Twents
Encyclopedia
Tweants is a Dutch Low Saxon
group of dialect
s, descending from Old Saxon
. It is spoken by approximately 62% of the population of Twente
, a region in the Dutch
province of Overijssel
bordering on Germany
. Its speakers also refer to Twents as plat or simply dialect. A widespread misconception is the assumption that it is a variety of Dutch
. It is, however, a variety of Dutch Low Saxon, recognised by the Dutch government as a regional language according to the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages
. As such, it enjoys some loose stimulation from the part of the government.
Due to heavy stigmatisation, the use of the language has declined in the decades following the Second World War, as it was deemed an inappropriate way of speaking, and thought to hinder children's language learning abilities. Due to a general rise in regional pride, however, which has also found its way to the Twente region, interests in preserving and promoting the language have risen, resulting in dialect writing competitions, teaching material, festivals, and other culturally engaging projects.
would say he speaks "Almeloos" rather than "Tweants"). Another possibility would be that speakers combine these two possibilities: a speaker from Rijssen
could say he speaks "Riesns Tweants". There are, however, a number of characteristics that are shared across all varieties.
symbols.
[i] – as in the word deep, e.g. wiek (neighbourhood)
[ʏ] – as in the Dutch word hut, e.g. zuster (sister)
[y] – as in the French word voiture, e.g. dure (door)
[u] – as in the English word goose, e.g. hoes (house))
[ɛ] – as in the English word bed, berre (bed)
[æ] – as in the English word sack, e.g. lädder (ladder)
[e] – as in the English word say, e.g. breef (letter)
[ɜ] – as in the English word nurse, e.g. lös (loose)
[œ] – as in the German word lösung, e.g. heudjen (little hat)
[ʌ] – as in the English word buck, e.g. taske (bag)
[a] – as in the Dutch word vader, e.g. maakn (to make)
[ɒ] – as in the English word lot, e.g. rotte (rat)
[o] – as in the English word over, e.g. boot (boat)
This survey of vowels includes only the most general vowels present in (nearly) all varieties, and does by no means give an all-encompassing overview of all varieties, as pronunciation differs per village and town, and may differ even within a town. A striking example of this may be found in the town of Rijssen, where two pronunciation forms of the past tense verb form of go are commonly accepted: gung /ɣʏŋ/ and gong /ɣɔŋ/. As there is no standard variety of Tweants, and there is little or no education in the language, speakers may select their pronunciation based on personal preferences.
A number of varieties feature an additional set of vowels that need a trained ear to be distinguished from each other, although they may sound totally different to the speakers of these varieties.
Tweants shares many features with multiple varieties of British English.
Tweants, like many other Germanic languages, distinguishes between strong and weak verbs. Strong verbs receive an umlaut
in present tense third person singular and all persons in past tense. In weak verbs, the third person singular is formed like the second person singular in present tense, and in past tense is formed by adding a -te to the verb stem.
, and are hence easily recognised. Particularly the distinct pronunciation of the 'O' and 'E' is renowned, and is similar to the Hiberno-English
pronunciation of the 'O' and the 'A'. Another striking feature of Tweants Dutch (and therefore a sign of L1-interference) is the use of a syllabic consonant
, which in popular Dutch language is often referred to as "swallowing final -en".
On a syntactical level, people from Twente may at times literally translate phrases into Dutch, thus forming Twentisms. Due to the fact that Tweants and Standard Dutch are varieties of the West-Germanic Dialect Continuum
, they have many similarities, which may lead speakers of Tweants to believe that a "Dutchified" pronunciation of a Tweants expression is correct and valid:
On an idiomatic level, Tweants is known for its wealth of proverbs, of which the following are only a fraction:
Speakers of Tweants generally tend to be a little more indirect than speakers of Dutch. For instance, when speakers of Tweants say: "t Is hier redelik doo" (It's reasonably thaw in here), they usually mean that they find the temperature unpleasantly high in the room.
Tweants was, and still is, also believed to impede the proper acquisition by children of Standard Dutch. Parents generally acquiesced in this attitude and tried to teach their children to speak Dutch. Those parents, however, were used to speaking Tweants, which influenced especially their pronunciation of Dutch, and to a lesser extent their syntax and choice of vocabulary.
Dutch is still the prevailing and most prestigious language in Twente. This is why a majority of parents up till recently neglected to teach their children about their heritage, although there has lately been a resurgence of interest in the local language.
Because Twente is an attractive place for investment, many companies establish themselves in Twente and attract people from other parts of the country who do not speak Tweants. This aggravates the decline of the Tweants language. In the countryside, however, many people still speak it or at least understand it.
Recently, Tweants has enjoyed a resurgence because of an increasing tolerance for and pride in local culture, including local language. The resurgence enjoys the opinion of linguists who believe that children who are brought up bilingually (In this case with Dutch and Tweants) are more receptive to other languages. The increasing interest in Tweants is expressed by writers, musicians and local television and radio, and people have been inspired to start speaking and teaching Tweants again. This renewed interest, mirrored by other local languages in the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe, is referred to as the dialect renaissance. An important stimulant for trend was the start of the 2000s soap
in Tweants, "Van Jonge Leu en Oale Groond" ("Of young people and old land"). The soap, focussing on a rural part of Twente, combined local traditions and culture with the life and aspirations of young people, emphasising how people can live modern lives while cherishing and being rooted in local traditions. Originally broadcast by local television, it was later broadcast on national television with subtitles.
The (educated) debate always evolves around two points of view.
sparked an interest in regional culture. Some of the better-known authors include:
Since the start of the dialect renaissance, Tweants has increasingly been used as a written language, although this is still almost entirely reserved to the province of literature. Works have been translated into Tweants to stress that Tweants is as sophisticated and expressive as any other language, and to put its own aesthetic properties to use.
A renowned Dutch comedian, Herman Finkers, even translated his last shows into Tweants, using the motto "accentless at last", to indicate that he can finally sound natural by using his mother tongue, without someone mocking him about it. A number of comic books and a children's television programme have been translated into Tweants to critical success.
Reverend Anne van der Meijden, a long-standing promoter of the use of Tweants, has translated the Bible
into Tweants on the basis of the original languages. He also preaches sermons in Tweants.
Twentse Welle, formerly the Van Deinse Instituut, in Enschede
is an organisation that maps, monitors, promotes and develops teaching material for Tweants, Tweants identity and the culture of Twente.
Dutch Low Saxon
Dutch Low Saxon is a group of Low Saxon, i.e. West Low German dialects spoken in the northeastern Netherlands. In comparison, the remainder of the Netherlands speak a collection of Low Franconian dialects.The class "Dutch Low Saxon" is not unanimous...
group of dialect
Dialect
The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
s, descending from Old Saxon
Old Saxon
Old Saxon, also known as Old Low German, is the earliest recorded form of Low German, documented from the 8th century until the 12th century, when it evolved into Middle Low German. It was spoken on the north-west coast of Germany and in the Netherlands by Saxon peoples...
. It is spoken by approximately 62% of the population of Twente
Twente
Twente is a non-administrative region in the eastern Netherlands. It encompasses the most urbanised and easternmost part of the province of Overijssel...
, a region in the Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
province of Overijssel
Overijssel
Overijssel is a province of the Netherlands in the central eastern part of the country. The region has a NUTS classification of NL21. The province's name means "Lands across river IJssel". The capital city of Overijssel is Zwolle and the largest city is Enschede...
bordering on Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Its speakers also refer to Twents as plat or simply dialect. A widespread misconception is the assumption that it is a variety of Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
. It is, however, a variety of Dutch Low Saxon, recognised by the Dutch government as a regional language according to the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages
European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages
The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages is a European treaty adopted in 1992 under the auspices of the Council of Europe to protect and promote historical regional and minority languages in Europe...
. As such, it enjoys some loose stimulation from the part of the government.
Due to heavy stigmatisation, the use of the language has declined in the decades following the Second World War, as it was deemed an inappropriate way of speaking, and thought to hinder children's language learning abilities. Due to a general rise in regional pride, however, which has also found its way to the Twente region, interests in preserving and promoting the language have risen, resulting in dialect writing competitions, teaching material, festivals, and other culturally engaging projects.
Pronunciation and characteristics
Tweants does not have a standardised pronunciation or spelling; all towns and villages in Twente have their own local variety, which, although they are mutually intelligible and similar, makes it hard to be tagged as a single dialect. Due to this fragmentation, and the lack of a standard variety, many speakers of Tweants mostly do not refer to their language as "Tweants" or "Dutch Low Saxon". They rather call it by the locality their variety is from (e.g. a person from AlmeloAlmelo
Almelo is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands. The main population centres in the town are Aadorp, Almelo, Mariaparochie and Bornerbroek....
would say he speaks "Almeloos" rather than "Tweants"). Another possibility would be that speakers combine these two possibilities: a speaker from Rijssen
Rijssen
Rijssen is a town in the Dutch province of Overijssel. It is part of Rijssen-Holten, one of thirteen municipalities in Twente. It has over 28,000 inhabitants...
could say he speaks "Riesns Tweants". There are, however, a number of characteristics that are shared across all varieties.
Phonetic details
The following paragraphs contain IPAInternational Phonetic Alphabet
The International Phonetic Alphabet "The acronym 'IPA' strictly refers [...] to the 'International Phonetic Association'. But it is now such a common practice to use the acronym also to refer to the alphabet itself that resistance seems pedantic...
symbols.
Vowels
[ɪ] – as in the English word kit, e.g. lippe (lip)[i] – as in the word deep, e.g. wiek (neighbourhood)
[ʏ] – as in the Dutch word hut, e.g. zuster (sister)
[y] – as in the French word voiture, e.g. dure (door)
[u] – as in the English word goose, e.g. hoes (house))
[ɛ] – as in the English word bed, berre (bed)
[æ] – as in the English word sack, e.g. lädder (ladder)
[e] – as in the English word say, e.g. breef (letter)
[ɜ] – as in the English word nurse, e.g. lös (loose)
[œ] – as in the German word lösung, e.g. heudjen (little hat)
[ʌ] – as in the English word buck, e.g. taske (bag)
[a] – as in the Dutch word vader, e.g. maakn (to make)
[ɒ] – as in the English word lot, e.g. rotte (rat)
[o] – as in the English word over, e.g. boot (boat)
This survey of vowels includes only the most general vowels present in (nearly) all varieties, and does by no means give an all-encompassing overview of all varieties, as pronunciation differs per village and town, and may differ even within a town. A striking example of this may be found in the town of Rijssen, where two pronunciation forms of the past tense verb form of go are commonly accepted: gung /ɣʏŋ/ and gong /ɣɔŋ/. As there is no standard variety of Tweants, and there is little or no education in the language, speakers may select their pronunciation based on personal preferences.
A number of varieties feature an additional set of vowels that need a trained ear to be distinguished from each other, although they may sound totally different to the speakers of these varieties.
Tweants shares many features with multiple varieties of British English.
- Tweants, like upper class British English, has a linking -r, or intrusive -r. Unlike British English, this is a considered a sign of proficiency, and therefore desirable.
- Another distinct feature of Tweants is the use of syllabic consonantSyllabic consonantA syllabic consonant is a consonant which either forms a syllable on its own, or is the nucleus of a syllable. The diacritic for this in the International Phonetic Alphabet is the under-stroke, ⟨⟩...
s (the "swallowing" of final -en syllables), especially in infinite verb forms and plural nouns. This may be compared to British RPReceived PronunciationReceived Pronunciation , also called the Queen's English, Oxford English or BBC English, is the accent of Standard English in England, with a relationship to regional accents similar to the relationship in other European languages between their standard varieties and their regional forms...
pronunciation of mutton, which is pronounced somewhat like mut-n, although Tweants applies this to all verbs:- The infinite verb to eat, which in Dutch is eten (ˈetə), is etn ˈɛtn̩.
- Tweants is to a great extent non-rhotic. Speakers do not pronounce final /r/ in words consisting of more than one syllable, if no clarity or emphasis is required. In monosyllabic words, the /r/ is not pronounced before dental consonants.
- Tweants uses extensive lenitionLenitionIn linguistics, lenition is a kind of sound change that alters consonants, making them "weaker" in some way. The word lenition itself means "softening" or "weakening" . Lenition can happen both synchronically and diachronically...
in its spoken form. All strong consonants can be pronounced as their weak counterparts in intervocalic position (e.g. "better" can be pronounced either as /bɛtə/ or /bɛdə/).
Grammar
Tweants follows a number of general Low Saxon rules in verb inflection, including the singular pluralis; plural verb forms receive the same inflection as the second person singular. In present tense, this means that a -t is attached to the verb stem, whereas in past tense, an -n is attached.Tweants, like many other Germanic languages, distinguishes between strong and weak verbs. Strong verbs receive an umlaut
Germanic umlaut
In linguistics, umlaut is a process whereby a vowel is pronounced more like a following vowel or semivowel. The term umlaut was originally coined and is used principally in connection with the study of the Germanic languages...
in present tense third person singular and all persons in past tense. In weak verbs, the third person singular is formed like the second person singular in present tense, and in past tense is formed by adding a -te to the verb stem.
Present tense
| Tweants | English | Ik lope | I walk | Iej loopt | You walk | Hee / zee löp | He / she walks | Wie loopt | We walk | ieleu loopt | You walk (plural) | Zee loopt | They walk |
Past tense
| Tweants | English | Ik leupe | I walked | Iej leupn | You walked | Hee / Zee leup | He / She walked | Wieleu leupn | We walked | Ieleu leupn | You walked (plural) | Zee leupn | They walked |
Plurals
Plural nouns are formed depending on the gender of the word. Tweants has three word genders, namely masculine, feminine and neuterMasculine
Plurals for masculine are generally formed by adding umlaut and word-final -e to the noun| Tweants | English | eenn hoond | one dog | twee heunde | Two dogs |
Feminine
Plurals for feminine nouns are generally formed by adding word-final -n to the noun| Tweants | English | ene komme | one bowl | twee komn | Two bowls |
Neuter
Plurals for neuter nouns are generally formed by adding word-final -er to the noun.| Tweants | English | een keend | one child | twee keender | Two children |
Diminutives and plurals
| Tweants | English | een kumke | one little bowl | twee kumkes | two little bowls |
Accent
Native speakers have a distinct accent when speaking DutchDutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
, and are hence easily recognised. Particularly the distinct pronunciation of the 'O' and 'E' is renowned, and is similar to the Hiberno-English
Hiberno-English
Hiberno-English is the dialect of English written and spoken in Ireland .English was first brought to Ireland during the Norman invasion of the late 12th century. Initially it was mainly spoken in an area known as the Pale around Dublin, with Irish spoken throughout the rest of the country...
pronunciation of the 'O' and the 'A'. Another striking feature of Tweants Dutch (and therefore a sign of L1-interference) is the use of a syllabic consonant
Syllabic consonant
A syllabic consonant is a consonant which either forms a syllable on its own, or is the nucleus of a syllable. The diacritic for this in the International Phonetic Alphabet is the under-stroke, ⟨⟩...
, which in popular Dutch language is often referred to as "swallowing final -en".
On a syntactical level, people from Twente may at times literally translate phrases into Dutch, thus forming Twentisms. Due to the fact that Tweants and Standard Dutch are varieties of the West-Germanic Dialect Continuum
West Germanic languages
The West Germanic languages constitute the largest of the three traditional branches of the Germanic family of languages and include languages such as German, English, Dutch, Afrikaans, the Frisian languages, and Yiddish...
, they have many similarities, which may lead speakers of Tweants to believe that a "Dutchified" pronunciation of a Tweants expression is correct and valid:
- In English: I have a flat tyre
- In Tweants: Ik hebbe n baand lek
- In Tweants-influenced Dutch (Twentism): *Ik heb de band lek (lit. I have the tyre flat)
- In correct Standard Dutch: Ik heb een lekke band
On an idiomatic level, Tweants is known for its wealth of proverbs, of which the following are only a fraction:
- Loat mear kuuln, t löp wal lös – Literally: Let it roll/fall, it will walk free – Never mind, it will sort itself out.
- As de tied koomp, koomp de ploag – When the time comes, the trouble comes. Don't worry before the trouble starts.
- Iej könt nich bloazn en t mel in n moond hoaldn – Literally, you cannot blow and keep the flour in your mouth. 'Bloazn' also means 'to brag', so its real meaning is the same as "put your money where your mouth is"
- Hengeler weend – Wind from HengeloHengeloHengelo is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands, in the province of Overijssel. The city lies along the motorways A1/E30 and A35 and it has a station for the International Amsterdam – Hannover – Berlin service.-Traffic and transport:...
, a haughty attitude.
Speakers of Tweants generally tend to be a little more indirect than speakers of Dutch. For instance, when speakers of Tweants say: "t Is hier redelik doo" (It's reasonably thaw in here), they usually mean that they find the temperature unpleasantly high in the room.
Tweants in present-day Twente
Tweants is neither used or taught mandatorily in schools, a circumstance that may be ascribed to the traditionally prevalent belief that Tweants – like other dialects spoken in the Netherlands – is a boorish speech variety the use of which bespeaks little intelligence or sophistication. As currently, however, the status of Tweants is improving, school boards may opt for a lesson series Tweants Kwarteerken (loosely translated as 15 minutes of Tweants) designed for implication in nursery and primary schools.Tweants was, and still is, also believed to impede the proper acquisition by children of Standard Dutch. Parents generally acquiesced in this attitude and tried to teach their children to speak Dutch. Those parents, however, were used to speaking Tweants, which influenced especially their pronunciation of Dutch, and to a lesser extent their syntax and choice of vocabulary.
Dutch is still the prevailing and most prestigious language in Twente. This is why a majority of parents up till recently neglected to teach their children about their heritage, although there has lately been a resurgence of interest in the local language.
Because Twente is an attractive place for investment, many companies establish themselves in Twente and attract people from other parts of the country who do not speak Tweants. This aggravates the decline of the Tweants language. In the countryside, however, many people still speak it or at least understand it.
Recently, Tweants has enjoyed a resurgence because of an increasing tolerance for and pride in local culture, including local language. The resurgence enjoys the opinion of linguists who believe that children who are brought up bilingually (In this case with Dutch and Tweants) are more receptive to other languages. The increasing interest in Tweants is expressed by writers, musicians and local television and radio, and people have been inspired to start speaking and teaching Tweants again. This renewed interest, mirrored by other local languages in the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe, is referred to as the dialect renaissance. An important stimulant for trend was the start of the 2000s soap
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
in Tweants, "Van Jonge Leu en Oale Groond" ("Of young people and old land"). The soap, focussing on a rural part of Twente, combined local traditions and culture with the life and aspirations of young people, emphasising how people can live modern lives while cherishing and being rooted in local traditions. Originally broadcast by local television, it was later broadcast on national television with subtitles.
Written form
There is no generally accepted spelling for writing Tweants, although discussions about spellings are held on a regular basis. Rather, there are two commonly accepted spellings, although few strictly adhere to them. The previously mentioned diversity in speech varieties makes designing an all-encompassing spelling a cumbersome project, as spelling rules that fit one variety, may not be useful for others.The (educated) debate always evolves around two points of view.
- The spelling should be easily accessible and recognisable for speakers of other varieties of Low Saxon as well as speakers of Dutch. This means a spelling based on writing traditions from different speech varieties, which does have a recognisable layout (most notably Standard Dutch), but sounds odd or unnatural when pronounced literally, and therefore might work disturbingly.
- the spelling should be close to the pronunciation of the people using it. This means a spelling that is not easily accessible, if not confusing to speakers and readers of other varieties, due to many written consonant clusters, although to native speakers leaves no doubt about the pronunciation.
Cultural expressions in Tweants
The earliest form of written Tweants is a poem dating from the eighteenth century, although it is a rare example. Tweants, like the other Dutch Low Saxon dialects, has had a literary tradition since the nineteenth century when RomanticismRomanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
sparked an interest in regional culture. Some of the better-known authors include:
- Johanna van Buren (poet, wrote in a Sallaans-Tweants border dialect)
- Theo Vossebeld (poet)
- Willem WilminkWillem WilminkWillem Wilmink was a Dutch poet and writer. He was best known for his the large number of songs he wrote for popular children programs....
(poet, songwriter) - Herman FinkersHerman FinkersHermenegildus "Herman" Felix Victor Maria Finkers is a comedian from the Dutch region of Twente, who is well-known in the Netherlands for his friendly, dry-witted humour and his ambiguous style of storytelling. In his way of telling a story the moral should never be in the way of a good joke or pun...
(comedian) - Anne van der Meijden (minister)
Since the start of the dialect renaissance, Tweants has increasingly been used as a written language, although this is still almost entirely reserved to the province of literature. Works have been translated into Tweants to stress that Tweants is as sophisticated and expressive as any other language, and to put its own aesthetic properties to use.
A renowned Dutch comedian, Herman Finkers, even translated his last shows into Tweants, using the motto "accentless at last", to indicate that he can finally sound natural by using his mother tongue, without someone mocking him about it. A number of comic books and a children's television programme have been translated into Tweants to critical success.
Reverend Anne van der Meijden, a long-standing promoter of the use of Tweants, has translated the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
into Tweants on the basis of the original languages. He also preaches sermons in Tweants.
Twentse Welle, formerly the Van Deinse Instituut, in Enschede
Enschede
Enschede , also known as Eanske in the local dialect of Twents, is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands in the province of Overijssel and in the Twente region...
is an organisation that maps, monitors, promotes and develops teaching material for Tweants, Tweants identity and the culture of Twente.