Languages of Netherlands | |
---|---|
Official | Dutch[1] |
Regional | Frisian (2.50%),[2] English (Caribbean Netherlands),[3] Papiamento (Bonaire);[3][4] Dutch Low Saxon (10.9%)[5] Limburgish (4.50%) |
Minority | Yiddish, Romani[6] |
Immigrant | See further: Immigration to the Netherlands |
Foreign | English (90%-93%) (excluding the BES Islands) German (71%), French (29%), Portuguese (5%)[7] |
Signed | Dutch Sign Language |
Keyboard layout |
This article is a part of a series on |
Dutch |
---|
Low Saxon dialects |
West Low Franconian dialects |
East Low Franconian dialects |
The predominant language of the Netherlands is Dutch, spoken and written by almost all people in the Netherlands. Dutch is also spoken and official in Aruba, Bonaire, Belgium, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, Sint Maarten and Suriname. It is a West Germanic, Low Franconian language that originated in the Early Middle Ages (c. 470) and was standardised in the 16th century.
However, both Low Saxon and Limburgish spread across the Dutch-German border and belong to a common Dutch-German dialect continuum.
The Netherlands also has its separate Dutch Sign Language, called Nederlandse Gebarentaal (NGT). It has 17,500 users, and in 2021 received the status of recognised language.[11]
Between 90%[8] and 93%[12] of the total population are able to converse in English, 71% in German, 29% in French and 5% in Spanish.
{{cite web}}
: Check |url=
value (help); Missing or empty |title=
(help)[permanent dead link ]