Frisian language facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Frisian
Frysk
Bilingual sign in German and North Frisian, respectively, in Husum, Germany
Native to	Netherlands, Germany
Region	Friesland, Groningen, Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein
Ethnicity	Frisians
Native speakers	480,000  (ca. 2001 census)e18
Language family	Indo-European Germanic West Germanic Anglo-Frisian Frisian
Early forms:	Old Frisian Middle Frisian Frisian
Dialects	West Frisian Saterland Frisian North Frisian
Writing system	Latin
Official status
Official language in	Netherlands Germany
Regulated by	NL: Fryske Akademy D: no official regulation unofficial: the Seelter Buund (for Sater Frisian), the Nordfriisk Instituut (for North Frisian)
Linguasphere	52-ACA
Present-day distribution of the Frisian languages in Europe:      West Frisian      North Frisian      Saterland Frisian

Frisian is a name for three different languages. These languages come from Friesland, a province in the Netherlands. People speak them in the Netherlands, eastern Germany, and parts of Jutland, Denmark. You can also hear them on the Frisian Isles (like the Wadden Islands) and some German islands, such as Borkum.

Frisian languages are part of the Germanic language family, just like Dutch. They are also the closest living languages to English! Some experts even think English might have come directly from Old Frisian. This is because these languages have been around since Roman times.

The Three Frisian Languages

There are three main Frisian languages spoken today:

• West Frisian
• North Frisian
• Saterland Frisian

Comparing Frisian Words

Let's look at how some simple words compare across the different Frisian languages. You can see how similar, yet different, they are.

Images for kids

• 

  Old Frisian text from 1345.

See also

In Spanish: Lenguas frisonas para niños