• In the language itself: Westfrais
• ISO 639-3 standard: not available

• Classification: Germanic → West-Germanic → Friso-Franconian → West Frisian Dutch.
• Script: Latin

When looking at the possible standardization of West Frisian Dutch, we only really come across one version and that is from the Westfries dictionary by Jan Pannekeet ¹⁾, of which the original was written in 1984, with reprints in 2006 and 2020. In this last version, there were aditional addings from Joop van Diepen and Andries Sijm. In an interview with the West-Frisian regional broadcaster ²⁾, they told how even after these reprints, there are still countless of words missing.

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West Frisian Dutch is spoken in the most northern part of the province Noord-Holland in The Netherlands, in region which is called West-Frisia, not be confused with the west of the province of Frisia. The region consists of seven different municipalities, namely Drechterland, Enkhuizen, Hoorn, Koggenland, Medemblik, Opmeer en Stede Broec ³⁾ Places where West Frisian Dutch is spoken are for example Hoorn, Medemblik and Enkhuizen. Across these places there are multiple smaller varieties in the language, but these are not really categorized through the lack of documentation of the language in general.

The rough number of speakers of West Frisian Dutch is unsure. According to an estimation of the website Immaterieel Erfgoed ⁴⁾, there are 50.000 to 100.000 people who can speak write and understand West Frisian Dutch. Where this website got their source from, and when it was written is unknown, and since there are not any other statistics stating the amount of speakers, this statistic is not really trustable.

There aren't any sources on the role of West Frisian Dutch in education, and if it was taught to students throughout history.

There is no legislation on the education of West Frisian Dutch since the Dutch government sees it as a dialect of Dutch, and therefore the language does not get any special legislation

The Dutch government has not recognized West Frisian Dutch as a language through the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages ⁵⁾, and neither are the West-Frisians recognized as a minority through the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities.

The consequence of the lack of recognition of West Frisian Dutch by the government is that there is no almost no funding available for the language, or any institutional support. This could lead to the language dying out.

There are no laws prohibiting West Frisian to be used in education in The Netherlands, but neither is it compulsory since the Dutch government has not assigned a language status to West Frisian Dutch. In practice, West Frisian Dutch is not taught in schools since there are no teaching materials being made for West Frisian Dutch

There aren't any provincial or municipal documents to be found mentioning the West Frisian Dutch language, which means there is no legislation on the language.

Not applicable, since there is no West Frisian Dutch in education

There are no institions that offer tools or means for language education in West Frisian Dutch.

Not applicable, since there is no education in West Frisian Dutch

Except for the dictionaries by Jan Pannekeet, there are no materials to learn or teach West Frisian Dutch

e.g:

• Is there training available for language teachers?
• Are there sufficient teachers and they are competent?
• Is a teacher's union present, or an institution where teachers can get advice or additional training?
• Is teacher training subsidised by the regional or national government?

To what extent is language education available in the area under scrutiny:

Can you say anything about to what extent education of the language helps to preserve it:

• Does learning the language at school stimulate the its use outside school, or perhaps quite the opposite?
• Does the fact that the language is being taught in school add to its prestige, and the speakers' self-esteem?

Feel free to structure your information using chapter heading, e.g.:

e.g.: * Is the language used as medium of instruction in school?

• for how many hours per week?
• to how many children / what percentage of the population?
• are language skills being evaluated in any way?
• what level of competence do students reach?

e.g.:

• Is the language being taught in- or outside of school?
• If the language is taught during school hours,
  • in which grades is it being taught?
  • for how many hours per week?
  • to how many children / what percentage of the population?
  • are language skills being evaluated in any way?
  • what level of competence do students reach?
• Is the language used as medium of instruction in school?
• What school systems with respect to multilingualism are there (bilingual, trilingual)?

e.g.:

• Is the language being taught in- or outside of school?
• If the language is taught during school hours,
  • in which grades is it being taught?
  • for how many hours per week?
  • to how many children / what percentage of the population?
  • are language skills being evaluated in any way?
  • what level of competence do students reach?
• Is the language used as medium of instruction in school?
• What school systems with respect to multilingualism are there (bilingual, trilingual)?

e.g.:

• Is the language taught or studied at vocational level?
• Which types of study programmes or courses are these?
• How many students are there, taking these?

e.g.:

• Is the language taught or studied at university level?
• Which types of study programmes or courses are these?
• How many students are there, taking these?

e.g.:

• Are there courses available for adults?
• which types of courses are these?
• How many participants are there?

Please provide links to online learning resources. Feel free to add points, and to structure your information using chapter heading, e.g.:

https://www.immaterieelerfgoed.nl/nl/page/2796/westfriese-taal-dialect https://westfriesgenootschap.nl/informatie/publicaties/weblogs-uit-en-thuis/weblogs-uit-en-thuis-2016/1542-het-westfries-als-meest-bedreigde-dialect-van-nederland