Editing Frisian languages

{{short description|Group of Germanic languages}}
{{about|the Frisian languages, as spoken in the Netherlands and Germany||Frisian language (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox language family
|name=Frisian
|altname=''[[West Frisian language|West Frisian]]:''<br />'''Frysk'''<br />''[[Saterland Frisian language|Saterland Frisian]]:''<br />'''Fräisk'''<br />''[[North Frisian language|North Frisian]]:''<br />'''Friisk''', '''fresk''', '''freesk''', '''frasch''', '''fräisch''', '''freesch'''
|region=Netherlands and Germany.<br />West Frisian: [[Friesland]], [[Westerkwartier]];<br />Saterland Frisian: [[Saterland]];<br />North Frisian: [[Nordfriesland (district)|Nordfriesland]], [[Heligoland]]
|ethnicity=[[Frisians]]
|familycolor=Indo-European
|fam2=[[Germanic languages|Germanic]]
|fam3=[[West Germanic languages|West Germanic]]
|fam4=[[North Sea Germanic]]
|fam5=[[Anglo-Frisian languages|Anglo-Frisian]]
|ancestor=[[Old Frisian]]
|ancestor2=[[Middle Frisian]]
|child1=[[West Frisian languages|West Frisian]]
|child2=[[North Frisian language|North Frisian]]
|child3=[[East Frisian language|East Frisian]] (including [[Saterland Frisian language|Saterland Frisian]])
|lingua=52-ACA
|glotto=fris1239
|glottorefname=Frisian
|map=Frisian languages in Europe.svg
|mapcaption=Present-day distribution of the Frisian languages in Europe:
{{legend|#000066|[[West Frisian languages|West Frisian]]}}
{{legend|#3366CC|[[North Frisian language|North Frisian]]}}
{{legend|#0FAFFF|[[Saterland Frisian language|Saterland Frisian]]}}
}}

The '''Frisian languages''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|f|r|iː|ʒ|ə|n}} {{respell|FREE|zhən}}<ref>Laurie Bauer, 2007, ''The Linguistics Student’s Handbook'', Edinburgh</ref> or {{IPAc-en|ˈ|f|r|ɪ|z|i|ə|n}} {{respell|FRIZ|ee|ən}}<ref>{{OED|Frisian}}</ref>) are a closely related group of [[West Germanic languages]], spoken by about 400,000 [[Frisian people]], who live on the southern fringes of the [[North Sea]] in the [[Netherlands]] and [[Germany]]. The Frisian languages are the closest living language group to the [[Anglic languages]]; the two groups make up the [[Anglo-Frisian languages]] group and together with the [[Low German]] dialects these form the [[North Sea Germanic languages]]. However the close genetic relationship between English and Frisian is not reflected in the linguistic distances between the modern languages, which are not [[Mutual intelligibility|mutually intelligible]]. Geographical and historical circumstances have caused the two languages to drift apart linguistically.<ref name=GooskensHeeringa>Charlotte Gooskens & Wilbert Heeringa: The Position of Frisian in the Germanic Language Area, 2012, pp 21-22.</ref> 

There are three different branches of Frisian, which are usually called ''Frisian languages'', despite the fact that dialects within those branches may not be mutually intelligible.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Swarte |first1=Femke |last2=Hilton |first2=Nanna Haug |date=2013 |title=Mutual intelligibility between speakers of North and West Frisian |url=https://research.rug.nl/en/publications/mutual-intelligibility-between-speakers-of-north-and-west-frisian |journal=Phonetics in Europe: Perception and Production |language=English |pages=281–302}}</ref> [[West Frisian language|West Frisian]] is by far the most spoken of the three and is an official language in the [[Netherlands|Dutch]] [[Provinces of the Netherlands|province]] of [[Friesland]], where it is spoken on the mainland and on two of the [[West Frisian Islands]]: [[Terschelling]] and [[Schiermonnikoog]]. It is also spoken in four villages in the [[Westerkwartier]] of the neighbouring province of [[Groningen (province)|Groningen]]. [[North Frisian language|North Frisian]], the second branch, is spoken in the northernmost [[Germany|German]] [[Districts of Germany|district]] of [[Nordfriesland]] in the [[States of Germany|state]] of [[Schleswig-Holstein]], on the [[North Frisia]]n mainland, and on the [[North Frisian Islands]] of [[Sylt]], [[Föhr]], [[Amrum]], and the [[Halligs]]. It is also spoken on the islands of [[Heligoland]] (''deät Lun'') and [[Düne]] (''de Halem'') in the [[North Sea]]. The third Frisian branch, [[East Frisian language|East Frisian]], has only one remaining variant, [[Saterland Frisian language|Sater Frisian]], spoken in the municipality of [[Saterland]] in the [[Lower Saxony|Lower Saxon]] district of [[Cloppenburg (district)|Cloppenburg]]. Surrounded by [[bogs]], the four Saterlandic villages lie just outside the borders of [[East Frisia]], in the [[Oldenburg Münsterland]] region. In East Frisia proper, [[East Frisian Low Saxon]] is spoken today, which is not a Frisian language, but a variant of [[Low German|Low German/Low Saxon]].

For many centuries Frisian has been under the strong influence from Dutch and the Frisian and Dutch language areas share a long common history, which is why Dutch is the Germanic
language most similar to Frisian, despite Frisian being genealogically closer to English and Scots.<ref name=GooskensHeeringa></ref> The degree of mutual intelligibility between Frisian and Dutch is debated, with a 2005 [[cloze test]],  in which a portion of text is masked and the participant is asked to fill in the masked portion of text, showing that Dutch respondents scored 31.9% when presented with a (West) Frisian text,<ref>{{cite journal|title=How easy is it for speakers of Dutch to understand Frisian and Afrikaans, and why?|first1=Renée van|last1= Bezooijen |first2=Charlotte |last2=Gooskens|journal=Linguistics in the Netherlands |volume=22|date=2005|url=http://www.let.rug.nl/gooskens/pdf/publ_lingneth_2005.pdf|pages=18, 21, 22}}</ref> whereas researchers in 2012 concluded that the linguistic distance between Dutch and the
Frisian dialects were slightly smaller than the distances between the Scandinavian languages, which are known to be largely mutually intelligible.<ref name=GooskensHeeringa></ref>  

==Division==
There are three main groups of Frisian varieties: [[West Frisian language|West Frisian]], [[Saterland Frisian language|Saterland Frisian]], and [[North Frisian language|North Frisian]]. Some linguists consider these three varieties, despite their [[mutual unintelligibility]], to be dialects of one single Frisian language, whereas others consider them to be a number of separate languages equal to or greater than the number of main branches discussed here.<ref>{{cite book |last=Winter |first=Christoph |title=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Linguistics |chapter=Frisian |publisher=Oxford University Press |date=2022 |isbn=978-0-19-938465-5 |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780199384655.013.938}}</ref> Indeed, the insular varieties of West Frisian are not intelligible to the mainland, and by that standard are additional languages, and North Frisian is also divided into several strongly diverse dialects, which are not all mutually intelligible among themselves. West Frisian is strongly influenced by Dutch. The other Frisian languages, meanwhile, have been influenced by Low German and German. [[Stadsfries]] and [[West Frisian Dutch]] are not Frisian, but [[Dutch language|Dutch]] dialects influenced by West Frisian. Frisian is called ''Frysk'' in West Frisian, ''Fräisk'' in Saterland Frisian,<ref>Though this is the literal translation for "Frisian", the Saterfrisian term ''Fräisk'' traditionally refers to the East Frisians and the [[East Frisian Low Saxon]] language; cf. Fort, Marron Curtis (1980): Saterfriesisches Wörterbuch. Hamburg, p.45.</ref> and ''Friisk'', ''fresk'', ''freesk'', ''frasch'', ''fräisch'', and ''freesch'' in the varieties of North Frisian.

The situation in the Dutch province of Groningen and the German region of [[East Frisia]] is similar: The local [[Low German|Low German/Low Saxon]] dialects of [[Gronings]] and [[East Frisian Low Saxon]] still bear some Frisian elements due to East Frisian [[Substrate (linguistics)|substrate]]. Frisian was spoken there at one time, only to have been gradually replaced by Low Saxon since the Middle Ages. This local language is now, like Frisian, under threat by standard Dutch and German.
<gallery mode="packed">
File:Europe location FRS.png|[[Frisia]] highlighted on a map of Europe
File:Frisia map.svg|Frisia
File:Frisians.png|West and East Frisia were once connected. North Frisia was colonized by Frisians via the North Sea and they first settled on Sylt, Amrum and Föhr.
File:Sprachsituationnordniederlande.png|The languages in the northern Netherlands (in German)
File:LinguisticSituationSchleswigSlesvig.png|Language situation in northern Schleswig-Holstein as it developed since the 19th century
File:NordfriesischeDialekte.png|The North Frisian dialects (in German)
File:Nordfriisk Koord.png|North Frisian map of the North Frisian dialects (1-[[Sylt]], 2a-[[Föhr]], 2b-[[Amrum]])
File:Seelterlound.png|Map of [[Saterland]] (in Saterland Frisian)
File:OosterlauwersFries in hedendaagse gebieden.PNG|The former East Frisian-speaking area
File:Ostfriesland Verkehr-de.svg|[[East Frisia]] (in German)
File:Karteostfriesischedialekte.GIF|The former East Frisian dialects in Lower Saxony (in German)
File:OstfriesischesPlatt.png|The [[East Frisian Low Saxon]] area (colloquially called ''East Frisian'' and formed on an [[East Frisian language|East Frisian]] substratum)
</gallery>

===Speakers===
Most Frisian speakers live in the [[Netherlands]], primarily in the province of [[Friesland]], which since 1997 officially uses its West Frisian name of Fryslân, where the number of native speakers is about 400,000,<ref name="Extra">{{Cite book|title = The Other Languages of Europe: Demographic, Sociolinguistic, and Educational Perspectives|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=hvmy_skUPNYC|publisher = Multilingual Matters|date = 2001-01-01|isbn = 9781853595097|first1 = Guus|last1 = Extra|first2 = Durk|last2 = Gorter}}</ref>{{Page needed|date=October 2021}} which is about 75% of the inhabitants of Friesland.<ref name=Bremmer>{{Cite book|title = An Introduction to Old Frisian: History, Grammar, Reader, Glossary|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=uWYsSOp6g58C|publisher = John Benjamins Publishing|date = 2009-01-01|isbn = 978-9027232557|language = en|first = Rolf Hendrik|last = Bremmer}}</ref>{{Page needed|date=October 2021}} An increasing number of native Dutch speakers in the province are learning Frisian as a second language.

In [[Germany]], there are about 2,000<ref>"Gegenwärtige Schätzungen schwanken zwischen 1.500 und 2.500." Marron C. Fort: Das Saterfriesische. In: Horst Haider Munske, Nils Århammar: Handbuch des Friesischen – Handbook of Frisian Studies. Niemayer (Tübingen 2001).</ref> speakers of Saterland Frisian in the marshy [[Saterland]] region of [[Lower Saxony]]. Saterland Frisian has resisted encroachment from [[Low German]] and [[Standard German]], but Saterland Frisian still remains seriously endangered because of the small size of the [[speech community]] and of the lack of institutional support to help preserve and spread the language.<ref name=Bremmer />{{rp|1}}

In the [[North Frisia]] (''Nordfriesland'') region of the German state of [[Schleswig-Holstein]], there were 10,000 North Frisian speakers.<ref>{{cite book | last1=Konig | first1=E. | last2=van der Auwera | first2=J. | title=The Germanic Languages | publisher=Taylor & Francis | series=Routledge Language Family Series | year=2013 | isbn=978-1-317-79958-0 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DVBdAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA505 | access-date=2020-02-01 | page=505}}</ref> Although many of these live on the mainland, most are found on the islands, notably [[Sylt]], [[Föhr]], [[Amrum]], and [[Heligoland]]. The local corresponding North Frisian dialects are still in use.

West Frisian–Dutch bilinguals are split into two categories: Speakers who had Dutch as their first language tended to maintain the Dutch system of homophony between plural and linking suffixes when speaking West Frisian, by using the West Frisian plural as a linking morpheme. Speakers who had West Frisian as their first language often maintained the West Frisian system of no homophony when speaking West Frisian.

===Status===
Saterland and North Frisian<ref>''[[w:de:s:Friesisch-Gesetz|Gesetz zur Förderung des Friesischen im öffentlichen Raum]]'' – [[w:de:s:Hauptseite|Wikisource]] {{in lang|de}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=October 2021}} are officially recognised and protected as [[minority language]]s in Germany, and West Frisian is one of the two official languages in the Netherlands, the other being [[Dutch language|Dutch]].
[[ISO 639-1]] code <code>fy</code> and [[ISO 639-2]] code <code>fry</code> were assigned to "Frisian", but that was changed in November 2005 to "[[West Frisian language|Western Frisian]]". According to the ISO 639 Registration Authority the "previous usage of [this] code has been for Western Frisian, although [the] language name was 'Frisian{{'"}}.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.niso.org/international/SC4/N585.pdf |title=Registration Authority Report 2004-2005 |access-date=2007-11-23 |author=Christian Galinski |author2=Rebecca Guenther |author3=Håvard Hjulstad |pages=4 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071020020306/http://www.niso.org/international/SC4/N585.pdf |archive-date=2007-10-20 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The new [[ISO 639]] code <code>stq</code> is used for the [[Saterland Frisian language]], a variety of Eastern Frisian (not to be confused with [[East Frisian Low Saxon]], a [[West Low German]] dialect). The new ISO 639 code <code>frr</code> is used for the [[North Frisian language]] variants spoken in parts of [[Schleswig-Holstein]].

The [http://language-diversity.eu/en/knowledge/regions-of-europe/die-westfriesen-in-den-niederlanden/ Ried fan de Fryske Beweging] is an organization which works for the preservation of the West Frisian language and culture in the Dutch province of [[Friesland]]. The [https://web.archive.org/web/20160125181924/https://www.fryske-akademy.nl/en/thusside/ Fryske Academy] also plays a large role, since its foundation in 1938, to conduct research on Frisian language, history, and society, including attempts at forming a larger dictionary.<ref name="Extra"/>{{Page needed|date=October 2021}} Recent attempts have allowed Frisian be used somewhat more in some of the domains of education, media and public administration.<ref name="Fishman">{{Cite book|title = Can Threatened Languages be Saved?: Reversing Language Shift, Revisited : a 21st Century Perspective|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=oScUXmAkRXIC|publisher = Multilingual Matters|date = 2001-01-01|isbn = 9781853594922|first = Joshua A.|last = Fishman}}</ref>{{Page needed|date=October 2021}} Nevertheless, [[Saterland Frisian language|Saterland Frisian]] and most dialects of North Frisian are seriously [[endangered language|endangered]]<ref>Matthias Brenzinger, ''Language Diversity Endangered'', Mouton de Gruter, The Hague: 222</ref> and [[West Frisian language|West Frisian]] is considered as vulnerable to being endangered.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Atlas of languages in danger {{!}} United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization|url = http://www.unesco.org/new/en/culture/themes/endangered-languages/atlas-of-languages-in-danger/|website = www.unesco.org|access-date = 2015-10-28}}</ref> Moreover, for all advances in integrating Frisian in daily life, there is still a lack of education and media awareness of the Frisian language, perhaps reflecting its rural origins and its lack of prestige<ref name="Deumert">{{Cite book|title = Germanic Standardizations: Past to Present|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=NVw9AAAAQBAJ|publisher = John Benjamins Publishing|date = 2003-10-27|isbn = 9789027296306|first1 = Ana|last1 = Deumert|first2 = Wim|last2 = Vandenbussche}}</ref>{{Page needed|date=October 2021}} Therefore, in a sociological sense it is considered more a dialect than a standard language, even though linguistically it is a separate language.<ref name="Deumert"/>{{Page needed|date=October 2021}}

For [[L2 speakers]], both the quality and amount of time Frisian is taught in the classroom is low, concluding that Frisian lessons do not contribute meaningfully to the linguistic and cultural development of the students.<ref name="Extra"/>{{Page needed|date=October 2021}} Moreover, Frisian runs the risk of dissolving into Dutch, especially in [[Friesland]], where both languages are used.<ref name="Fishman"/>{{Page needed|date=October 2021}}

==History==
[[Image:Brokmerbrief.jpg|thumb|[[Old Frisian]] text from 1345]]

===Old Frisian===
{{Main|Old Frisian}}
In the [[Early Middle Ages]] the Frisian lands stretched from the area around [[Bruges]], in what is now [[Belgium]], to the river [[Weser]], in northern [[Germany]]. At that time, the Frisian language was spoken along the entire southern [[North Sea]] coast. Today this region is sometimes referred to as Great Frisia or Frisia Magna, and many of the areas within it still treasure their Frisian heritage, even though in most places the Frisian languages have been lost.

Frisian is the language most closely related to [[English language|English]] and [[Scots language|Scots]], but after at least five hundred years of being subject to the influence of [[Dutch language|Dutch]], modern Frisian in some aspects bears a greater similarity to Dutch than to English; one must also take into account the centuries-long drift of English away from Frisian. Thus the two languages have become less mutually intelligible over time, partly due to the influence which Dutch and [[Low German]] have had on Frisian, and partly due to the vast influence some languages (in particular [[Norman French]]) have had on English throughout the centuries.

[[Old Frisian]],<ref name=Bremmer />{{Page needed|date=October 2021}} however, was very similar to [[Old English language|Old English]]. Historically, both English and Frisian are marked by the loss of the Germanic nasal in words like ''us'' (''ús''; ''uns'' in German), ''soft'' (''sêft''; ''sanft'') or ''goose'' (''goes''; ''Gans''): see [[Anglo-Frisian nasal spirant law]]. Also, when followed by some vowels, the Germanic ''k'' softened to a ''ch'' sound; for example, the Frisian for ''cheese'' and ''church'' is ''tsiis'' and ''tsjerke'', whereas in [[Dutch language|Dutch]] it is ''kaas'' and ''kerk'', and in [[German language|High German]] the respective words are ''Käse'' and ''Kirche''. Contrarily, this did not happen for ''chin'' and ''choose'', which are ''kin'' and ''kieze''.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=Gooskens |first1=Charlotte |last2=Heeringa |first2= Wilbert |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237534065 |title=The Position of Frisian in the Germanic Language Area |date=May 2012 |journal=ResearchGate |access-date=25 August 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dicts.info/dictionary.php?k1=1&k2=178 |title=English to Frisian dictionary}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=October 2021|reason=ResearchGate not reliable}}

One rhyme demonstrates the palpable similarity between Frisian and English: "Butter, bread and green cheese is good English and good Frisian," which is pronounced more or less the same in both languages (West Frisian: "Bûter, brea en griene tsiis is goed Ingelsk en goed Frysk.")<ref>The History of English: A Linguistic Introduction. Scott Shay, Wardja Press, 2008, {{ISBN|0-615-16817-5}}, {{ISBN|978-0-615-16817-3}}</ref>{{Page needed|date=October 2021}}

One major difference between Old Frisian and modern Frisian is that in the Old Frisian period ({{Circa|1150|1550}}) [[Declension|grammatical cases]] still existed. Some of the texts that are preserved from this period are from the 12th or 13th, but most are from the 14th and 15th centuries. Generally, all these texts are restricted to legalistic writings. Although the earliest definite written examples of Frisian are from approximately the 9th century, there are a few examples of [[runic]] inscriptions from the region which are probably older and possibly in the Frisian language. These runic writings however usually do not amount to more than single- or few-word inscriptions, and cannot be said to constitute [[literature]] as such. The transition from the Old Frisian to the Middle Frisian period (c.1550-c.1820) in the 16th century is based on the fairly abrupt halt in the use of Frisian as a written language.

===Middle West Frisian===
{{Main|Middle Frisian}}
Up until the 15th century, Frisian was a language widely spoken and written, but from 1500 onwards it became an almost exclusively oral language, mainly used in rural areas. This was in part due to the occupation of its stronghold, the Dutch province of [[Friesland]] (Fryslân), in 1498, by [[Albert III, Duke of Saxony]], who replaced West Frisian as the language of government with Dutch.

Afterwards this practice was continued under the [[House of Habsburg|Habsburg]] rulers of the Netherlands (the German Emperor [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]] and his son, the Spanish King [[Philip II of Spain|Philip II]]), and even when the Netherlands became independent, in 1585, West Frisian did not regain its former status. The reason for this was the rise of [[County of Holland|Holland]] as the dominant part of the Netherlands, and its language, Dutch, as the dominant language in judicial, administrative and religious affairs.

In this period the great Frisian poet [[Gysbert Japiks]] (1603–66), a schoolteacher and [[Cantor (Christianity)|cantor]] from the city of [[Bolsward]], who largely fathered modern West Frisian literature and orthography, was really an exception to the rule.

His example was not followed until the 19th century, when entire generations of West Frisian authors and poets appeared. This coincided with the introduction of the so-called newer [[Vowel breaking|breaking]] system, a prominent grammatical feature in almost all West Frisian dialects, with the notable exception of Southwest Frisian. Therefore, the Modern West Frisian period is considered to have begun at this point in time, around 1820.

=== Modern West Frisian ===
[[File:WIKITONGUES- Sjoukje speaking West Frisian.webm|thumb|A modern West Frisian speaker, recorded in the [[Netherlands]]]]
The revival of the West Frisian Language was led by the poet [[Gysbert Japiks]], who had begun to write in the language as a way to show that it was possible, and created a collective West Frisian identity and West Frisian standard of writing through his poetry.<ref name=":0"/>{{Page needed|date=October 2021}} Later on, [[Johannes Hilarides]] would build off Gysbert Japiks' work by building on West Frisian orthography, particularly on its pronunciation; he also, unlike Japiks, set a standard of the West Frisian language that focused more heavily on how the common people used it as an everyday language.<ref name=":0"/>{{Page needed|date=October 2021}}

Perhaps the most important figure in the spreading of the West Frisian language was [[Justus Hiddes Halbertsma|minister Joost. H. Halbertsma]] (1789–1869), who translated many works into the West Frisian language, such as the New Testament <ref name=":0"/>{{Page needed|date=October 2021}} He had however, like Hilarides, focused mostly on the vernacular of the West Frisian language, where he focused on translating texts, plays and songs for the lower and middle classes in order to teach and expand the West Frisian language.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title = Standardization: Studies from the Germanic languages|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=FdU5AAAAQBAJ|publisher = John Benjamins Publishing|date = 2002-12-31|isbn = 9789027283672|first1 = Andrew R.|last1 = Linn|first2 = Nicola|last2 = McLelland}}</ref>{{Page needed|date=October 2021}} The compiled literary work of [[Brothers Halbertsma|the Halbertsma brothers]] (Joost, [[Tsjalling Hiddes Halbertsma|Tjalling]], and [[Eeltsje Hiddes Halbertsma|Eeltje]]), [[Rimen en Teltsjes]], is regarded as the standard Frisian literary work. This had begun the effort to continuously preserve the West Frisian language, which continues unto this day. It was however not until the first half of the 20th century that the West Frisian revival movement began to gain strength, not only through its language, but also through its culture and history, supporting singing and acting in West Frisian in order to facilitate West Frisian speaking.<ref name="Deumert"/>{{Page needed|date=October 2021}} 

It was not until 1960 that Dutch began to dominate West Frisian in Friesland; with many non-Frisian immigrants into Friesland, the language gradually began to diminish, and survives now only due to the constant effort of scholars and organisations.<ref name=":0" />{{Page needed|date=October 2021}} In recent years, it has been the province of Friesland, rather than the language itself, that has become a more important part of the West Frisian identity; as such, the language has become less important for cultural preservation purposes.<ref name="Yngve">{{Cite book|title = Hard-Science Linguistics|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=fe3XWwbtN7MC|publisher = A&C Black|date = 2006-11-25|isbn = 9780826492395|language = en|first1 = Victor|last1 = Yngve|first2 = Zdzislaw|last2 = Wasik}}</ref>{{Page needed|date=October 2021}} It is especially written West Frisian that seems to have trouble surviving, with only 30% of the West Frisian population competent in it;<ref name="Yngve"/>{{Page needed|date=October 2021}} it went out of use in the 16th century and continues to be barely taught today.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Standardization: Studies from the Germanic Languages|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=mmGKmKU1mU4C|publisher = John Benjamins Publishing|date = 2002-01-01|isbn = 9027247471|language = en|first1 = Andrew Robert|last1 = Linn|first2 = Nicola|last2 = McLelland}}</ref>{{Page needed|date=October 2021}}

{{multiple image
   | direction = vertical
   | width     = 250
   | header    = Frisian-language signs
   | image1    = Fries hindeloopen.JPG
   | alt1      = Bilingual signs in Friesland (Netherlands)
   | caption1  = Bilingual signs [[Hindeloopen]] in [[Friesland]] (Netherlands) with the West Frisian name above and the Dutch below
   | image2    = Niebüll.JPG
   | alt2      = Bilingual sign in North Frisia (Germany) with the German name above and the North Frisian name below
   | caption2  = Bilingual sign in [[Niebüll]] in [[North Frisia]] (Germany) with the German name above and the North Frisian name below
   | image3    = Roomelse.JPG
   | alt3      = Bilingual sign in Saterland (Germany)
   | caption3  = Bilingual sign in Ramsloh, [[Saterland]] (Germany) with the German name above and the East Frisian name below
}}

==Family tree==
{{Unreferenced section|date=October 2021}}
Frisian languages belong to the [[West Germanic languages|West Germanic branch]] of the [[Indo-European languages]], the most widespread language family in Europe and the world. Its closest living genealogical relatives are the [[Anglic languages]], i.e. [[English language|English]] and [[Scots language|Scots]] ([[Anglo-Frisian languages]]); together with the also closely related [[Low German|Low Saxon dialects]] the two groups make up the group of [[North Sea Germanic languages]].

{{tree list}}
* Frisian
** [[West Frisian language|West Frisian]], spoken in the Netherlands
*** [[Hindeloopen Frisian]]
*** [[Schiermonnikoogs]]
*** Westlauwers–Terschelling Frisian
**** [[Terschellings]] (Oosterend and West-Terschelling dialects)
**** Western Frisian proper
***** [[Clay Frisian]] (Klaaifrysk, incl. [[Westereendersk]])
***** [[Wood Frisian]] (Wâldfrysk)
***** [[Súdhoeks|South Frisian]] (Súdhoeks)
** [[East Frisian language|East Frisian]], spoken in Lower Saxony, Germany
*** Ems Frisian dialects
**** [[Saterland Frisian language|Saterland Frisian]]
**** [[Emsingoa Frisian]] (extinct)
**** [[Brokmerland Frisian]] (extinct)
**** [[Ommelanden Frisian]] (extinct)
*** Weser Frisian dialects
**** [[Wangerooge Frisian]] (extinct)
**** [[Wursten Frisian]] (extinct)
**** [[Harlingerland Frisian]] (extinct)
** [[North Frisian language|North Frisian]], spoken in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
*** Mainland dialects
**** [[Mooring (North Frisian dialect)|Bökingharde Frisian]]
**** [[Goesharde Frisian|Northern Goesharde Frisian]]
**** Middle Goesharde Frisian
**** Southern Goesharde Frisian (extinct)
**** [[Wiedingharde Frisian]]
**** [[Halligen Frisian]]
**** [[Karrharde Frisian]] 
*** Island dialects
**** [[Söl'ring]]
**** [[Fering]]-[[Öömrang]]
**** [[Heligolandic]] (Halunder)
*** Extinct dialects 
**** [[Strand Frisian]]
**** [[Eiderstedt Frisian]]
{{tree list/end}}

==Text samples==
{{unreferenced section|date=October 2021}}

===The Lord's Prayer===

{|
! The [[Lord's Prayer]] in Standard [[West Frisian language|West Frisian]] (''Frysk'') from the Third Edition of the Frisian Bible *
! The English translation in the 1662 Anglican [[Book of Common Prayer]] **
! The Standard Dutch translation from the Dutch Bible Society
|-
|
Us Heit, dy't yn de himelen is<br />
jins namme wurde hillige.<br />
Jins keninkryk komme.<br />
Jins wollen barre,<br />
allyk yn 'e himel<br />
sa ek op ierde.<br />
Jou ús hjoed ús deistich brea.<br />
En ferjou ús ús skulden,<br />
allyk ek wy ferjouwe ús skuldners.<br />
En lied ús net yn fersiking,<br />
mar ferlos ús fan 'e kweade.<br />
Want Jowes is it keninkryk en de krêft<br />
en de hearlikheid oant yn ivichheid. "Amen"
|
Our Father, which art in Heaven<br />
Hallowed be thy Name.<br />
Thy Kingdom come.<br />
Thy will be done,<br />
in earth as it is in Heaven.<br />
Give us this day our daily bread.<br />
And forgive us our trespasses,<br />
As we forgive them that trespass against us.<br />
And lead us not into temptation;<br />
But deliver us from evil.<br />
For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory,<br />
For ever and ever. ''Amen.''
|
Onze Vader die in de hemelen zijt,<br />
Uw naam worde geheiligd;<br />
Uw Koninkrijk kome;<br />
Uw wil geschiede,<br />
gelijk in de hemel alzo ook op de aarde.<br />
Geef ons heden ons dagelijks brood;<br />
en vergeef ons onze schulden,<br />
gelijk ook wij vergeven onze schuldenaren;<br />
en leid ons niet in verzoeking,<br />
maar verlos ons van de boze.<br />
Want van U is het Koninkrijk<br />
"en de kracht en de heerlijkheid<br />
in der eeuwigheid. Amen.<br />
|}
NB:<br /> * See also [[West Frisian language#Sample text]].<br /> ** ''Which'' was changed to "who", ''in earth'' to "on earth," and ''them that'' to "those who" in the 1928 version of the Church of England prayer book and used in other later Anglican prayer books too. The words given here are those of the 1662 book.

===Comparative Germanic sentences===
*{{langx|en|The boy stroked the girl about the chin and kissed her on the cheeks.}}
*[[Saterland Frisian language|Saterland Frisian]]: {{lang|stq|Die Wänt strookede dät Wucht uum ju Keeuwe un oapede hier ap do Sooken.}}
* [[North Frisian language|North Frisian]] ([[Mooring (North Frisian dialect)|Mooring dialect]]): {{lang|frr|Di dreng aide dåt foomen am dåt kan än mäket har aw da siike.}}
* Nordfriesisch (Söl'ring): ''Di Dreeng strekt dit faamen om't Ken en taatjet / kleepet höör üp di Sjaken''
* [[West Frisian language|West Frisian]]: {{lang|fy|De jonge streake it famke om it kin en tute har op 'e wangen.}}
* [[Gronings]]: ''t Jong fleerde t wicht om kinne tou en smokte heur op wange.''
* [[East Frisian Low Saxon]]: {{lang|frs|De Jung (Fent) straktde dat Wicht um't Kinn to un tuutjede hör up de Wangen.}}
* {{langx|de|Der Junge streichelte das Mädchen ums Kinn und küsste es (sie) auf die Wangen.}}
* {{langx|nl|De jongen aaide (streelde, streek) het meisje langs/over haar/de kin en kuste/zoende haar op de wangen.}}
* [[Afrikaans]]: {{lang|af|Die seun streel die meisie oor haar/die ken en soen haar op die wange.}}
* {{langx|da|Drengen strøg/aede pigen på hagen og kyssede hende på kinderne.}}
* [[Bokmål|Norwegian (Bokmål)]]: {{Lang|nb|Gutten strøk jenta på haken og kysset henne på kinnene.}}
* [[Nynorsk|Norwegian (Nynorsk)]]: {{lang|nn|Guten strauk jenta på haka og kyssa henne på kinna.}}
NB: These are not always literal translations of each other.

==See also==
*[[East Frisian Low Saxon]]
*[[Frisia]]
*[[Frisian Islands]]
*[[Frisians]]
*''[[Imperativus pro infinitivo]]''

==References==

===Notes===
{{Reflist|30em}}

===General references===
{{refbegin}}
*[http://www.omniglot.com/writing/frisian.htm Omniglot links to various Frisian resources]
*[http://www.tresoar.nl/ Tresoar – Historical and Literary Centre of Friesland Province of the Netherlands]

{{refend}}

==External links==
{{InterWiki|code=frr|name=North Frisian|North Frisian}}
{{InterWiki|code=fy|name=West Frisian|West Frisian}}
{{InterWiki|code=stq|name=Saterland Frisian|Saterland Frisian}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050725005121/http://www.ferring-stiftung.org/ Ferring Stiftung, a foundation from North Frisia]
* [http://www.dicts.info/dictionary.php?l1=English&l2=Frisian West-Frisian-English dictionary]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20170215091707/http://scans.library.utoronto.ca/pdf/2/14/frisianlanguagel00heweuoft/frisianlanguagel00heweuoft.pdf &#91;PDF&#93;Hewett, Waterman Thomas, The Frisian language and literature]
* [http://www.languagesandpeoples.com/Eng/Direct/Germanic/SglLgWFrisianGrou.htm 'Hover & Hear' West Frisian pronunciations], and compare with equivalents in English and other Germanic languages.
* {{cite web|url= http://members.chello.nl/e.hoekstra8/108Stannert.pdf |title=Frisian: Standardisation in Progress of a Language in Decay }}&nbsp;{{small|(231&nbsp;[[Kibibyte|KiB]])}}
* [http://www.omropfryslan.nl/ Radio in West Frisian]
* [http://friiskforiining.podspot.de/ Radio news in North Frisian]
* [http://friisk.org/ Online (German-Frisian) Dictionary for multiple North Frisian dialects]

{{Frisian languages}}
{{Languages of the Netherlands}}
{{Languages of Germany}}
{{Germanic languages}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frisian Languages}}
[[Category:Frisian languages| ]]
[[Category:Languages attested from the 8th century]]
[[Category:Languages of the Netherlands]]
[[Category:Languages of Germany]]