
• Vlaemsche Dichtoefeningen (1858)
• Kleengedichtjes (1860)
• Gedichten, Gezangen en Gebeden (1862)
• Longfellows Song of Hiawatha (translation, 1886)
• Tijdkrans (1893)
• Rijmsnoer (1897)
• Laatste Verzen (1901)

See also[link]

Poetry portal

• Flemish literature

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Guido Gezelle

• Guido Gezelle Museum
• Gezelle website
• Gezelle in English

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