Dutch (nederlands) language
Countries (spoken in): |
Netherlands, Belgium (Flanders and Brussels), Suriname, Aruba, Netherlands Antilles, French Flanders (France), Lower Rhine (Germany) |
Official status: |
Аруба, Бельгия, Нидерландские Антилы, Нидерланды, Суринам |
Total speakers: |
22 million speakers (2005) |
Dutch language (de Nederlandse taal) — is a West Germanic language spoken by around 24 million people, mainly in the Netherlands, Belgium and Suriname, but also by smaller groups of speakers in parts of France, Germany and several former Dutch colonies.
Dutch is a descendant of several Frankish dialects, that were spoken in the High Middle Ages and Early Modern Times, and to a lesser extent from the Frisian language, that was spoken by the original inhabitants of Holland (see Hollandic).
Dutch grammar also shares many traits with German, especially in syntax, but has a less complicated morphology caused by deflexion, which puts it closer to English. Dutch has officially three genders, masculine, feminine, and neuter, however, according to some interpretations these are reduced to only two, common and neuter, which is similar to the gender systems of most Continental Scandinavian languages.
In Dutch, the language is called Nederlands (lit: 'Lowlands'). This name is drawn from the geographical situation of the region, de Nederlanden (the Low Countries), situated on the Northern European Plain.
Dutch online translators
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