Friso-Saxon ( nl, friso-saksisch) is a group of

West Germanic The West Germanic languages constitute the largest of the three branches of the Germanic family of languages (the others being the North Germanic and the extinct East Germanic languages). The West Germanic branch is classically subdivided into t ...

dialects found around the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

coast of

the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, in an area historically known as

Frisia Frisia is a cross-border cultural region in Northwestern Europe. Stretching along the Wadden Sea, it encompasses the north of the Netherlands and parts of northwestern Germany. The region is traditionally inhabited by the Frisians, a West Ger ...

. They are dialects of Low German/Low Saxon which have experienced strong influence from a Frisian language. The term was established by the Dutch researcher Johan Winkler in his work about Dutch, Low German and Frisian dialects in the region. In the following decades the term was adopted by some of Winkler's successors.cf. Hoppenbrouwers, Cornelis Antonius Johannes / Hoppenbrouwers, Geer A. J. (2001): De indeling van de Nederlandse streektalen - dialecten van 156 steden en dorpen geklasseerd volgens de FFM. Assen, S. 50ff. Most of the Friso-Saxon dialects are spoken in areas which were historically Frisian-speaking, until Frisian was gradually replaced with Low Saxon beginning in the

Late Middle Ages The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the Periodization, period of European history lasting from AD 1300 to 1500. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Eur ...

. However, Frisian has remained as a

substratum In linguistics, a stratum (Latin for "layer") or strate is a language that influences or is influenced by another through contact. A substratum or substrate is a language that has lower power or prestige than another, while a superstratum or sup ...

since then in the regions concerned. The only exception to this rule is

Stellingwarfs Stellingwarfs ( nl, Stellingwerfs) is a Westphalian and Friso-Saxon dialect spoken in Ooststellingwerf and Weststellingwerf in the Dutch province of Friesland, and also in Steenwijkerland and Westerveld in the Dutch province of Overijssel and ...

, a Low Saxon dialect which has undergone influence especially from West Frisian. Most of the other Friso-Saxon dialects underwent most influence from East Frisian, for example

East Frisian Low Saxon East Frisian Low German or East Frisian Low Saxon is one of the Northern Low Saxon dialects, a West Low German dialect spoken in the East Frisian peninsula of northwestern Lower Saxony. It is used quite frequently in everyday speech there. Abou ...

and

Gronings Gronings (; gos, Grunnegs or Grönnegs), is a collective name for some Friso-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 Fris ...

, while the dialect of

Dithmarschen dialect Dithmarschen (, Low Saxon: ; archaic English: ''Ditmarsh''; da, Ditmarsken; la, label=Medieval Latin, Tedmarsgo) is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Nordfriesland, Schle ...

underwent most influence from North Frisian. Map_of_the_Low_German_Dialects

References

{{reflist Low German Frisian languages Languages of the Netherlands Languages of Germany

See also

References