Limburgs
Limburgish
Germanic
Limburgish (Limburgs) is a West Germanic language with ~1.6M speakers — Dutch province of Limburg, Belgian Limburg, and the Heinsberg region of Germany. Recognized as a regional language of the Netherlands (1997 European Charter ratification) and minority language of Germany. Distinguished by lexical-tonal accent (high/low pitch on stressed syllables) — rare in West Germanic. Closely related to Ripuarian German dialects.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Limburgish
Water
water
/vatər/
Fire
vuur
/vyːr/
Sun
zón
/zɔn/
Moon
maon
/maːʊn/
Mother
mam
/mam/
Father
pap
/pap/
Eat
ete
/eːtə/
Drink
drinke
/drɪŋkə/
Love
leefde
/leːfdə/
Heart
hart
/hart/
Tree
boum
/bʌʊm/
House
hoes
/huːs/
Dog
hóndj
/hɔnʲ/
Cat
kat
/kat/
Hand
handj
/hanʲ/
Eye
oug
/ɔux/
Hello
hallo
/halo/
Thank you
merci
/mɛrsi/
One
eine
/ɛɪnə/
Good
good
/ɡoːt/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Germanic languages
| Meaning | Limburgish | Kölsch | Plautdietsch | Middle English | Low German | Dutch | Frisian |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | water /vatər/ | Wasser /vasɐ/ | Wota /vɔta/ | water /watər/ | Water /vɑːtɐ/ | water /ʋaːtər/ | wetter /vɛtər/ |
| Fire | vuur /vyːr/ | Füer /fyːɐ/ | Fia /fia/ | fyr /fyːr/ | Füer /fyːɐ/ | vuur /vyːr/ | fjoer /fjuːr/ |
| Sun | zón /zɔn/ | Sonn /zɔn/ | Sonn /zɔn/ | sonne /sɔnːə/ | Sünn /zʏn/ | zon /zɔn/ | sinne /sɪnə/ |
| Moon | maon /maːʊn/ | Mond /moːnt/ | Mond /mɔnt/ | mone /moːnə/ | Maand /mɑːnt/ | maan /maːn/ | moanne /mwɑnə/ |
| Mother | mam /mam/ | Moder /moːdɐ/ | Mama /mama/ | moder /moːdər/ | Moder /moːdɐ/ | moeder /mudər/ | mem /mɛm/ |
| Father | pap /pap/ | Vatter /fatɐ/ | Papa /papa/ | fader /faːdər/ | Vader /fɑːdɐ/ | vader /vaːdər/ | heit /hɛit/ |
| Eat | ete /eːtə/ | esse /ɛsə/ | äten /ɛːtən/ | eten /eːtən/ | eten /eːtn̩/ | eten /eːtə/ | ite /iːtə/ |
| Drink | drinke /drɪŋkə/ | drinke /dʁɪŋkə/ | drinken /dɾɪŋkən/ | drinken /drɪŋkən/ | drinken /drɪŋkn̩/ | drinken /drɪŋkə/ | drinke /drɪŋkə/ |
| Love | leefde /leːfdə/ | Leev /leːf/ | leewen /leːvən/ | love /lʊvə/ | Leev /leːf/ | liefde /lifdə/ | leafde /lɪəfdə/ |
| Heart | hart /hart/ | Hätz /hɛts/ | Hoat /hoat/ | herte /hɛrtə/ | Hart /haɐt/ | hart /ɦɑrt/ | hert /hɛrt/ |
| Tree | boum /bʌʊm/ | Boum /baʊm/ | Boom /boːm/ | tre /treː/ | Boom /boːm/ | boom /boːm/ | beam /bɪəm/ |
| House | hoes /huːs/ | Huus /huːs/ | Hus /huːs/ | hous /huːs/ | Huus /huːs/ | huis /ɦœʏs/ | hûs /huːs/ |
| Dog | hóndj /hɔnʲ/ | Hongk /hoŋk/ | Hund /hʊnt/ | hound /huːnd/ | Hund /hʊnt/ | hond /ɦɔnt/ | hûn /huːn/ |
| Cat | kat /kat/ | Katz /kats/ | Kaut /kaʊt/ | catte /katːə/ | Katt /kat/ | kat /kɑt/ | kat /kɑt/ |
| Hand | handj /hanʲ/ | Hand /hant/ | Haunt /haʊnt/ | hand /hand/ | Hand /hant/ | hand /ɦɑnt/ | hân /hɔːn/ |
| Eye | oug /ɔux/ | Auch /aʊx/ | Uag /uak/ | eye /iːə/ | Oog /oːx/ | oog /oːx/ | each /ɪəx/ |
| Hello | hallo /halo/ | Tach /tax/ | Goondach /ɡoːndax/ | hail /hɛːl/ | Moin /mɔɪn/ | hallo /ɦɑloː/ | hoi /hɔi/ |
| Thank you | merci /mɛrsi/ | Dankeschön /daŋkəʃøːn/ | Donk /dɔŋk/ | gramercy /ɡraːmɛrsiː/ | Dankschöön /daŋkʃøːn/ | dank je /dɑŋk jə/ | tankewol /tɑŋkəvɔl/ |
| One | eine /ɛɪnə/ | ein /aɪn/ | eent /eːnt/ | oon /oːn/ | een /eːn/ | een /eːn/ | ien /iːn/ |
| Good | good /ɡoːt/ | joot /joːt/ | goot /ɡoːt/ | good /ɡoːd/ | good /ɡoːt/ | goed /xut/ | goed /ɡuət/ |
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