Frisian
Alternative name(s): Fries (nl), frisiska (sv)
Language family: Indo-European
Language Group: Germanic
Geographical use: Friesland (esp. the countryside) and in the northwest of Germany
Information: There are between 350 and
400 thousand speakers.
Frisian once was the most important language across the Northsea coast
and nearby islands, between the current Flemish-Dutch
border and the current German-Danish
border. Since the 16th century it has been slowly replaced by Dutch
and Low German. In the 20th century Frisian
has known a revival and it became an official language of the Netherlands.
It is nowadays used in schools and courts.
