Belgian Dutch versus Netherlandic Dutch: New patterns of divergence? On pronouns of address and diminutives

Abstract

The linguistic climate in northern Belgium (Flanders) has been changing in recent years. A new corpus of spoken Dutch meets the need for data reflecting actual and present-day language use in this part of the Dutch language area. The ‘Spoken Dutch Corpus’ allows us to uncover and analyse the present state of colloquial Belgian Dutch and the changes which mark this condition. This paper discusses the realization of two morphosyntactic variables, the variants of which are markers of Belgian Dutch versus Netherlandic Dutch. In spite of more than half a century of official language policy promoting convergence with northern Netherlandic Dutch, the results reveal a growing divergence from the northern norm: the younger generations show a greater preference for the endogenous, Brabantic, variants than the older generations. The northern Dutch variants have not been integrated in colloquial Belgian Dutch. Apparently they are still considered to be ‘Hollandic import’. 1