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Flemish is a popular informal term to refer to Belgian Dutch (Belgisch-Nederlands in Dutch), Dutch as spoken in Belgium. Among linguists, 'Flemish' refers to two specific dialects of Dutch alone, namely East and West Flemish. Occasionally 'Flemish' is used to refer to the so-called Tussentaal, a Dutch sociolect, also spoken in Belgium.
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Dutch is the majority language in Belgium, being spoken natively by about 59% of the population. Its various dialects contain a number of lexical and a few grammatical features which distinguish them from the standard language. As in the Netherlands, the pronunciation of Standard Dutch is affected by the native dialect of the speaker.
All Dutch dialects spoken in Belgium (with the exception of East Flemish) are spoken in adjacent areas of the Netherlands as well. At the same time East Flemish forms a continuum with both Brabantic and West Flemish. Standard Dutch is primarily based on the Hollandic dialect (spoken in the Northern Netherlands) and to a lesser extent on Brabantian, which is the most dominant Dutch dialect of the Southern Netherlands and Flanders.
"Flemish" can also refer to standard Dutch as spoken in Belgium, which is very similar to standard Dutch spoken in the Netherlands. The main differences are pronunciation and the relative popularity of certain words and adverbs, there are no spelling differences. In this way, certain words that are mainly used in Flanders could be referred to as "Flemish" even though they are standard Dutch and are listed in the wordlist of the Dutch language.
Phonological differences
Among Belgian Dutch vowels, the diphthong "ou/au" (as in bout bolt and fauna) is realized as, whereas northern Dutch realizes it as. Among consonants, the northern Dutch pronunciation of "w" (as in wang cheek) is in some southern Dutch dialects it is. Probably the most obvious difference between northern and southern Dutch is the northern voiceless velar fricative , which is equivalent in southern Dutch to either a voiced velar fricative , most often when spelt "g", or a voiceless palatal fricative, most often when spelt "ch".
Lexical differences
Belgian Dutch encompasses more French loanwords in everyday vocubulary than Dutch spoken in the Netherlands.
At the same time Brabantian, traditionally the most spoken Dutch dialect in Belgium, has had a larger influence on the vocabulary used in Belgium. Examples include beenhouwer (Brabantian) and slager (Hollandic), both meaning butcher; and schoon (Brabantian) vs. mooi (Hollandic) "beautiful". The changes (isoglosses) from northern to southern Dutch dialects are gradual, both vocabulary-wise and phonetically, and the boundaries do not coincide with territorial borders.
Tussentaal
The supra-regional, semi-standardized colloquial form of Dutch spoken in Belgium, which uses the vocabulary and the sound inventory of the Brabantic dialects, is often called "Tussentaal" ("in-between-language", i.e. between dialects and standard Dutch). Its evolution is somewhat similar to the emergence of Poldernederlands in the Netherlands, a medium of everyday speech heavily influenced by Hollandic. It should be emphasized that neither Poldernederlands nor Tussentaal are dialects or different standard forms, but sociolects.
The tussentaal ("in-between-language") is a primarily informal variety of speech which occupies an intermediate position between regional dialects and the standard language. This tussentaal incorporates phonetic, lexical and grammatical elements that are not part of the standard language but are drawn from local dialects. It is a relatively new phenomenon that has been gaining popularity during the past decades. Some linguists note that it seems to be undergoing a process of (limited) standardisation
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Accurate Flemish translation the first time around
Trust in your translation provider is the key to receiving the quality translation
you are looking for. At WorldAccess we pride ourselves on delivering your Flemish
translation project that is backed up with a guarantee.
Your Flemish translation will only be done by in-country translators with
proven experience in the subject of your original document. A Project Manager, who is
also an experienced linguist, will be dedicated to your translation project.
We'll provide your Flemish translated document in exactly the same format
as your original unless specified different. This means you'll have an accurate
Flemish translation you can use straight away.
Things to consider when translating between Flemish and other Languages
Layout designs - Text typically expands or contracts when translating one language to
another. English to Flemish translations and Flemish to English translations, will contract
or expand depending on the subject matter.
Which Flemish do you need for your translation?
Getting the Flemish translation of your documents right can be very tricky. Clearly there's
only one Flemish language but as in most countries different sections of the population will
have different ways of saying things. Your Account Manager will discuss the target market
of your document with you. Clearly if your Flemish translation is aimed at teenagers it will
need to use their phrases and maybe even slang. Missing these small issues can be the
difference between a successful translation and a bad one.
Specialist industry Flemish translators
With a large network of in-country, bilingual Flemish translator, WorldAccess
Translations can respond quickly and effectively to your Flemish language
translation needs. Our translation teams are professional linguists
performing translation from English to Flemish and Flemish to English for a
range of documents in various industries.
Flemish Translation Quality Procedures
We work within documented quality procedures and will adopt additional quality
controls in order to align with client-side process. Each Flemish translator is
selected based on their experience and special areas of expertise.
Translation Confidentiality
All translators are bound by a commercial confidentiality and corporate
nondisclosure agreement.
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WorldAccess News
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December 1st, 2009
WorldAccess Translations BE announces new hire: Daniel Mommaerts as Senior Sales Executive. Mr. Mommaerts joins our team to increase sales with emphasis on French translations, German translations, Dutch translations, Italian translations, Spanish translation and Russian Translations for the EU region.
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October 1st, 2009
WorldAccess Translations announces additional expansion of satellite offices in Boston MA, Los Angeles CA, Portland OR, Peoria AZ, Baltimore MA, Atlanta GA, Houston TX, Philadelphia PA, Seattle WA, Beaverton OR, Ontario and Calgary Canada and Brussels Belgium.
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June 9th, 2009
WorldAccess Translations enters into a strategic alliance with R & H Consulting for Internet Marketing throughout the United States and beyond.
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June 1st, 2009
WorldAccess Translations announces its expansion of satellite offices in New York NY, Bronx NY, Chicago IL, Miami FL, Washington DC, and the San Francisco Bay Area.
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