Dutch (Language)

Dutch and its offshoot Afrikaans (lit. "African") are West Germanic languages that originated in the Netherlands and are currently spoken as first or second languages by about 46 million people (Making it the 30th language of the world by number of native speakers).

The Dutch language subsequently spread towards northern South America, the Carribean, Southern Africa, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and the United States; the Dutch in Southern Africa evolved into Afrikaans, now a daughter language of Dutch, that of Sri Lanka became Ceylon Dutch (A creole language with influences from Portuguese, Tamil and Sinhala) and that of the United States became Pella Dutch, which is currently only spoken in the state of Iowa. Dutch was also formerly spoken on the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico as creole language, but these are now extinct.

Europe
The Dutch language, which originated here, is the sole official language of the Netherlands (Although Frisian and Low Saxon are recognized), where it is the primary language of 96% of the population; one of three official languages of Belgium (Alongside French and German; Luxembourgish, Limburgish and Walloon are recognized) where it is the primary language of about 61% of the population (7 million of 11 million) and a recognized language in the German states of Nordrhein-Westfalen and Niedersachen.

France
One of the more special cases of Dutch in Europe is in France, for its region Hauts-de-France, in the nothern tip of the country (At the border with Belgium), houses a special variety of Dutch known as French Flemish (Sometimes called Vlaemsch or Westhoek Flemish), which is not spoken anywhere else (Excluding very small commuunities over the border in West Flanders).

This is because most of Hauts-de-France was effectively a part of Flanders (Now referred to as "French Flanders" for differentiation) since the 8th century, until France annexed it in 1713. Later, France annexed larger parts of both Flanders and Wallonia, further dragging more Dutch speakers into its territory. Following the French Revolution of 1789, France slowly lost its Belgian territory over time, but it retained French Flanders, which is still a part of France today, and the Dutch language remained in France.

French Flemish resembles West Flemish, but nonetheless differs from it in various ways, and has a unique vocabulary; research has shown that Dutch is closer to German than to French Flemish. It is spoken fluently by about 60,000 people today, a number that is slowly but surely growing. French Flemish is thaught in various schools around Hauts-de-France, as is Standard Dutch. French Flemish is regionally recognized by France and actively protected and (re-)introduced.

South America and the Carribean
Dutch is the sole official language of Suriname (Although it also recognizes several other languages) and its usage in most schools is compulsory. 84% of the population of Suriname speaks Dutch as first or second language. Sranan Tongo, however, is used as lingua franca just as much as Dutch (Often interchangably).

Although English and French are the official languages of the country of Guyana and the autonomous French department (semi-country) of French Guiana respectively, they both recognize and educate Dutch. Learning Dutch is even compulsory in various French Guianan schools. Dutch creoles are also spoken in Guyana.

Dutch is one of the official languages of the Carribean nations of Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten and semi-countries of Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius, along with Papiamento and English.