Westereendersk is a local variety of
Wood Frisian
West Frisian, or simply Frisian ( fy, link=no, Frysk or ; nl, Fries , also ), is a West Germanic language spoken mostly in the province of Friesland () in the north of the Netherlands, mostly by those of Frisian ancestry. It is the most wid ...
and is spoken in
De Westereen
De Westereen ( fry, De Westerein or ''De Westereen''), nl, Zwaagwesteinde) is a village in the Dantumadiel municipality of Friesland, the Netherlands. It had a population of around 5,000 in 2017.
History
De Westereen lays on the edge of the cla ...
,
Zwagerbosch
Sweagerbosk ( Low Saxon: ''Swoagerbosk'') is a village in Noardeast-Fryslân municipality in the province Friesland of the Netherlands. It had a population of around 638 in January 2017. Before 2019, the village was part of the Kollumerland en Nieu ...
and
Twijzelerheide
Twijzelerheide ( fry, Twizelerheide) is a village in Achtkarspelen in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands. It had a population of around 1800 in 2017.
A dialect of Wood Frisian, Westereendersk dialect, is spoken in this village.
The villa ...
. The most remarkable feature is the use of ''ee'' where Wood Frisian and most other
West Frisian dialects use ''ei'' or ''ij'' .
This sound change from and sometimes to brings us some striking similarities with
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
in spoken or written texts as most differences to standard West Frisian also concern differences to English.
Examples
In the verbs ''lizze'' (to lie, to lay) and ''sizze'' (to say) and in the first person singular of these verbs the is replaced by an . This phenomenon can also be found back in other parts of the Frisian Woods.
De Westereen
When the
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
of
Dantumadiel
Dantumadiel () is a municipality in the province of Friesland in the Netherlands. Dantumadiel is a rural municipality characterized by economic activity and agriculture.
History
The first time Dantumadiel is mentioned was in a document from 12 ...
chose for West Frisian names as official topographical names it was decided to replace the Dutch name ''Zwaagwesteinde'' by ''De Westereen'' instead of ''De Westerein''. Towns like
Zwagerbosch
Sweagerbosk ( Low Saxon: ''Swoagerbosk'') is a village in Noardeast-Fryslân municipality in the province Friesland of the Netherlands. It had a population of around 638 in January 2017. Before 2019, the village was part of the Kollumerland en Nieu ...
and
Twijzelerheide
Twijzelerheide ( fry, Twizelerheide) is a village in Achtkarspelen in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands. It had a population of around 1800 in 2017.
A dialect of Wood Frisian, Westereendersk dialect, is spoken in this village.
The villa ...
also speak "Westereender Frisian".
However the village is called ''De Westerein'' by most other Frisians, its inhabitants are often called ''Westereenders''.
{{Frisian languages
West Frisian language
Achtkarspelen
Noardeast-Fryslân
Dantumadiel