Will Limburgish survive as a language or will it eventually disappear? The latter is not necessary at all, according to professor of linguistics Joep Leerssen.
“But then we have to work on it,” Leerssen told the L1 program on Wednesday EveningGuests†
Exactly 25 years
It’s Limburg’s birthday. Wednesday it will be exactly 25 years ago that Limburgish was recognized within the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. The purpose of that Charter is to protect and promote such languages. In the Netherlands, Frisian, Low Saxon and Limburgish, among others, fall under the Charter.
keep speaking
About three quarters of the Limburg population still speaks Limburgish on a daily basis. That is a lot, especially if you compare it with Frisian and Low Saxon. But to keep the language alive, it must continue to be spoken.
Leerssen: “Dialect must be transferred. We try very hard to organize that, for example, childcare organizations offer Limburgish. You need a lot of patience to organize all this. But if you do nothing, it will disappear.”
European recognition
According to Leerssen, European recognition has been important. “Before that, Limburgish also existed, but it was invisible. It was pushed back into the retrospective atmosphere of people talking about Aunt Sjan’s rice pie at home in the kitchen. There was an unwillingness to acknowledge that, that Limburgish is much more than that. European recognition has been important in that.”
‘Staying attractive’
According to Leerssen, speaking Limburgish really has more to offer than Standard Dutch. “It has the added value of confidentiality, intimacy, which is more than just communication transfer. This means that Limburgish must remain attractive as an alternative to Dutch.”
Also read: It’s Limburg’s birthday: Os sjoen taol best 25 years