Dutch dialects and varieties

Dutch dialects and varieties are primarily the dialects and varieties that are both cognate with the Dutch language and spoken in the same language area as the Standard Dutch. They are remarkably diverse and are found within Europe mainly in the Netherlands and northern Belgium.

The Dutch province of Friesland is bilingual. The West Frisian language, distinct from Dutch, is spoken here along with Standard Dutch and the Stadsfries Dutch. A West Frisian standard language has also been developed.

Dutch dialects can be divided into two main language groups:

In Driemaandelijkse bladen (2002) the following phonetically based division of dialects in the Netherlands is given:

Heeringa (2004) distinguished (names as in Heeringa):

Germanic languages that have the status of official regional or minority language and are protected by the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in the Netherlands are Limburgish, Dutch Low Saxon and West Frisian.

Limburgish receives protection by chapter 2 of the charter. In Belgium, where Limburgish is spoken as well, it does not receive such recognition or protection because Belgium did not sign the charter. Limburgish has been influenced by the Ripuarian dialects like the Cologne dialect Kölsch and has had a somewhat different development since the late Middle Ages.

Dutch Low Saxon also receives protection by chapter 2 of the charter. In some states of Germany, depending on the state, Low German receives protection by chapter 2 or 3.