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155-658: Vredendal was laid out in 1933 as part of the Olifants River Irrigation Scheme, and attained municipal status in 1963. The name is Dutch and Afrikaans for "valley of peace", and was taken from the name of an old farm. Vredendal is the administrative and commercial centre of the northern Olifants River Valley and the northern part of the Western Cape province. It is the seat of the Matzikama Local Municipality and of

310-578: A common ancestor with languages such as English, German, and the Scandinavian languages . All Germanic languages are subject to the Grimm's law and Verner's law sound shifts, which originated in the Proto-Germanic language and define the basic features differentiating them from other Indo-European languages. This is assumed to have taken place in approximately the mid-first millennium BCE in

465-406: A magistrate's court . Between 1968 and 2001 it was a major integrated military base housing two SAAF fighter jet squadrons, a ground attack squadron, an Aerial refueling squadron, two airlifting transport squadrons attached to 3 Paratrooper Companies, two attack helicopter squadrons colocated with an SADF Armoured Battalion and 2 Light Infantry Battalions which formed the 6th SADF Infantry Brigade. It

620-467: A schwa . The Middle Dutch dialect areas were affected by political boundaries. The sphere of political influence of a certain ruler often also created a sphere of linguistic influence, with the language within the area becoming more homogenous. Following the contemporary political divisions they are in order of importance: A process of standardisation started in the Middle Ages , especially under

775-601: A synod taking place in Corbridge , England , where the decisions are being written down " tam Latine quam theodisce " meaning "in Latin as well as common vernacular". According to a hypothesis by De Grauwe, In northern West Francia (i.e. modern-day Belgium) the term would take on a new meaning during the Early Middle Ages , when, within the context of a highly dichromatic linguistic landscape, it came to be

930-581: A clan of the Arawak language family, arrived at the islands from South America around 500 AD. Archeological remains of the Caquetio culture have been found at certain sites northeast of Kralendijk and near Lac Bay . Caquetio rock paintings and petroglyphs have been preserved in caves at Spelonk, Onima, Ceru Pungi and Ceru Crita-Cabai. The Caquetios were apparently a very tall people, for the Spanish name for

1085-425: A clothing factory known as Schunck's Kledingindustrie Bonaire , a partial solution for the large female surplus on the island. In 1964, Trans World Radio began broadcasting from Bonaire. Radio Netherlands Worldwide built two shortwave transmitters on Bonaire in 1969. The second major hotel (Bonaire Beach Hotel) was completed in 1962. Salt production resumed in 1966 when the salt pans were expanded and modernized by

1240-576: A comparison between the West Germanic languages, see the sections Phonology, Grammar, and Vocabulary. Dutch dialects are primarily the dialects that are both related with the Dutch language and are spoken in the same language area as the Dutch standard language . Although heavily under the influence of the standard language, some of them remain diverse and are found in the Netherlands and in

1395-467: A consequence evolve (along with Alemannic , Bavarian and Lombardic ) into Old High German. At more or less the same time the Ingvaeonic nasal spirant law, moving over Western Europe from west to east, led to the development of Old English (or Anglo-Saxon), Old Frisian and Old Saxon . Hardly influenced by either development, Old Dutch probably remained relatively close to the original language of

1550-479: A leader in nature conservation and ecological responsibility. Bonaire's National Park Foundation ( Stichting Nationale Parken or STINAPA), was founded in 1962 for the purpose of actively protecting nature on the island. In 1969 STINAPA succeeded in establishing both the flamingo nesting sanctuary and Washington National Park, the first such nature preserves in the Netherlands Antilles . In 1979,

1705-474: A man to stand upright in, still stand in the area around Rincon and along the salt pans. The slave population grew in the 1710s when a famine and social unrest on Curaçao caused the Dutch to relocate a large number of slaves to Bonaire. Historically, Dutch was not widely spoken on the island outside of colonial administration; its use increased in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Students on Curaçao, Aruba and Bonaire were taught predominantly in Spanish until

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1860-582: A minority language in Germany and northern France's French Flanders . Though Belgium as a whole is multilingual, three of the four language areas into which the country is divided ( Flanders , francophone Wallonia , and the German-speaking Community ) are largely monolingual, with Brussels being bilingual. The Netherlands and Belgium produce the vast majority of music , films , books and other media written or spoken in Dutch. Dutch

2015-670: A minority) and the province of Walloon Brabant . Brabantian expands into small parts in the west of Limburg while its strong influence on the East Flemish of East Flanders and eastern Zeelandic Flanders weakens towards the west. In a small area in the northwest of North Brabant ( Willemstad ), Hollandic is spoken. Conventionally, the Kleverlandish dialects are distinguished from Brabantian, but there are no objective criteria apart from geography to do so. Over 5 million people live in an area with some form of Brabantian being

2170-441: A new referendum. In a letter to minister Plasterk, James Finies, chairman of Nos Ke Boneiru Bèk, requested a "new referendum under the right of self-determination". Plasterk responded by advising Finies that preparations for the evaluation of the public entity structure had begun for 2015, but a "possible change of the constitutional relations is not part of that evaluation". The new referendum took place on 18 December 2015. 65% of

2325-420: A number of closely related, mutually intelligible dialects spoken in the former Old Dutch area. Where Old Dutch fragments are very hard to read for untrained Modern Dutch speakers, the various literary works of Middle Dutch are somewhat more accessible. The most notable difference between Old and Middle Dutch is in a feature of speech known as vowel reduction , whereby vowels in unstressed syllables are leveled to

2480-579: A political border, because the traditional dialects are strongly influenced by the national standard varieties. While a somewhat heterogeneous group of Low Franconian dialects, Limburgish has received official status as a regional language in the Netherlands and Germany, but not in Belgium. Due to this official recognition, it receives protection by chapter 2 of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages . Afrikaans , although to

2635-434: A resting area for bird species. Lac Bay is an important resting and nesting area for many marine birds and invertebrates, including the queen conch or Karkó . This mollusk used to be found in large numbers here, but overfishing has largely eradicated the population. The area serves as a nursery for reef fish and is the feeding ground for the green sea turtle . Pekel Lake and the flamingo reserve (800 hectares) are part of

2790-413: A result, Nederduits no longer serves as a synonym for the Dutch language. In the 19th century, the term " Diets " was revived by Dutch linguists and historians as well, as a poetic name for Middle Dutch and its literature . Old Dutch can be discerned more or less around the same time as Old English (Anglo-Saxon), Old High German , Old Frisian , and Old Saxon . These names are derived from

2945-514: A result, reef limestone covers a large part of the Bonarie today, as well as the natural fringing reef system, in which the coral formations start at the shoreline. Tidal variations are only about 55–60 centimetres (1.8–2.0 ft), so the corals start at the low tide line and continue on, following the underwater topography of the island's base. Bonaire's tides are more affected by a combination of wind and low/high- pressure systems than by

3100-509: A result, when West Flemings try to talk Standard Dutch, they are often unable to pronounce the g-sound, and pronounce it similar to the h-sound. This leaves, for example, no difference between " held " (hero) and " geld " (money). Or in some cases, they are aware of the problem, and hyper-correct the "h" into a voiced velar fricative or g-sound, again leaving no difference. The West Flemish variety historically spoken in adjacent parts in France

3255-473: A second or third language in the polyglot Caribbean island countries of Aruba , Curaçao and Sint Maarten . All these countries have recognised Dutch as one of their official languages, and are involved in one way or another in the Dutch Language Union . The Dutch Caribbean municipalities ( St. Eustatius , Saba and Bonaire ) have Dutch as one of the official languages. In Asia, Dutch

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3410-522: A significant degree mutually intelligible with Dutch, is usually not considered a dialect but instead a separate standardised language . It is spoken in South Africa and Namibia. As a daughter language of 17th-century Dutch dialects, Afrikaans evolved in parallel with modern Dutch, but was influenced by various other languages in South Africa. West Frisian ( Westerlauwers Fries ), along with Saterland Frisian and North Frisian , evolved from

3565-479: A somewhat different development since the late Middle Ages. Two dialect groups have been given the official status of regional language (or streektaal ) in the Netherlands. Like several other dialect groups, both are part of a dialect continuum that continues across the national border. The Dutch Low Saxon dialect area comprises the provinces of Groningen , Drenthe and Overijssel , as well as parts of

3720-424: A source language, mainly for law and history students. In Indonesia this involves about 35,000 students. Unlike other European nations, the Dutch chose not to follow a policy of language expansion amongst the indigenous peoples of their colonies. In the last quarter of the 19th century, however, a local elite gained proficiency in Dutch so as to meet the needs of expanding bureaucracy and business. Nevertheless,

3875-552: A unique prestige dialect and has a large dialectal continuum consisting of 28 main dialects, which can themselves be further divided into at least 600 distinguishable varieties. In the Netherlands, the Hollandic dialect dominates in national broadcast media while in Flanders Brabantian dialect dominates in that capacity, making them in turn unofficial prestige dialects in their respective countries. Outside

4030-537: Is kantor , handdoek "towel" in Indonesian is handuk , or bushalte "bus stop" in Indonesian is halte bus . In addition, many Indonesian words are calques of Dutch; for example, rumah sakit "hospital" is calqued on the Dutch ziekenhuis (literally "sickhouse"), kebun binatang "zoo" on dierentuin (literally "animal garden"), undang-undang dasar "constitution" from grondwet (literally "ground law"). These account for some of

4185-546: Is Sranan Tongo , spoken natively by about a fifth of the population. Bonaire in the Caribbean Bonaire ( / b ɒ ˈ n ɛər / bon- AIR , Dutch: [boːˈnɛːr(ə)] ; Papiamento : Boneiru [bʊˈne̝i̯ru] ) is a Caribbean island in the Leeward Antilles , and is a special municipality (officially "public body" ) of the Netherlands . Its capital

4340-443: Is 27.5 °C (81.5 °F) with a 1.4 °C (2.5 °F) seasonal variation and 5.6 °C (10 °F) daily variation. The highest recorded temperature is 35.8 °C (96.4 °F) and the lowest, 19.8 °C (67.6 °F). The ocean temperature around the island fluctuates between 26 and 30 °C (78 and 86 °F). Nearly constant winds blow from the east with an average speed of 22 km/h (14 mph). The humidity

4495-506: Is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family , spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language and is the third most spoken Germanic language. In Europe, Dutch is the native language of most of the population of the Netherlands and Flanders (which includes 60% of the population of Belgium ). Dutch was one of the official languages of South Africa until 1925, when it

4650-466: Is a calque of the aforementioned Roman province Germania Inferior and an attempt by early Dutch grammarians to give their language more prestige by linking it to Roman times. Likewise, Hoogduits ("High German") and Overlands ("Upper-landish") came into use as a Dutch exonym for the various German dialects used in neighboring German states. Use of Nederduytsch was popular in the 16th century but ultimately lost out over Nederlands during

4805-473: Is a monocentric language , at least what concerns its written form, with all speakers using the same standard form (authorised by the Dutch Language Union ) based on a Dutch orthography defined in the so-called " Green Booklet " authoritative dictionary and employing the Latin alphabet when writing; however, pronunciation varies between dialects. Indeed, in stark contrast to its written uniformity, Dutch lacks

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4960-476: Is a shallow lagoon in the southeast of Bonaire. The 700 hectare area is surrounded by mangroves. The bay is part of the protected underwater park and has been designated an aquatic area of international importance under the Ramsar Convention . The bay is unique for the presence of seagrasses and mangroves. Part of the mangroves is virtually undisturbed due to limited accessibility, making it important as

5115-537: Is also an official language of several international organisations, such as the European Union , Union of South American Nations and the Caribbean Community . At an academic level, Dutch is taught in about 175 universities in 40 countries. About 15,000 students worldwide study Dutch at university. In Europe, Dutch is the majority language in the Netherlands (96%) and Belgium (59%) as well as

5270-525: Is approximately 300 kilometres (190 mi) by road and 360 kilometres (220 mi) by rail. It is on the boundary between the Mediterranean climate to the south and the semi-arid climate towards the north. Winters are mild with occasional rainy days. The summers can be warm to very hot and very dry. In August 2014 the town hit the news headlines when Lionel Phillips, acting director for development and city planning, caused an uproar by requesting

5425-549: Is completely flat and covered with bushes, cacti, and small trees. There are at least 76 species of plants and about 55 species of animals on the island. The island is an important location for bats , sea turtles , and flamingos . Leptonycteris curasoae rely on Klein Bonaire for sources of nectar . Sea turtles rely on Klein Bonaire's beaches for nesting, especially those on the northeast side. Flamingos rely on Klein Bonaire's salt pans, where they feed. (Bonaire has one of

5580-560: Is estimated at 20,000 individuals. The flamingo places special demands on its environment (water quality, tranquillity) and is very sensitive to disturbance. The Pekelmeer and the flamingo reserve have been designated as a water area of international importance under the Ramsar Convention. Bonaire will continue to actively protect the flamingo, the symbol of the island. Bonaire also is known for its salt pans (also called salt lakes, salt flats, or saliñas ), which cover 10% of

5735-587: Is found in the Salic law . In this Frankish document written around 510 the oldest Dutch sentence has been identified: Maltho thi afrio lito ("I say to you, I free you, serf") used to free a serf. Another old fragment of Dutch is Visc flot aftar themo uuatare ("A fish was swimming in the water"). The oldest conserved larger Dutch text is the Utrecht baptismal vow (776–800) starting with Forsachistu diobolae ... ec forsacho diabolae (litt.: "Forsake you

5890-641: Is found in the archive of the Main Public Registry of the city of Caracas (Venezuela). A document dated December 9, 1595, specifies that Don Francisco Montesinos, Curate and Vicar of "las Yslas de Curasao, Aruba y Bonaire" conferred a power of attorney to Pedro Gutiérrez de Lugo, resident in Caracas, to collect from the Royal Treasury of His Catholic Majesty Don Felipe II, the salary that corresponded to him for his office as priest and vicar of

6045-453: Is fringed by a coral reef which is accessible to divers from the shore along the lee side of the island (facing west-southwest). The entire coastline of the island was designated a marine sanctuary in 1979, an effort to preserve and protect the delicate coral reef and the marine life that depends on it. There are more than 350 species of fish and sixty species of coral living in Bonaire's reef. Boulder Star Coral ( Montastraea annularis )

6200-522: Is mostly Germanic; it incorporates slightly more Romance loans than German, but far fewer than English. In Belgium, the Netherlands and Suriname, the native official name for Dutch is Nederlands (historically Nederlandsch before the Dutch orthographic reforms ). Sometimes Vlaams (" Flemish ") is used as well to describe Standard Dutch in Flanders , whereas Hollands (" Hollandic ")

6355-482: Is named, asked Queen Wilhelmina to exchange his son for the German internees on Bonaire. The government did not grant the request. After the war, the empty barracks became Bonaire's first hotel: Zeebad. After the war, the economy of Bonaire continued to develop. The airport was converted to civilian use and the former internment camp was converted to become the first hotel on Bonaire. The Dutchman Pierre Schunck started

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6510-487: Is occasionally used as a colloquial term for the standard language in the central and northwestern parts of the Netherlands. English uses the adjective Dutch as a noun for the language of the Netherlands and Flanders. The word is derived from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz . The stem of this word, *þeudō , meant "people" in Proto-Germanic, and *-iskaz was an adjective-forming suffix, of which -ish

6665-437: Is relatively mountainous, although its highest peak, Mount Brandaris , is only 240 metres (790 feet). The southern part of the island is nearly flat and barely rises above sea level. A significant portion of this southern region is covered with sea water in process of evaporation for salt production. This area also contains Lac Bay with its large mangrove forest. The shoreline of Bonaire is dotted with lagoons and inlets ,

6820-599: Is rich in birds and other animals, especially lizards, including iguanas. Within the park there are two areas recognised internationally as important wetlands under the Ramsar Convention: the Slagbaai salt marsh and Lake Gotom. The park is also of great cultural-historical importance, not least because of the plantations and the history of Slagbaai. At the entrance to the park is the Bonaire Museum. From

6975-569: Is so distinct that it might be considered as a separate language variant, although the strong significance of language in Belgian politics would prevent the government from classifying them as such. An oddity of the dialect is that, the voiced velar fricative (written as "g" in Dutch) shifts to a voiced glottal fricative (written as "h" in Dutch), while the letter "h" becomes mute (like in French). As

7130-585: Is sometimes called French Flemish and is listed as a French minority language . However, only a very small and aging minority of the French-Flemish population still speaks and understands West Flemish. Hollandic is spoken in Holland and Utrecht , though the original forms of this dialect (which were heavily influenced by a West Frisian substratum and, from the 16th century on, by Brabantian dialects ) are now relatively rare. The urban dialects of

7285-584: Is spoken in Limburg (Belgium) as well as in the remaining part of Limburg (Netherlands) and extends across the German border. West Flemish ( Westvlaams ) is spoken in West Flanders , the western part of Zeelandic Flanders and also in French Flanders , where it virtually became extinct to make way for French. The West Flemish group of dialects, spoken in West Flanders and Zeeland ,

7440-595: Is taught in various educational centres in Indonesia, the most important of which is the Erasmus Language Centre (ETC) in Jakarta . Each year, some 1,500 to 2,000 students take Dutch courses there. In total, several thousand Indonesians study Dutch as a foreign language. Owing to centuries of Dutch rule in Indonesia, many old documents are written in Dutch. Many universities therefore include Dutch as

7595-662: Is the Modern English form. Theodiscus was its Latinised form and used as an adjective referring to the Germanic vernaculars of the Early Middle Ages . In this sense, it meant "the language of the common people". The term was used as opposed to Latin , the non -native language of writing and the Catholic Church . It was first recorded in 786, when the Bishop of Ostia writes to Pope Adrian I about

7750-404: Is the case with the ( standardised ) West Frisian language . It is spoken alongside Dutch in the province of Friesland . Dutch dialects and regional languages are not spoken as often as they used to be, especially in the Netherlands. Recent research by Geert Driessen shows that the use of dialects and regional languages among both Dutch adults and youth is in heavy decline. In 1995, 27 percent of

7905-667: Is the local, democratically elected parliament. It is the highest governing body in the public body and is responsible for local legislation. Executive power is held by the Crown-appointed governor and the island deputies appointed by the island council. The Three main political parties are the Bonaire People's Movement led by Elvis Tjin Asjoe , the Bonaire Patriotic Union led by Esther Bernabela and

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8060-446: Is the most common coral, according to a 2011 survey. In 2011, biologists discovered a new species of jellyfish in Bonaire, the highly venomous Bonaire banded box jellyfish ( Tamoya ohboya ). Bonaire is also famed for its flamingo populations and its donkey sanctuary. Flamingos are drawn to the brackish water of the island's lagoons, which harbor the shrimp upon which they feed. Bonaire is home to one of only four nesting grounds for

8215-617: Is the port of Kralendijk , on the west ( leeward ) coast of the island. Aruba , Bonaire and Curaçao form the ABC islands , 80 km (50 miles) off the coast of Venezuela . The islands have an arid climate that attracts visitors seeking warm, sunny weather all year round, and they lie outside the Main Development Region for tropical cyclones . Bonaire is a popular snorkeling and scuba diving destination because of its multiple shore diving sites, shipwrecks and easy access to

8370-530: Is the sole official language, and over 60 percent of the population speaks it as a mother tongue . Dutch is the obligatory medium of instruction in schools in Suriname, even for non-native speakers. A further twenty-four percent of the population speaks Dutch as a second language . Suriname gained its independence from the Netherlands in 1975 and has been an associate member of the Dutch Language Union since 2004. The lingua franca of Suriname, however,

8525-511: Is very constant, averaging 76% and fluctuating between 85% and 66% on a daily basis. This semi-arid climate is conducive to a variety of cacti and other desert plants. Average annual rainfall is 520 mm (20.5 in), most of which occurs in October through January. Bonaire lies outside the Main Development Region for Atlantic tropical cyclone activity, though the island is occasionally affected by hurricanes and tropical storms. Bonaire

8680-531: The 2006 New Zealand census , 26,982 people, or 0.70 percent of the total population, reported to speak Dutch to sufficient fluency that they could hold an everyday conversation. In contrast to the colonies in the East Indies , from the second half of the 19th century onwards, the Netherlands envisaged the expansion of Dutch in its colonies in the West Indies . Until 1863, when slavery was abolished in

8835-463: The ABC islands was ' las Islas de los Gigantes ' or 'the islands of the giants'. In 1499, Alonso de Ojeda arrived in Curaçao and a neighbouring island that was almost certainly Bonaire. Ojeda was accompanied by Amerigo Vespucci and Juan de la Cosa . De La Cosa's Mappa Mundi of 1500 shows Bonaire and calls it Isla do Palo Brasil or "Island of Brazilwood ". The Spanish decided that

8990-578: The Bergakker inscription , found near the Dutch city of Tiel , which may represent a primary record of 5th-century Frankish. Although some place names recorded in Roman texts such as vadam (modern Dutch: wad , English: "mudflat"), could arguably be considered as the oldest single "Dutch" words, the Bergakker inscription yields the oldest evidence of Dutch morphology. However, interpretations of

9145-594: The Bonaire Democratic Party led by Clark Abraham . Smaller parties include Movement 21 and Bonaire Social Party Prior to the 2010 referendum, the Netherlands Antilles (comprising the islands of Curaçao, Bonaire, St. Eustatius, St. Maarten and Saba) were governed as a parliamentary democracy based on the Dutch system of government with free elections held every four years. Dissension about their political future resulted in four of

9300-636: The Bonaire National Marine Park , and managed by STINAPA Bonaire . Bonaire was part of the Netherlands Antilles until the country's dissolution in 2010, when the island became a special municipality (officially, a " Caribbean public body ") within the country of the Netherlands . It is one of three special municipalities in the Caribbean; the others are Sint Eustatius and Saba . 80% of Bonaire's inhabitants are Dutch nationals, and nearly 60% of its residents were born in

9455-455: The Brussels and Flemish regions of Belgium . The areas in which they are spoken often correspond with former medieval counties and duchies. The Netherlands (but not Belgium) distinguishes between a dialect and a streektaal (" regional language "). Those words are actually more political than linguistic because a regional language unites a large group of very different varieties. Such is

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9610-554: The High German consonant shift , does not use Germanic umlaut as a grammatical marker, has largely abandoned the use of the subjunctive , and has levelled much of its morphology , including most of its case system . Features shared with German, however, include the survival of two to three grammatical genders  – albeit with few grammatical consequences  – as well as the use of modal particles , final-obstruent devoicing , and (similar) word order . Dutch vocabulary

9765-493: The Low Countries , its meaning being largely implicitly provided by the regional orientation of medieval Dutch society: apart from the higher echelons of the clergy and nobility, mobility was largely static and hence while "Dutch" could by extension also be used in its earlier sense, referring to what today would be called Germanic dialects as opposed to Romance dialects , in many cases it was understood or meant to refer to

9920-591: The Low Franconian languages, paired with its sister language Limburgish or East Low Franconian. Its closest relative is the mutually intelligible daughter language Afrikaans. Other West Germanic languages related to Dutch are German , English and the un-standardised languages Low German and Yiddish . Dutch stands out in combining some Ingvaeonic characteristics (occurring consistently in English and Frisian and reduced in intensity from west to east over

10075-405: The Ramsar Convention . Due to a public-private sector partnership, programs are being developed to advance the local awareness and attitudes toward conservation and habitat preservation in order to proactively protect Bonaire's ecosystem. A new sewage treatment plant will contribute to protecting the reefs and the seawater quality. In 2013 Selibon, the national garbage-processing plant, opened an

10230-531: The Randstad , which are Hollandic dialects, do not diverge from standard Dutch very much, but there is a clear difference between the city dialects of Rotterdam , The Hague , Amsterdam and Utrecht . In some rural Hollandic areas more authentic Hollandic dialects are still being used, especially north of Amsterdam. Another group of dialects based on Hollandic is that spoken in the cities and larger towns of Friesland , where it partially displaced West Frisian in

10385-543: The Southern Netherlands (now Belgium and Luxembourg), developments were different. Under subsequent Spanish , Austrian and French rule , the standardisation of Dutch language came to a standstill. The state, law, and increasingly education used French, yet more than half the Belgian population were speaking a variety of Dutch. In the course of the 19th century, the Flemish Movement stood up for

10540-497: The antonym of *walhisk (Romance-speakers, specifically Old French ). The word, now rendered as dietsc (Southwestern variant) or duutsc (Central and Northern Variant), could refer to the Dutch language itself, as well as a broader Germanic category depending on context. During the High Middle Ages " Dietsc / Duutsc " was increasingly used as an umbrella term for the specific Germanic dialects spoken in

10695-471: The continental West Germanic plane) with dominant Istvaeonic characteristics, some of which are also incorporated in German. Unlike German, Dutch (apart from Limburgish) has not been influenced at all by the south to north movement of the High German consonant shift and had some changes of its own. The cumulation of these changes resulted over time in separate, but related standard languages with various degrees of similarities and differences between them. For

10850-434: The differences in vocabulary between Indonesian and Malay. Some regional languages in Indonesia have some Dutch loanwords as well; for example, Sundanese word Katel or "frying pan" origin in Dutch is " ketel ". The Javanese word for "bike/ bicycle " " pit " can be traced back to its origin in Dutch " fiets ". The Malacca state of Malaysia was also colonized by the Dutch in its longest period that Malacca

11005-642: The pre-Roman Northern European Iron Age . The Germanic languages are traditionally divided into three groups: East (now extinct), West , and North Germanic. They remained mutually intelligible throughout the Migration Period . Dutch is part of the West Germanic group, which also includes English, Scots , Frisian , Low German (Old Saxon) and High German . It is characterised by a number of phonological and morphological innovations not found in North or East Germanic. The West Germanic varieties of

11160-518: The 14th to 15th century onward, its urban centers ( Deventer , Zwolle , Kampen , Zutphen and Doesburg ) have been increasingly influenced by the western written Dutch and became a linguistically mixed area. From the 17th century onward, it was gradually integrated into the Dutch language area. Dutch Low Saxon used to be at one end of the Low German dialect continuum . However, the national border has given way to dialect boundaries coinciding with

11315-538: The 16th century and is known as Stadsfries ("Urban Frisian"). Hollandic together with inter alia Kleverlandish and North Brabantian , but without Stadsfries, are the Central Dutch dialects . Brabantian is named after the historical Duchy of Brabant , which corresponded mainly to the provinces of North Brabant and southern Gelderland , the Belgian provinces of Antwerp and Flemish Brabant , as well as Brussels (where its native speakers have become

11470-688: The 7th century. It was replaced in France by Old French (a Romance language with a considerable Old Frankish influence). However, the Old Franconian language did not die out at large, as it continued to be spoken in the Low Countries, and subsequently evolved into what is now called Old Low Franconian or Old Dutch in the Low Countries. In fact, Old Frankish could be reconstructed from Old Dutch and Frankish loanwords in Old French. The term Old Dutch or Old Low Franconian refers to

11625-648: The Antilles International Salt Company, a subsidiary of the International Salt Company. Part of the facilities extend into the Caribbean Sea and form the popular dive site known as Salt Pier. The Bonaire Petroleum Corporation (BOPEC) oil terminal was opened in 1975 for trans-shipping oil. Politically Bonaire formed part of the Netherlands Antilles from 1954 to 2010; it is now a special municipality within

11780-514: The Caribbean flamingo. Located in the Pekelmeer in the southern part of the island, no human entry is permitted in this sanctuary. In the 16th century, Europeans introduced sheep , goats , pigs, horses and donkeys on Bonaire, and the descendants of the donkeys, goats, and pigs roam the island today. Bonaire is also home to the ecologically vulnerable yellow-shouldered amazon parrot, Amazona barbadensis . The island of Bonaire has long been

11935-417: The Dutch adult population spoke a dialect or regional language on a regular basis, but in 2011, that was no more than 11 percent. In 1995, 12 percent of children of primary school age spoke a dialect or regional language, but in 2011, that had declined to four percent. Of the officially recognised regional languages Limburgish is spoken the most (in 2011 among adults 54%, among children 31%) and Dutch Low Saxon

12090-490: The Dutch government remained reluctant to teach Dutch on a large scale for fear of destabilising the colony. Dutch, the language of power, was supposed to remain in the hands of the leading elite. After independence, Dutch was dropped as an official language and replaced by Indonesian , but this does not mean that Dutch has completely disappeared in Indonesia: Indonesian Dutch , a regional variety of

12245-415: The Dutch standard language is largely absent, and speakers of these Dutch dialects will use German or French in everyday speech. Dutch is not afforded legal status in France or Germany, either by the central or regional public authorities, and knowledge of the language is declining among younger generations. As a foreign language , Dutch is mainly taught in primary and secondary schools in areas adjacent to

12400-531: The Dutch standard language, it is not mutually intelligible with Dutch and considered a sister language of Dutch, like English and German. Approximate distribution of native Dutch speakers worldwide: Dutch is an official language of the Netherlands proper (not enshrined in the constitution but in administrative law ), Belgium, Suriname, the Dutch Caribbean municipalities (St. Eustatius, Saba and Bonaire), Aruba , Curaçao and Sint Maarten . Dutch

12555-862: The Dutch ;– having lost the island of St. Maarten to the Spanish ;– retaliated by attacking Curaçao, Bonaire and Aruba. Bonaire was conquered in March 1636. The Dutch built Fort Oranje in 1639. While Curaçao emerged as a centre of the slave trade , Bonaire became a plantation of the Dutch West India Company. Salt became a major export product of the island; a small number of African slaves were put to work alongside Indians and convicts, cultivating dyewood and maize and harvesting solar salt around Blue Pan. Slave quarters, built entirely of stone and too short for

12710-408: The Dutch, was still spoken by about 500,000 half-blood in Indonesia in 1985. Yet the Indonesian language inherited many words from Dutch: words for everyday life as well as scientific and technological terms. One scholar argues that 20% of Indonesian words can be traced back to Dutch words, many of which are transliterated to reflect phonetic pronunciation e.g. kantoor "office" in Indonesian

12865-602: The Franks. However, the language did experience developments of its own, such as very early final-obstruent devoicing . In fact, the find at Bergakker indicates that the language may already have experienced this shift during the Old Frankish period. Attestations of Old Dutch sentences are extremely rare. The language is mostly recorded on fragmentary relics, and words have been reconstructed from Middle Dutch and loan words from Old Dutch in other languages. The oldest recorded

13020-469: The Klein Bonaire salt pans are aquatic areas of international importance in the context of the Ramsar Convention. Economically, the salt flats provide for the production and exportation of salt . Bonaire has many dozens of caves . There are estimated to be over 200 caves on the island, though not all are easily accessible. As a geological manifestation they give a picture of the oldest history of

13175-576: The Netherlands and Flanders . In French-speaking Belgium , over 300,000 pupils are enrolled in Dutch courses, followed by over 23,000 in the German states of Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia , and about 7,000 in the French region of Nord-Pas-de-Calais (of which 4,550 are in primary school). At an academic level, the largest number of faculties of neerlandistiek can be found in Germany (30 universities), followed by France (20 universities) and

13330-412: The Netherlands and Belgium, the dialect spoken in and around the German town of Kleve ( Kleverlandish ) is historically and genetically a Low Franconian variety. In North-Western France, the area around Calais was historically Dutch-speaking (West Flemish), of which an estimated 20,000 are daily speakers. The cities of Dunkirk , Gravelines and Bourbourg only became predominantly French-speaking by

13485-513: The Netherlands itself, a form of "public body" ( openbaar lichaam ) as outlined in article 134 of the Dutch Constitution. Special municipalities do not constitute part of a province. As a special municipality, Bonaire is very much like ordinary Dutch municipalities in that it has a mayor, aldermen and a municipal council , and is governed according to most Dutch laws. Antillean legislation remained in force after 10 October 2010, with

13640-412: The Netherlands on May 10, 1940, authorities declared martial law , and many German and Austrian citizens, as well as Dutch thought to be German sympathizers, were interned in a camp on Bonaire. Some of these remained in this camp for the war's duration, and others were transferred to new camps built on the mainland in the first year of the war. In 1944, Princess Juliana and Eleanor Roosevelt visited

13795-508: The Netherlands under the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814 . During the period of British rule, a large number of white traders settled on Bonaire, and built the settlement of Playa ( Kralendijk ) in 1810. From 1816 until 1868, Bonaire remained a government plantation. In 1825, there were about 300 government-owned slaves on the island. Gradually many of the slaves were freed and became freemen with an obligation to render some services to

13950-539: The Netherlands, although there are recognisable differences in pronunciation, comparable to the pronunciation differences between standard British and standard American English. In 1980 the Netherlands and Belgium concluded the Language Union Treaty . This treaty lays down the principle that the two countries must gear their language policy to each other, among other things, for a common system of spelling. Dutch belongs to its own West Germanic sub-group,

14105-563: The Netherlands. In 2011 the island officially adopted the US dollar as its currency. On 10 October 2010, the Netherlands Antilles was dissolved . As a result, the government of the Netherlands assumed the task of public administration of the Caribbean Netherlands or BES Islands comprising Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba. The three islands acquired new status as "special municipalities" ( bijzondere gemeenten ), making them part of

14260-448: The Netherlands. Residents also have access to new or improved facilities and government benefits including, but not limited to, universal health care ; improved health care facilities; better educational facilities with additional training for teachers, new teaching methods and new school buildings; social housing for low-income individuals and families; a centrally dispatched single police force, fire department and ambulance service. While

14415-599: The Plaza Medio Ambiente recycling center, where the general public can bring glass, cans, paper, scrap metal, cardboard, batteries, motor oil, cooking oil, electronics, mobile phones and textiles. The island is environmentally aware and protective of its coral reefs, the diversity of its aquatic ecosystems, and the conservation of its many species and natural environments above and below the water. The island's government, businesses and residents are committed to recycling waste products, and making others aware of

14570-531: The Slagbaai plantation was added to the park, now known as Washington Slagbaai National Park (WSNP). The Bonaire National Marine Park (BNMP) was also established in 1979. The Marine Park consists of the whole coastline of Bonaire from the high-water mark down to a depth of 200 feet (61 m) and includes a large mangrove forest in Lac Bay. Lac Bay , Klein Bonaire , Pelkermeer , Slagbaai and Gotomeer are recognized as wetlands of international significance under

14725-469: The South American continental shelf ; while others place the island's location on or above the Caribbean plate. The island is essentially coral that has been geologically pushed up and out of the sea. As the seabed rose upwards a vast coral reef grew on what is now dry land. These corals were eventually exposed to air and perished, becoming surface limestone deposits over the millennia. As

14880-541: The Spanish phrase "buen aire", which does mean 'good air', as the Spanish were the first Europeans to colonise the island. The most accurate human remains on the islands, dating from 4500 BP (2550 BC), were found in Curaçao. On different islands the most accurate are 4000 BP (2050 BC) in Aruba and 3300 BP (1350 BC) in Bonaire. These individuals are currently called by the term Archaic Indians. The Caquetío (Arawak) Indians,

15035-674: The United Kingdom (5 universities). Despite the Dutch presence in Indonesia for almost 350 years, as the Asian bulk of the Dutch East Indies , the Dutch language has no official status there and the small minority that can speak the language fluently are either educated members of the oldest generation, or employed in the legal profession such as historians, diplomats, lawyers, jurists and linguists/polyglots, as certain law codes are still only available in Dutch. Dutch

15190-621: The West Indies, slaves were forbidden to speak Dutch, with the effect that local creoles such as Papiamento and Sranan Tongo which were based not on Dutch but rather other European languages, became common in the Dutch West Indies. However, as most of the people in the Colony of Surinam (now Suriname ) worked on Dutch plantations, this reinforced the use of Dutch as a means for direct communication. In Suriname today, Dutch

15345-661: The area known as the Low Countries goes back further in time, with the Romans referring to the region as Germania Inferior ("Lower" Germania). It is a reference to the Low Countries' downriver location at the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta near the North Sea . From 1551, the designation Nederlands received strong competition from the name Nederduytsch (literally "Low Dutch", Dutch being used in its archaic sense covering all continental West Germanic languages). It

15500-624: The borders of other standard language areas. In most cases, the heavy influence of the standard language has broken the dialect continuum . Examples are the Gronings dialect spoken in Groningen as well as the closely related varieties in adjacent East Frisia (Germany). Kleverlandish is a dialect spoken in southern Gelderland , the northern tip of Limburg , and northeast of North Brabant (Netherlands), but also in adjacent parts of North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany). Limburgish ( Limburgs )

15655-479: The case with the Gronings dialect , which is considered a variety of the Dutch Low Saxon regional language, but it is relatively distinct from other Dutch Low Saxon varieties. Also, some Dutch dialects are more remote from the Dutch standard language than some varieties of a regional language are. Within the Netherlands, a further distinction is made between a regional language and a separate language, which

15810-553: The close of the 18th century, with (Hoog)Duytsch establishing itself as the Dutch exonym for German during this same period. In the 19th century Germany saw the rise of the categorisation of dialects, with German dialectologists terming the German dialects spoken in the mountainous south of Germany as Hochdeutsch ("High German"). Subsequently, German dialects spoken in the north were designated as Niederdeutsch ("Low German"). The names for these dialects were calqued by Dutch linguists as Nederduits and Hoogduits . As

15965-413: The course of fifteen centuries. During that period, they forced Old Frisian back from the western coast to the north of the Low Countries, and influenced or even replaced Old Saxon spoken in the east (contiguous with the Low German area). On the other hand, Dutch has been replaced in adjacent lands in present-day France and Germany. The division into Old, Middle and Modern Dutch is mostly conventional, since

16120-540: The declaration of independence of Indonesia, Western New Guinea , the "wild east" of the Dutch East Indies , remained a Dutch colony until 1962, known as Netherlands New Guinea . Despite prolonged Dutch presence, the Dutch language is not spoken by many Papuans, the colony having been ceded to Indonesia in 1963. Dutch-speaking immigrant communities can also be found in Australia and New Zealand. The 2011 Australian census showed 37,248 people speaking Dutch at home. At

16275-603: The development of a separate Dutch language. It was spoken by the descendants of the Salian Franks who occupied what is now the southern Netherlands , northern Belgium , part of northern France, and parts of the Lower Rhine regions of Germany. The High German consonant shift, moving over Western Europe from south to west, caused a differentiation with the Central and High Franconian in Germany. The latter would as

16430-474: The devil? ... I forsake the devil"). If only for its poetic content, the most famous Old Dutch sentence is probably 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"), is dated to around the year 1100, written by a Flemish monk in a convent in Rochester , England . Since the sentence speaks to

16585-489: The end of the 19th century. In the countryside, until World War I , many elementary schools continued to teach in Dutch, and the Catholic Church continued to preach and teach the catechism in Dutch in many parishes. During the second half of the 19th century, Dutch was banned from all levels of education by both Prussia and France and lost most of its functions as a cultural language. In both Germany and France,

16740-433: The entrance there are several signposted walks. The park is easily accessible by car and mountain bikers are also welcome. The highest point of Bonaire, Mount Brandaris , is 240 m (790 ft) tall and is located within this preserve. It has a complete view of the island. The Bonaire National Marine Park (BNMP) is a legally protected underwater park surrounding the entire islands of Bonaire and Klein Bonaire. The park

16895-441: The exception of those cases where Antillean law was replaced by Bonaire's municipal law. It was believed best for the island to not introduce the entire body of Dutch legislation at one time as it would cause confusion. Therefore, Dutch legislation is being introduced in stages. Bonaire retained its own unique culture while residents enjoy the same rights as Dutch citizens, including the right to vote in Dutch parliamentary elections in

17050-481: The former Netherlands Antilles and Aruba. The name 'Bonaire' is thought to be derived from the Caquetio word ' Bonay ' , meaning 'low country'. The early Spanish and Dutch modified its spelling to Bojnaj and also Bonaire . French influence, while present at various times, was never strong enough to make the assumption that the name means 'good air'. According to another theory, the name might be derived from

17205-403: The goal of becoming 100% reliant on renewables. Washington Slagbaai National Park is an ecological preserve on the northern tip of the island. The 6,000-hectare park was established in 1969 as the first nature park in the Netherlands Antilles. It is home to a wide variety of habitats, such as the bocas (inlets), dunes on the north coast, salt pans, pos (springs) and mountain areas. The park

17360-615: The government. The remaining slaves were freed on 30 September 1862 under the Emancipation Regulation. A total of 607 government slaves and 151 private slaves were freed at that time. During the German occupation of the Netherlands during World War II, Bonaire was a protectorate of Britain and the United States. The American army built the Flamingo Airport as an air force base. After Germany invaded

17515-415: The imagination, it is often erroneously stated as the oldest Dutch sentence. Old Dutch naturally evolved into Middle Dutch . The year 1150 is often cited as the time of the discontinuity, but it actually marks a time of profuse Dutch writing; during this period a rich Medieval Dutch literature developed. There was at that time no overarching standard language ; Middle Dutch is rather a collective name for

17670-468: The importance and benefits. Divers and dive shops take part in collecting debris washed ashore and preparing it for recycling. Bonaire gets a significant amount of its electricity from an array of twelve wind generators along its northeastern coastline which began operating in 2010. This renewable source now fills 40–45% of the island's electricity needs. Work continues in developing additional renewable sources of energy, including bio-diesel and solar, with

17825-656: The influence of the Burgundian Ducal Court in Dijon ( Brussels after 1477). The dialects of Flanders and Brabant were the most influential around this time. The process of standardisation became much stronger at the start of the 16th century, mainly based on the urban dialect of Antwerp . The 1585 fall of Antwerp to the Spanish army led to a flight to the northern Netherlands, where the Dutch Republic declared its independence from Spain. This influenced

17980-632: The island was bought and safeguarded by the Island Territory of Bonaire with the help of the Netherlands, the World Wide Fund for Nature and other conservationists. Klein Bonaire has been a legally protected nature reserve since 2001, when it was incorporated as part of the Bonaire National Marine Park. The island is also protected as a wetland of international importance by the Ramsar Convention . Lac Bay

18135-428: The island's fringing reefs . As of 1 January 2023, the island's population totaled 24,090 permanent residents, an increase of over 7,500 (or 45.6%) since 2012. The island's total land area is 288 square kilometres (111 sq mi); it is 38.6 kilometres (24.0 mi) long from north to south, and ranges from 5–8 km (3–5 mi) wide from east to west. A short 800 metres (0.50 mi) west of Bonaire across

18290-468: The island's land. Salt pans are salt lakes or inlets that are closed to the sea by a dead coral dyke . They have an important function because they ensure the collection and filtration of rainwater. This prevents nutrients and soil particles from reaching the reef and causing damage to the corals. This function is especially crucial during heavy rainfall. The salt pans are also an important feeding ground for many waterbirds. Slagbaai, Gotomeer, Pekelmeer and

18445-420: The island. In several there are cave drawings made by the original inhabitants of Bonaire. Some caves are home to bats or the blind shrimp Typhlatya . Bats play a useful role in the ecosystem: they trap a large number of insects (including mosquitoes) or provide pollination of flowers, including cactus flowers. The greatest threat to bats is the destruction or disturbance of their roosts. The island council

18600-460: The islands. Remnants of Bonaire's indigenous population can be seen in some of the island's current inhabitants. In fact, the majority of the population is of mixed black and white descent, with minorities of Europeans (descendants of the Dutch) and Africans (descendants of slaves) In 1526, Juan Martínez de Ampiés was appointed Spanish commander of the ABC Islands . He brought back some of

18755-563: The language now known as Dutch. In the Low Countries Dietsch or its Early Modern Dutch form Duytsch as an endonym for Dutch gradually went out of common use and was gradually replaced by the Dutch endonym Nederlands . This designation (first attested in 1482) started at the Burgundian court in the 15th century, although the use of neder , laag , bas , and inferior ("nether" or "low") to refer to

18910-471: The large aquatic area in the south-west of the island. Salt is still extracted from this area. It is also the most important feeding and living area for the flamingo. Depending on the season, between 2,000 and 7,000 flamingos can be found in this area. The flamingo reserve is the most important breeding site in the Southern Caribbean. The total population migrating between Bonaire and South America

19065-487: The largest flamingo populations in the world). The island is surrounded by fringing coral reefs. The reefs are home to more than 340 fish species, and almost every species of hard and soft coral found in the Caribbean. Its reefs and underwater wildlife make it a popular destination for divers, and it is surrounded by dive sites. In the late 20th century, with the growth of diving tourism on Bonaire, project developers wanted to build hotels on Klein Bonaire. In 1999

19220-435: The largest of which is Goto Lake in the north. These lagoons and wetlands provide an excellent habitat for a wide variety of shorebirds. While Bonaire has some hills and variations in altitude, Klein Bonaire's surface is quite level and just about two meters above sea level. Because Klein Bonaire is as yet undeveloped, the fringing reef system surrounding Klein Bonaire is pristine. Geologists believe that Bonaire and

19375-533: The late 18th century when the British took Curaçao, Aruba and Bonaire; the teaching of Spanish was restored when Dutch rule resumed in 1815. During the Napoleonic Wars , the Netherlands lost control of Bonaire twice, once from 1800 to 1803, and again from 1807 to 1816. During these intervals, the British had control of the neighbouring island of Curaçao and of Bonaire. The ABC islands were returned to

19530-629: The least (adults 15%, children 1%). The decline of the West Frisian language in Friesland occupies a middle position (adults 44%, children 22%). Dialects are most often spoken in rural areas, but many cities have a distinct city dialect. For example, the city of Ghent has very distinct "g", "e" and "r" sounds that greatly differ from its surrounding villages. The Brussels dialect combines Brabantian with words adopted from Walloon and French . Some dialects had, until recently, extensions across

19685-437: The modern standard languages . In this age no standard languages had yet developed, while a perfect West Germanic dialect continuum remained present; the division reflects the contingent future contribution dialect groups would have to the later languages. The early form of Dutch was a set of Franconian dialects spoken by the Salian Franks in the 5th century. These happened to develop through Middle Dutch to Modern Dutch over

19840-423: The moon. Due to its history, the geology of Bonaire is dominated by gently dipping carbonate rocks ranging in age from Cretaceous (≈90-100 million years ago (Ma)) to Miocene (≈5 Ma), which lie unconformably on a pre-Cretaceous igneous basement . Where the unconformity corresponds with sea-level erosion , caves are common. Bonaire has a warm, dry (though humid) and windy climate. The average temperature

19995-583: The organisers of the Namaqua festival to cancel the performance of the singer Steve Hofmeyr. Hofmeyr responded by stating "There you have it Lionel Phillips: 17 artists, one agency and a whole town without an income for that weekend." On 27 October 2015, a temperature of 48.4 °C was recorded in Vredendal, the highest global temperature for October that year. Dutch language Dutch ( endonym : Nederlands [ˈneːdərlɑnts] )

20150-524: The organization is of the opinion that such an arrangement was never the choice of the people. The Dutch Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations, Ronald Plasterk , replied to the organization confirming that only the "Island Councils in the Caribbean Netherlands have the authority to decide on holding a constitutional referendum, not the Dutch government." In response, the organization gathered more than 3,500 signatures in 2013 favouring

20305-454: The original Caquetio Indian inhabitants to Bonaire and Curaçao. Ampies also imported domesticated animals from Spain , including cows, donkeys, goats, horses, pigs and sheep. The Spaniards thought that Bonaire could be used as a cattle plantation worked by natives. The cattle were raised for hides rather than meat. The Spanish inhabitants lived mostly in the inland town of Rincon which was safe from pirate attack. The Dutch West India Company

20460-470: The original Dutch language version dating from colonial times remains the authoritative version. Up to half a million native speakers reside in the United States, Canada and Australia combined, and historical linguistic minorities on the verge of extinction remain in parts of France and Germany. Dutch is one of the closest relatives of both German and English, and is colloquially said to be "roughly in between" them. Dutch, like English, has not undergone

20615-686: The other ABC islands were formed about 90 million years ago. As the Caribbean plate collided with the South American plate , it forced a large mass of rock to the ocean surface and created the Leeward Antilles Ridge . The islands of Bonaire, Aruba, and Curaçao were formed along this ridge. As such, Bonaire lies within the Caribbean–South America plate boundary zone . Some geologists place Bonaire's location on

20770-599: The other islands of the then Dutch West Indies). During hostilities, the site where the Divi Flamingo Beach Resort & Casino now stands served as an internment camp for Germans and Austrians living in the Antilles, mainly because they were distrusted. There were fears they could have sabotaged the giant oil refineries on Aruba and Curaçao that were supplying paraffin to the Allied air fleet. The camp

20925-527: The predominant colloquial language out of the area's 22 million Dutch-speakers. Limburgish , spoken in both Belgian Limburg and Netherlands Limburg and in adjacent parts in Germany, is considered a dialect in Belgium, while having obtained the official status of regional language in the Netherlands. Limburgish has been influenced by the Ripuarian varieties like the Colognian dialect , and has had

21080-411: The provinces of Gelderland , Flevoland , Friesland and Utrecht . This group, which is not Low Franconian but instead Low Saxon and close to neighbouring Low German, has been elevated by the Netherlands (and by Germany) to the legal status of streektaal ( regional language ) according to the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages . It is regarded as Dutch for a number of reasons. From

21235-515: The rest of the text lack any consensus. The Franks emerged in the southern Netherlands ( Salian Franks ) and central Germany ( Ripuarian Franks ), and later descended into Gaul . The name of their kingdom survives in that of France. Although they ruled the Gallo-Romans for nearly 300 years, their language, Frankish , became extinct in most of France and was replaced by later forms of the language throughout Luxembourg and Germany in around

21390-423: The rights of Dutch speakers, mostly referred to as "Flemish". However, the dialect variation was a serious disadvantage in the face of the standardised francophony . Since standardisation is a lengthy process, Dutch-speaking Belgium associated itself with the standard language that had already developed in the Netherlands over the centuries. Therefore, the situation in Belgium is essentially no different from that in

21545-524: The same branch of the West Germanic languages as Old English (i.e. Anglo-Frisian ) and are therefore genetically more closely related to English and Scots than to Dutch. The different influences on the respective languages, however, particularly that of Norman French on English and Dutch on West Frisian, have rendered English quite distinct from West Frisian, and West Frisian less distinct from Dutch than from English. Although under heavy influence of

21700-407: The sea is the uninhabited islet of Klein Bonaire with a total land area of 6 km (2.3 sq mi). Klein Bonaire has low-growing vegetation including cactus ( Papiamentu : kadushi ), with sparse palm trees near the water and is bordered by white sandy beaches and a fringing reef. The reefs, beaches and on-island reserves located on both Bonaire and Klein Bonaire are under the protection of

21855-455: The set of Franconian dialects (i.e. West Germanic varieties that are assumed to have evolved from Frankish ) spoken in the Low Countries during the Early Middle Ages , from around the 5th to the 12th century. Old Dutch is mostly recorded on fragmentary relics, and words have been reconstructed from Middle Dutch and Old Dutch loanwords in French. Old Dutch is regarded as the primary stage in

22010-459: The three ABC Islands were useless because they did not have known metal deposits, and in 1515 the Caquetío were enslaved to work in the copper mines of Santo Domingo on the island of Hispaniola ; the total number may have been between 500 and 2,000. Spain colonized Bonaire since 1499 for a period of approximately one century. Likewise, one of the oldest references to the name of the island

22165-425: The three islands are considered to be land of the Netherlands, they are not a part of the European Union , therefore not subject to European Union Law. They are considered to be an overseas country and territory . Bonaire's non-governmental organization, Nos Ke Boneiru Bèk ("We Want Bonaire Back"), is against the current constitutional relationship with the Netherlands. With reference to Bonaire's 2004 referendum,

22320-545: The time are generally split into three dialect groups: Ingvaeonic (North Sea Germanic), Istvaeonic (Weser–Rhine Germanic) and Irminonic (Elbe Germanic). It appears that the Frankish tribes fit primarily into the Istvaeonic dialect group with certain Ingvaeonic influences towards the northwest, which are still seen in modern Dutch. The Frankish language itself is not directly attested, the only possible exception being

22475-466: The transition between them was very gradual. One of the few moments when linguists can detect something of a revolution is when the Dutch standard language emerged and quickly established itself. The development of the Dutch language is illustrated by the following sentence in Old, Middle and Modern Dutch: Among the Indo-European languages , Dutch is grouped within the Germanic languages , meaning it shares

22630-467: The troops on Bonaire. Bonairean sailors made an above-average contribution during World War II. German U-boats tried to eliminate shipping around the Aruba and Curaçao refineries and thus eliminate the island's considerable fuel production for the Allies. Bonairean-crewed ships also took part in these battles. Among the many missing after the war, were the 34 Bonaireans who died on these ships (more than on

22785-410: The turnout voted that they were not happy with the current relationship between Bonaire and the Netherlands. Bonaire lies about 80 kilometres (50 mi) off the coast of Venezuela. The island has a land area of 288 km (111 sq mi), with an additional 6 km (2.3 sq mi) added by Klein Bonaire , a small uninhabited island off its west coast. The northern end of Bonaire

22940-484: The urban dialects of the province of Holland . In 1637, a further important step was made towards a unified language, when the Statenvertaling , the first major Bible translation into Dutch, was created that people from all over the new republic could understand. It used elements from various, even Dutch Low Saxon , dialects but was predominantly based on the urban dialects of Holland of post 16th century. In

23095-720: Was also the site of the 4 Coastal Artillery Group of the SADF Navy equipped with Surface to Ship Guided Missiles and Anti-Submarine Helicopters. Vredendal is connected to the N7 national road by the R362 and R363 roads, which run along the north and south banks, respectively, of the Olifants River. Vredendal is also served by the West Coast railway line which runs from Cape Town to Bitterfontein. The travel distance from Cape Town

23250-518: Was established in 1979 with the support of the World Wide Fund for Nature and others, and is managed by STINAPA. There are more than 80 dive sites in the marine park. Klein Bonaire (Dutch for "Little Bonaire") is an islet located off the western coast Bonaire, about a 0.5 mile from Kralendijk. The small island is 700 hectares (2.7 sq miles) in size. The island is accessible by boat for divers, snorkelers, and day-trippers . The island

23405-550: Was founded in 1602. Starting in 1623, ships of the West India Company called at Bonaire to obtain meat, water and wood. The Dutch also abandoned some Spanish and Portuguese prisoners there, and these people founded the town of Antriol , which is a contraction of Spanish al interior (English: inside ). The Dutch and the Spanish fought from 1568 to 1648 in what is now known as the Eighty Years War . In 1633,

23560-450: Was in operation from 1940 to 1947. In total, 461 people were interned during this period without trial, most of them completely innocent. Among them were Medardo de Marchena and also the photographer Fred Fischer, then still an Austrian citizen. Many German internees had just fled Nazi violence. But there were also German prisoners of war, some of whom remained after the war. In September 1943, the father of George Maduro , after whom Madurodam

23715-500: Was replaced by Afrikaans , a separate but partially mutually intelligible daughter language of Dutch. Afrikaans, depending on the definition used, may be considered a sister language , spoken, to some degree, by at least 16 million people, mainly in South Africa and Namibia , and evolving from Cape Dutch dialects. In South America, it is the native language of the majority of the population of Suriname , and spoken as

23870-472: Was under foreign control. In the 19th century, the East Indies trade started to dwindle, and with it the importance of Malacca as a trading post. The Dutch state officially ceded Malacca to the British in 1825. It took until 1957 for Malaya to gain its independence. Despite this, the Dutch language is rarely spoken in Malacca or Malaysia and only limited to foreign nationals able to speak the language. After

24025-461: Was used in the Dutch East Indies (now mostly Indonesia ) by a limited educated elite of around 2% of the total population, including over 1 million indigenous Indonesians, until it was banned in 1957, but the ban was lifted afterwards. About a fifth of the Indonesian language can be traced to Dutch, including many loan words . Indonesia's Civil Code has not been officially translated, and

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