North Frisian language

North Frisian is a minority language of Germany, spoken by about 10,000 people in North Frisia. The language is part of the larger group of the West Germanic Frisian languages. The language comprises 10 dialects which are themselves divided into an insular and a mainland group.

North Frisian is closely related to the Saterland Frisian language of Northwest Germany and West Frisian which is spoken in the Netherlands. All of these are also closely related to the English language forming the Anglo-Frisian group.

North Frisian is relict in Denmark.

The closest relatives of North Frisian are the two other Frisian languages, the Saterland Frisian of north-western Lower Saxony, Germany, and the West Frisian language spoken in the northern Netherlands. Together, the three sub-groups form the group of Frisian languages.

English is also closely related to Frisian. The two are classified in a common Anglo-Frisian group, which is grouped among the Ingvaeonic languages, together with Low German. The related Low German has developed differently since Old Saxon times and has lost many Ingvaeonic characteristics.

The North Frisian dialects can be grouped into two main dialectal divisions: mainland and insular dialects. Altogether, both groups have 10 dialects. Since the beginning of Frisian linguistic studies in the 19th century, the following ten dialects have typically been noted as distinct:

The mainland and insular dialects clearly differ from each other because they were shaped by Frisian immigrants in different centuries. The islands of Sylt, Föhr and Amrum were colonised in around AD 800, and the mainland was settled by Frisians in AD 1100.

There are also various influences of neighbouring languages on the dialects. On Sylt, Föhr and Amrum and in parts of the northern mainland such as Wiedingharde, there is a strong Danish (South Jutlandic) influence, but on Heligoland and the rest of mainland North Frisia, the Low German influence is predominant. Moreover, there has historically been little exchange between the dialects and so hardly any lingua franca could develop and there was no cultural centre in North Frisia for which the dialect could have had a leading role.