Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

--- languages:gronings_in_the_netherlands [2025/10/01 13:31] – [National legislation on minority language education] ydwine
+++ languages:gronings_in_the_netherlands [2025/10/01 14:57] (current) – [History of language education:] ydwine
@@ Line 73: / Line 73: @@
 ====== Education of the language ======
-===== History of language education: =====
+===== History of language education =====
+Dutch has been and is the dominant language in education in the Netherlands.
+In 1974, the national Primary Education Act was amended, and since then, it is allowed that 'in regions where there is a regional language in living use next to Dutch, some knowledge of this regional language may be included during lessons on reading and Dutch' ((Staatsblad van het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden, nr. 271. (1974). [[https://zoek.officielebekendmakingen.nl/stb-1974-271.pdf]]. Original Dutch text: // Daar, waar naast de Nederlandse taal een streektaal in levend gebruik is, kan onder lezen en Nederlandse taal enige kennis van die streektaal begrepen zijn.//.)). Moreover, in 1981, a new act on education allowed for 'a regional language in living use' to be used as a language of instruction, next to Dutch ((Staatsblad van het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden, nr. 468. (1981).  [[https://zoek.officielebekendmakingen.nl/stb-1981-468.pdf]]. Original Dutch text: // Daar waar naast de Nederlandse taal, de Friese taal of een streektaal in levend gebruik is, kan de Friese taal of de streektaal mede als voertaal bij het onderwijs worden gebruikt.//.)).
+In 1998, the Netherlands recognised Low Saxon, including Gronings as one of the varieties, as a regional or minority language under part II of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages ((European Charter for Regional or Minority languages, ETS 148. (1992). [[https://rm.coe.int/1680695175]].)), including Art. 7.f which reflects opportunities and obligations to include Gronings on all educational level. Twenty years later, representatives of the Dutch government and several provincial governments signed the Covenant on the Recognition by The Netherlands of the Low Saxon Regional Language. Though the Covenant does not state concrete undertakings for Gronings in education, it was the direct cause for the establishment of the Low Saxon department of the educational teacher association //Levende Talen// (English: Living Languages)((Levende Talen Nedersaksisch. (n.d.) //Over ons// [About us]. Retrieved June 23, 2025, from [[https://ltnedersaksisch.nl/over-ons/]].)).
+National attainment targets (Dutch: kerndoelen) for primary and secondary education are made for subjects within the curriculum since 1993. These attainment targets do not mention Low Saxon explicitely. As a reaction to this, attainment targets for Low Saxon for primary education were made by the //IJsselacademie// (a knowledge institute for regional history and Low Saxon language and culture) in 2019 ((Huus van de Taol. (n.d.). //Kerndoelen Nedersaksisch// [Attainment Targets Low Saxon]. Huus van de Taol. Retrieved June 23, 2025, from [[https://huusvandetaol.nl/nl/kerndoelen-nedersaksisch/]].)). Drafts of new national attainment targets published in 2025 show more space for multilingualism and home languages, but do not mention Low Saxon extplicitely((SLO. (2025). //Functionele kerndoelen voor Nederlands en rekenen en wiskunde// [Functional attainment targets for Dutch, arithmetics and mathematics]. SLO. [[https://www.actualisatiekerndoelen.nl/updates/kerndoelen-nederlands-en-rekenen-en-wiskunde-gepubliceerd-3]]. original text in Dutch: 'ruimte bieden aan verschillende talen en taalvariëteiten van leerlingen.')). In 2025, the Dutch //Onderwijsraad// (English: Council of Education) published an advisory report for all schools to include linguistic diversity and home languages more, including regional languages((Onderwijsraad. (2025, September 4). //Talige diversiteit benutten// [make use of linguistic diversity]. Onderwijsraad. [[https://www.onderwijsraad.nl/documenten/2025/09/04/talige-diversiteit-benutten]].)).
+At the moment, schools are legally allowed to teach and/or use Gronings in class (see Legislation of language education), but there is no obligation to incorporate any kind of courses on Low Saxon/Gronings. As such, Gronings has a limited place within education ((Bloemhoff et al., 2020, p. 105)((Bloemhoff, H., Bloemhoff-de Bruijn, P., Nijen Twilhaar, J., Nijkeuter H., & Scholtmeijer H. (2020). //Introduction to Dutch Low Saxon Language and Literature.//Koninklijke van Gorcum.))((Committee of Experts of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Language. (2022). //Seventh Evaluation Report on the Netherlands//. Council of Europe. [[https://rm.coe.int/netherlandsecrml7-en/1680aa8930]].)). There are a few organisations and initiatives which promote Gronings in education (see Support structure for education of the language), and the recent shift towards inclusion of multilingualism and linguistic diversity in the curriculum may have a positive effect on Gronings in education.
-Low Saxon has never been part of education curriculum and schools are not obligated to incorporate any kind of courses on Low Saxon (Bloemhoff et al., 2020, p. 105)((Bloemhoff, H., Bloemhoff-de Bruijn, P., Nijen Twilhaar, J., Nijkeuter H., & Scholtmeijer H. (2020). //Introduction to Dutch Low Saxon Language and Literature.//Koninklijke van Gorcum.)).
-Low Saxon is barely represented in traditional media. It is not in use in national broadcasting but sometimes on local and regional television or radio (Bloemhoff et al. 2020, p. 109)((Bloemhoff, H., Bloemhoff-de Bruijn, P., Nijen Twilhaar, J., Nijkeuter H., & Scholtmeijer H. (2020). //Introduction to Dutch Low Saxon Language and Literature.//Koninklijke van Gorcum.)).
-The regional station in Groningen, RTV Noord, airs for about 15 hours per week in Gronings ((Bloemhoff, H., Bloemhoff-de Bruijn, P., Nijen Twilhaar, J., Nijkeuter H., & Scholtmeijer H. (2020). //Introduction to Dutch Low Saxon Language and Literature.//Koninklijke van Gorcum.)).
-Online learning resources have only been started to be developed recently, as will be discussed in the chapters below.
 ===== Legislation of language education =====
@@ Line 141: / Line 147: @@
 === Institutional support ===
-There are various organisations which (among other things) promote and support Gronings in education, for example:
+There are various organisations which (among other things) promote and support Gronings in education, including:
-  * [[https://cgtc.nl/|Centrum Groninger Taal & Cultuur]]. The Centre for Groninger Language & Culture (CGTC) is a centre for heritage and language of Groningen. It organises adult language courses and cultural and/or language events, creates learning materials, does research and has initiated the digital dictionary WoordWaark.
+  * [[https://cgtc.nl/|Centrum Groninger Taal & Cultuur]]. The Centre for Groninger Language & Culture (CGTC) is a centre for heritage and language of Groningen. It organises adult language courses and cultural and/or language events, creates learning materials, does research and has initiated the digital dictionary WoordWaark. In July 2025, //Centrum Groninger Taal & Cultuur// and  //Erfgoedpartners// (English: Heritage partners) merged and anounced a new name: //Erfgoed in Groningen// (English: Heritage in Groningen). As institute, //Erfgoed in Groningen// supports heritage in Groningen, including Gronings((Centrum Groninger Taal & Cultuur. (2025, July 7). Erfgoed in Groningen: nieuwe naam Centrum Groninger Taal & Cultuur en Erfgoedpartners [Heritage in Groningen: new name Centrum Groninger Taal en Cultuur and Erfgoedpartners]. //Centrum Groninger Taal & Cultuur//. [[https://cgtc.nl/erfgoed-in-groningen-nieuwe-naam-centrum-groninger-taal-cultuur-en-erfgoedpartners/]])).
-  * [[https://ltnedersaksisch.nl/|Levende Talen Nedersaksisch]]. The Low Saxon department of the teacher association Levende Talen (English: Living Languages)
+  * [[https://ltnedersaksisch.nl/|Levende Talen Nedersaksisch]]. The Low Saxon department of the teacher association //Levende Talen// (English: Living Languages)
   * [[https://www.rug.nl/staff/m.b.wieling/|The professor by special appointment of Low Saxon / Groningen Language and Culture]]at the University of Groningen,  on behalf of the Stichting Groninger Universiteitsfonds.
   * [[https://www.grunnegercultuur.nl/Grunneger_Cultuur/n_Parredies_veur_laifhebbers_van_de_Grunneger_cultuur.html|Grunneger Cultuurcentrum]] The Groninger Cultural Centre hosts three Groninger organisations: the Stichting t Grunneger Bouk [The association for the Groninger Book], De Boukenkist [a book store], and the magazine //Toal en Taiken//.
@@ Line 197: / Line 203: @@
 ==== higher education ====
-In 2018 the [[https://www.rug.nl/|University of Groningen]] introduced a professor by special appointment of Low Saxon/Groningen Language and Culture. ((University of Groningen. News Article. 20.09.2018: https://www.rug.nl/news/2018/09/martijn-wieling-new-professor-by-special-appointment-of-low-saxon-groningen-language-and-cult?lang=en (last date of retrieval: 27.10.2020) )) This appointment is tightly connected to the Faculty of Arts and the [[https://www.cgtc.nl/| Centrum Groninger Taal & Cultuur (CGTC)]]. The special appointment aims at strengthening the position of Gronings within the province and also in academia. \\
+From 1953 to 2010, Low Saxon was studied at the Low Saxon Institute at the University of Groningen (//Nedersaksisch Instituut//)((Geheugen van Drenthe. (n.d.). //Nedersaksisch Instituut//. Geheugen van Drenthe. Retrieved June 30, 2025, from [[https://geheugenvandrenthe.nl/encyclopedie-drenthe/nedersaksisch-instituut]].)). The institute covered various disciplines, including literature, lexicography, folklore, and  regional history. The institute was led by professor K.H. Heeroma (1953-1972), professor H. Entjes (1974-1982), and professor H. Niebaum (1984-2010)((Geheugen van Drenthe. (n.d.). //Nedersaksisch Instituut//. Geheugen van Drenthe. Retrieved June 30, 2025, from [[https://geheugenvandrenthe.nl/encyclopedie-drenthe/nedersaksisch-instituut]].)).
+Since 2018, there has been a chair by special appointment for the Low Saxon/Groningen Language and Culture at the university of Groningen. Professor by special appointment M. Wieling has one day a week to research the Low Saxon languages, Gronings in particular, and to work on as well as to promote research projects such as //Woordwark//((Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. (2018, September 20). //Martijn Wieling: new professor by special appointment of Low Saxon/Groningen Language and Culture//. Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. [[https://www.rug.nl/news/2018/09/martijn-wieling-new-professor-by-special-appointment-of-low-saxon-groningen-language-and-cult]].)). This appointment on behalf of the Stichting Groninger Universiteitsfonds is closely connected to the //Centrum Groninger Taal & Cultuur//((Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. (2018, September 20). //Martijn Wieling: new professor by special appointment of Low Saxon/Groningen Language and Culture//. Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. [[https://www.rug.nl/news/2018/09/martijn-wieling-new-professor-by-special-appointment-of-low-saxon-groningen-language-and-cult]].)).
 ===== Online learning resources =====