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Wutsje. (2007). Taalsituatie in Noord-Nederland [Language situation in the North of the Netherlands [image]. Wikimedia Commons. CCSA 3.0.

Wutsje. (2007). Taalsituatie in Noord-Nederland [Language situation in the North of the Netherlands [image]. Wikimedia Commons. CCSA 3.0. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Taalsituatie_Noord-Nederland.png.

Drents' added to the Mercator Wiki on Minority Language Learning

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Language and multilingualism

Mercator

Mercator's online Wiki on Minority Language Learning complements the “Regional Dossiers” collection of the Mercator European Research Centre on Multilingualism and Language Learning (part of the Fryske Akademy). The website provides information about the education of minority languages that have little or no place in the national education system. There is now also a factsheet about the languages in the Dutch province of Drenthe.

About the Mercator Wiki

The Wiki on Minority Language Learning provides information about the vitality of the language, demographic data, relevant legislation, the history of education, education in practice, educational institutions and teaching materials. The Mercator Wiki has a flexible structure, so that it can be adapted to the different education systems that are subject to change.

Mercator has been working on the Wiki for several years in collaboration with the University of Groningen (University Campus Fryslân). Students of the Master's programme in Multilingualism are working on fact sheets for the Wiki about a variety of lesser-known languages in Europe.

The Mercator Wiki contains information about, for example, Extremaduran (ES), various European sign languages, Aromanian (Balkan), Griko (IT), Karaim (LV/UK), Silbo Gomero (ES) and around 35 other languages in Europe.

About Drents

Drents is subdivided into various varieties, mostly along geographical lines. Whereas Glottolog defines only two categories, namely Northern and Southern Drents, both the official dictionary of the dialects of Drents and the organisation Huus van de Taol identify seven varieties of Drents:

  • Noordenvelds / Noord Drents (Noordenveld variety)
  • Veenkoloniaals (peat district Veenkolonien variety)
  • Midden-Drents (Middle Drents)
  • Zuidoost Zand-Drents (South-East Sand Drents)
  • Zuidoost Veen-Drents (South-East Peat Drents)
  • Zuidwest Noord-Drents (South-West North Drents)
  • Zuidwest Zuid-Drents (South-West South Drents)

The Mercator Wiki provides a detailed description of how the Drents language is standardised, how many speakers there are, how the people of Drenthe feel about their language, how Drents is used in the education system and how Drents is anchored in regional, national and European legislation.

Want to know more? Go to the Mercator Wiki Drents in the Netherlands!

(Tip: You can easily switch the page to a language of your choice by right-clicking in your browser.)

 

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