Dutch is spoken by roughly 20 million people worldwide, the
majority of which live in The Netherlands, where it is the national language.
However, over 4.5 million Dutch speakers can also be found in neighboring
Belgium, where it is an official language along with French (for English
speakers, the dialect of Dutch spoken in Belgium is known as
"Flemish"). Other countries with Dutch-speaking populations include
France, Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles.
Dutch is part of the Netherlandic-Germanic subgroup within
the West Germanic language family. It grew out of a Low German dialect called
Lower Franconian, or Niederfränkisch in the German. According to Omniglot.com,
the earliest example of this "Old Franconian" in written form
"appears in a 9th century Latin manuscript, the Laws of the Salic Franks,
and in translations of the Psalms." However, Modern Dutch really begins to
appear with the translation of the Bible (the "Staten-Bijbel") in the
17th Century.1
According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, spoken Dutch
presents a great deal of variety in terms of its dialectical forms, especially
in comparison to English. This variation starts with Standard Dutch (Algemeen
Beschaafd Nederlands) - the official language for government and schools - and
extends down to the numerous local dialects found in the regions and small
towns of The Netherlands and Belgium.
Below are some brief but important facts about the country
of the Philippines and its people.
Capital:
Amsterdam; The Hague is the seat of government
Currency:
Euro (EUR)
Government Type:
Constitutional monarchy
Population:
16,318,199 (July 2004 est.)
Internet Country Code:
.nl
Internet Hosts:
4,518,226 (2004)
Internet Users:
8.5 million (2003)
For additional demographic information on The Netherlands
and its people, please see the following links:
1
"Dutch (Nederlands)" Omniglot: A Guide to Writing Systems
http://www.omniglot.com/writing/dutch.htm
[Accessed December 11, 2004]
[Accessed December 11, 2004]
2
"Netherlandic language" Encyclopædia Britannica from Encyclopædia
Britannica Premium Service.
http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?tocId=9055348
[Accessed December 11, 2004]
http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?tocId=9055348
[Accessed December 11, 2004]
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