At a primary school in Berghem it looks like an episode of Lingo on Wednesday morning, but in Brabant. The children from group 8 of primary school De Fonkeling in Berghem will receive lessons in the dialect in the coming weeks. The initiators hope to make the Bèrgs popular again. “It’s a piece of culture.”
“Yes, how do we say da in the Bèrgs,” it sounds in the gym of primary school in Berghem. The students in group 8 are in a stands who are confused to look at a large screen.
On the screen is the gene Z term ‘Main Character Energytranslated as conceited in Dutch. “You know, as if you were the man, chest ahead,” depicts initiator Dick Boeijen. For the redeeming answer in the Bèrgs, the children look at co-initiator Riny Boeijen. “Yes, that is STRèlik of course!”
“I grew up completely in the dialect, my parents couldn’t do anything else,” says Riny. “Only when we arrived in high school, did we, as a farmers, of course.” Now he certainly does not want to make the children extra boers, but to speak dialect, that is allowed more, according to the Berghem language guru. “It’s just a piece of culture, a piece of identity. How nice is it when grandpa and grandma and the grandchildren can speak in the same language.”
Development
“When Riny just read a poem, my grandfather indeed reminded me, it sounds very nice,” agrees Miss Amber Koopmans. The teacher herself hardly ever uses a dialect in the classroom, but she sees the benefits of the lessons. “The more languages they learn, the better, that’s good for the development of the children.”
Co-initiator Dick is completely in line with this. According to him, the dialect course even helps communicate between parent and child. “It is not only that the Bèrgse dialect is difficult for the children, but occasionally the new words of the youth are also difficult for the parents,” he says laughing. “Who knows, maybe they will understand each other better below.”
Hip words
Because yes, the ‘hip’ words of generation Z have also received a major translation. “We did notice that it was occasionally difficult to translate the gene words into Dutch, let alone to the Berghems.” Yet the Brabant Language Wizards managed to do the job with the help of the children. So it becomes’rizzler‘(a flirt) in the Bèrgs’ Sjansbal ‘, changes’delulu‘(believe in delusions) in’ Waus ‘and become’gyat‘Of course a’ battery ‘(thick ass).
The initiators hope that the dialect lessons will catch on in more places, so they have made their teaching package available to everyone. “The students get to know the dialect through songs and stories and every city or village in Brabant or beyond can make a version of it. We have even had a phone call from Volendam.”