West Frisian language
West Frisian, or simply Frisian (West Frisian: Frysk [frisk] or Westerlauwersk Frysk; Dutch: Fries [fris], also Westerlauwers Fries), is a West Germanic language spoken mostly in the province of Friesland (Fryslân) in the north of the Netherlands, mostly by those of Frisian ancestry. It is the most widely spoken of the Frisian languages.
| West Frisian | |
|---|---|
| Frisian | |
| Frysk Westerlauwersk Frysk | |
| Pronunciation | [frisk], [ˈvɛstr̩ˌlɔuə(r)s(k) frisk] |
| Native to | Netherlands |
| Region | Friesland |
| Ethnicity | West Frisians |
Native speakers | 470,000 (2001 census) |
Indo-European
| |
| West Frisian | |
| Official status | |
Official language in | Netherlands |
| Regulated by | Fryske Akademy |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-1 | fy |
| ISO 639-2 | fry |
| ISO 639-3 | fry |
| Glottolog | west2354 |
| ELP | West Frisian |
| Linguasphere | 52-ACA-b |
Present-day distribution West Frisian languages, in the Netherlands | |
Frisian is classified as Vulnerable by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger | |
In the study of the evolution of English, West Frisian is notable as being the most closely related foreign tongue to the various dialects of Old English spoken across the Heptarchy, these being part of the Anglo-Frisian branch of the West Germanic family.
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