Wood Frisian

Wood Frisian (West Frisian: Wâldfrysk) is a dialect of the West Frisian language spoken in the eastern part of the Dutch province of Friesland, which is called Wâlden (English: "woods"). The dialect is also spoken in parts of Groningen, the province to the east of Friesland.

Contents

Comparison with Clay Frisian

Phonological differences

The largest difference between Wood Frisian and the northwestern Clay Frisian dialect are the words my ("me"), dy ("you"), hy ("he"), sy ("she" or "they"), wy ("we"), and by ("by"), which are pronounced in the Wood Frisian as a mi, di, hi, si, wi, and bi and in Clay Frisian as mij, dij, hij, sij, wij, and bij. Other differences are in the pronouncement of the diphthongs ei, ai, and aai which are pronounced ij, ai, and aai in Wood Frisian, but ôi, òi, and ôi in Clay Frisian. Thus, in Wood Frisian, there is no difference between ei and ij, whereas in Clay Frisian, there is no difference between ei and aai.

Westereendersk dialect

In the town of the de Westereen, Zwagerbosch and Twijzelerheide people speak a different kind of Wood Frisian: Westereendersk dialect.

Other phonological differences include:

English Dutch Wood Frisian Clay Frisian
you (singular) jij do
plum pruim prûm prom
thumb duim tûme tomme
naked naakt nêken neaken
crack kraken krêkje kreakje
weak (soft) week wêk weak
grass gras gjers gers
cherry kers kjers kers
calf kalf kjel kel

Lexical differences

Some lexical differences between Wood Frisian and Clay Frisian include:

English Wood Frisian Clay Frisian
Saturday saterdei sneon
ant mychammel
mychhimmel
eamel
eamelder
fleece flij flues
sow (pig) mot sûch