DUTCH LANGUAGE. Dutch is the lan guage of the inhabitants of the Netherlands and, in a strongly marked dialectic form, of the Boers in South Africa. It was also in general use in and about New York long after the cession of the province to the English. The name Dutch is derived from Meisel!, meaning the vernacular, as distinguished from Latin. It is the same word as the German lkills•h, with which it is sometimes confounded, as in Pennsylvania Dutch and in the ordinary speech of uneducated per sons. The Dutch themselves call their language Nederlands•b. while in German it is called Hol liindisch. Dutch belongs to the Low Frankish division of the Low German, and is very closely related to the Flemish, with which it is any practically identical in its written form. Like English. the language may be divided into three main periods: (1) ( lid Dutch, extending to about. 1100. The only important of this period that has been preserved is a translation of the Psalter. (2) Middle Dutch, from 1100 to 1550. The language during this period suf fered similar changes in sounds and intleetions to those that can be observed in the contem porary English. As in English, no standard written forum of the language was at first recog nized, but each writer used his own dialect. In the thirteenth century a determined effort was made to assert the claims of a literary Dutch, the leader in the movement being Jacob van Maerlant (1235-1300). But in spite of all ef forts the use of individual dialects continued. (3) Modern Dutch extends from 1550 to the present day. The most important single event in the history of the language during this period was the publication (1619•37) of the Staten bijbel, the authorized version of the Scriptures, which did much to spread the use of this form of Dutch in the Low Countries. The effect of this translation was similar to that of Luther's ver sion upon High German. in establishing a stand
ard of language and orthography that was generally recognized as authoritative.' During the eighteenth century- the efforts to purify the language were carried to an absurd extent, and it therefore suffered greatly from the mistaken zeal of its users. During the nineteenth cen tury a saner view of the spirit, based upon a more intelligent study of grammar and philology, has given greater freedom of expression. Dur ing the past forty years efforts have been made to reform the and to effect uni formity of usage in llolland and Belgium, the present system having been adopted in Belgium in 1S6 I and in Rolland in The Dutch language is in its structure practi cally the same as the other members of the Ger manic group of dialects. It belongs in its pho nology to the Low German division. so that its consonants agree in general with the English (Dutch tr, English to, German ziO. Its orthog raphy is somewhat awkward. and does not repre sent the sounds of the language (e.g. oe = In inflection and in syntax Dutch corresponds closely to German. Tt is written in the Boman alphabet. and coincides in the use of capitals almost exactly with English.
The standard modern Dutch dictionary is der Yederlandsche Taal, edited by de Vries and others (The Hague, 1864 et seq.). The best etymological dictionary is Job. Franck's (1831-92). For English students there are Bomboff's (Aracim, 1377), and Calisch's !Leyden, 1390). Of grammars in English, may be mentioned Ahn's (London, 1337), and lloog Nliers The Hague, 1390). The best account of the language outside of Holland is Jan to Winkel's in Paul, Grundriss der german/schen. Philologic, vol. i. (2d ed. Strassburg. 1901).