The ‘Limburgian language used in the ’ and its contribution to the regional identity construction in the province of Limburg. Dr. Rob Belemans, Executive FARO (Flemish Interface Centre for Cultural Heritage), Brussel, ([email protected])

The Limburgian belong to the Oostnederfrankian language family. The historic dialects in this area did not develop an own standard variety. They stayed for a long time the spoken language for common daily use next to the standard Dutch or German that was adopted as the official language. Limburgian is the name of the western part of this language area, that is bordered in the west and the nord by the isoglosse that is called Uerdingerline (ik vs. ich) and by the Benratherline (maken – machen) in the south. The dialects of this Oostnederfrankian region can be recognised by the shibboleth ‘ich maak’. Most of the dialects in this “ich maak”-area are also marked by the typical intonational vowel opposition between the so called stoottoon (that is the only realisation of short and long vowels in all the other dialects of the area) and the sleeptoon; as in bein [sleeptoon] (a leg - singular) versus bein [stoottoon] (legs – plural). The dialects in the eastern Germanspeaking part of the Oostnederfrankian area (from the Rhine to Solingen) have these same typical marks. Nevertheless this language area is a continuum of slightly differing local dialects that remain rather similar within a radius of 20 to 30 kilometers. When the geographical distance between two Limburgian or Rhinelandic dialects becomes bigger, the speakers will probably no longer try to speak them with each other but switch to the official language Dutch or German.

The historical diverging evolution of the dialects in this Oostnederfrankian language area has been caused by two waves of influence with an opposite direction. The first one had the medieval city of Cologne in the southeast as centre of power and influence, also on the linguistic level. It caused from ca. 800 a.C. and for some centuries a Ripuarian influence on the Oostnederfrankian dialects, especially on the eastern part of them. This influence lasted until the 13th century, when the duces of Brabant at the western side of the Oostnederfrankian area became more powerfull; so from then on the trends to follow were set in Louvain and Brussels. Both of these waves of influence worked more powerfull on the Oostnederfrankian dialects near the centre of power. The Brabantine influence on the dialects in the Belgian part of the Limburgian area is today still going on and increases.

The processes of nation building divided this old Oostnederfrankian language area in tree parts, that belong for more than 170 years now to tree different states. In the Rhinelandic part on the territory of the German Republic the influence of the official German language started first. Nowadays the old local dialects with their own typical features are mostly replaced by a common vernacular that is understood in the whole Rhinelandic area with only some regional markers left and a stronger differing position of the city-variaties. In the Belgian province of Limburg, that belongs since 1830 to the state of Belgium, a similar evolution is ongoing yet not finished. In the Dutchspeaking northern part of Belgium it are the Brabantine dialects of the centre (the axes Antwerp – Brussels) that are influencing all other local and regional dialects. In this evolution the traditional dialects of pheriferical regions are changed for a common used ordinary spoken language that can be qualified as Flemish, i.e. Dutch with Brabantine dialect marks. The dialects in the Dutch province of Limburg did suffer only in a mediocre way from both waves of historical influence. Therefore they have keeped there regional division in a northern, a southern and a central regional variant.

After the independence of Belgium, it took nine years and a special treaty signed in London before the eastern part of the province of Limburg became officially Dutch territory. Then the river Meus became also a state border with on each side a province with the same name: Limburg. Since that time, 1939, the diverging tendency between the both provinces Limburg goes on and increases, because of the influences from the political, economical and cultural centre areas in both countries. The actual political statues and the use of the dialects on both sides of the Dutch-Belgian border illustrate that very clearly. After the ratification by the Dutch government of the Charta for regional and minority languages (CETS 148) in 1996, the provincial government in Maasticht pleaded successfully for the official recognition of the Limburger dialectgroup as an official . From the 12th February 1997 on the “Limburgian language used in the Netherlands” posesses this official status as a regional language. The Limburgian government in Hasselt, on the Belgian side, asked the national government in Brussels for several years to get this same recognition for their dialects, without succeeding in even launching a discussion in the public opinion about this issue on the national or the Flemish level. This facts concerning the different status of the Limburgian dialects spoken in each of the two Limburgian provinces, reinforce the fore some decades already existing differences in the use of the dialects. In the Dutch province the official status of the dialects as a regional language certainly has a positive influence on the broader use of dialect in almost every context an daily situation, also between people that do not know each other that well. It is used in more official situations as well as in a very informal context. In the Belgian province of Limburg dialect is used mainly as a family language for small talk and communication between good friends and relatives. When it comes to the number of dialect speakers, there are also very clear differences between the two provinces of Limburg. In the Dutch province of Limburg the local dialect is a part of the identity of its speakers. It creates a common feeling of belonging to the same part of the country, that still stands a bit on its own. In the Belgian province of Limburg the local dialects are seen as some heritage of the past, that is not their past for a growing group of national and international immigrants. It is mostly used by the eldest and an elder generation of speakers and is rarely used for official occasions or in written form.