It seems that interlanguage is increasingly gaining the upper hand in Flanders. What is this phenomenon, where does it come from and what influence does it have on the relationship between the Netherlands and Flanders?
Interlanguage… What do you mean, intermediate language?
Interlanguage is only spoken in Flanders: it is a language that hangs somewhere between General Dutch and the dialect. Literary and former VRT journalist Geert van Istendael described it as Verkavelingsvlaams while the man in the street calls it Clean Flemish.
Where is it from?
Every region has its dialect, its vernacular. For example, we speak of West Flemish, East Flemish, Limburgish, Antwerp, Brabant. But you will also find variants within each region. People who do not want to express themselves properly in General Dutch use a kind of refined regional language, a language that is very similar to their dialect in terms of vocabulary, sentence construction, spelling and pronunciation, topped with a standard language sauce. This intermediate language varies depending on the region.
Why do people use intermediate language?
Throughout the history of Flanders, foreign armies have continuously occupied the territory: the country has been visited numerous times by foreign rulers from Spain, Austria, France and the Netherlands. Is it surprising that the Flemish now waits until the end and does not immediately embrace the first visitor? It’s not that easy to get into a Flemish house. Hence the distrust towards the government and everything imposed from it.
The first Flemish university (in Ghent) was only founded in 1930. It was the beginning of a growing Flemish consciousness. Yet the government failed to fully introduce General Dutch (at that time still General Civilized Dutch) . It was still too much regarded as the language of the better-off, of the man with the white collar, of the university.
What does that intermediate language actually look like?
There are extensive and scientifically substantiated studies on the phenomenon. However, let me limit myself to the most important aspects. For example, Clean Flemish is characterized by a separate use of the indefinite article (a man becomes ne man, a child becomes e child) and the personal pronoun in the second person singular (gij/ge) with associated strange verb forms such as gij are (you are) or wat saydegij (what are you saying). Diminutives are used infrequently, but the -je becomes -ke: the male and the female have many chins.
Typical Flemish words also spice up the interlanguage: mother, the woman goes to the butcher instead of the butcher, she buys tripe and not sausage, the gentleman takes his clothes to the dry cleaners, not to the dry cleaners and has an appetite instead of a desire for a pint. Unemployed people shell and eat fries with a boulet (the meatball does not exist).
And then we haven’t even talked about the statement, which is a chapter in itself.
Implications
Not only the man in the street swears by this intermediate language, but also the so-called BVs (Well-known Flemish people, and these are not limited to stars from the entertainment sector) and more and more politicians and figures from the public sector, with the result that the language gap between the Netherlands and Flanders is getting bigger.
It is therefore not surprising that even Dutch-language television programs are regularly subtitled. I will leave open whether this is a positive evolution. By the way, may I remind you that General Dutch was introduced precisely so that people from different regions could understand each other better?