Synopses & Reviews
More than 22 million people speak Dutch-primarily in Holland, Belgium, Suriname, and the Antilles. This book offers a well-researched and highly readable survey of the language in all its historical, geographic, and social aspects. In addition to providing a general introduction to the evolution of Dutch, Willemyns pays special attention to oft-neglected topics, such as the question of whether Dutchmen and Flemings are separated by a common language, and the contentious matter of the spread of Dutch abroad through colonization, which led to "exotic" variations such as Afrikaans, pigeons, and creoles.
Dutch: Biography of a Language will appeal to students of Dutch and general readers interested in the history of the language.
Review
"Willemyns has splendidly packed a great deal of fascinating material into 260 pages of this highly readable and comprehensive survey of a language that certainly does not qualify as one of the major European tongues. " --Nurturing Potential
About the Author
Roland Willemyns is Emeritus Professor of Dutch Linguistics at Vrije Universiteit Brussels
Table of Contents
Chapter One: Who speaks Dutch and where?
Chapter Two: Old Dutch. Its Ancestors and Its Contemporaries
Chapter Three: Middle Dutch: Language and Literature
Chapter Four: Early New Dutch 1500-1800
Chapter Five: Reunion and Secession: The Nineteenth Century
Chapter Six: Twentieth Century: The Age of the Standard Language
Chapter Seven: Colonial Dutch
Chapter Eight: Afrikaans
Chapter Nine: Progress or Decay? The future development of Dutch
Chapter Ten: Chapter Main Sources and Further Reading