Dutch translation
Nederlandse taal
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Dutch is a West Germanic language spoken by around 24 million people, mainly in the Netherlands, Belgium, Suriname, but also by smaller groups of speakers in parts of France, Germany and several former Dutch colonies. The language is considered to have originated in about AD 700 from the various Germanic dialects spoken in the Netherlands region, mostly of Frankian origin. A process of standardisation started in the Middle Ages, especially under the influence of the Burgundian Ducal Court in Dijon (Brussels after 1477). In the Middle Ages, Dutch was called “Dietsc,” or “Duutsc” which means “language of the people.”
The written and spoken forms of Dutch differ significantly. Written Dutch exhibits far greater formality than spoken Dutch in both grammar and vocabulary. One reason for this divergence is that written Dutch evolved from the Flemish dialect spoken in the culturally advanced Flanders and Brabant of the 15th century, where as modern spoken Dutch grew out of the vernacular of the province of Holland, which became dominant after the 16th century. Also, written Dutch is relatively uniform, while the spoken language has a number of dialects as well as an official standard form.
An early Dutch recorded writing is: "Hebban olla vogala nestas hagunnan, hinase hic enda tu, wat unbidan we nu" ("All birds have started making nests, except me and you, what are we waiting for"), dating around the year 1100, written by a Flemish monk in a convent in Rochester (UK). For a long time this sentence was considered to be the earliest in Dutch, but since its discovery even older fragments were found, such as "Visc flot aftar themo uuatare" ("A fish was swimming in the water") and "Gelobistu in got alamehtigan fadaer" ("Do you believe in God the almighty father"). The latter fragment was written as early as 900.
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