Frisian is a West Germanic language that falls under the so-called Ingvaeonic or Anglo-Frisian languages. The regions where Frisian is still spoken were once part of a far-stretched Frisian-speaking coastline, which ran all the way from the Danish border to the Belgian border at its peak. However, as a result of conquests by Saxon and Burgundy dukes who introduced Low German, the Frisian language was pushed back.

Three Frisian-speaking areas

The province of Friesland has about 440,000 Frisian-speaking people, 350,000 of which are native speakers. Frisian is also spoken in the Westerkwartier in Groningen, the German municipality of Saterland in Lower Saxony, and in Schleswig-Holstein on the border with Denmark. Three isolated areas. All in all, Frisian has approximately 700,000 speakers. Despite the fact that Frisian is a small language, it can be chosen as an additional subject at many European universities.

The Frisian language

From two of the Frisian dialects, Kleifries and Woudfries, Standard Frisian was developed, which serves as an educational and administrative language in Friesland. Outside the Netherlands, Frisian is also an official language in Germany. Six letters have been added to the Frisian alphabet in order to indicate a few typically Frisian sounds: â, ê, é, ô, ú, and û. The letters q and x do not originally occur in Frisian, except in loanwords. Standard Frisian is the second officially recognised administrative language in the Netherlands. However, it should be noted that Frisian may only be used if ‘if it does not result in excessive strain on the administrative traffic’. Talk about Dutch thriftiness…

In-country translators

We like working with in-country translators, in this case, Frisian translators who live in Friesland and translate into Frisian. These translators have an optimal feel for their own language and culture. The latter is of paramount importance in order to achieve a translation that is tailored to the target audience.

Top quality

Our translation agency is in possession of the highest achievable European quality standards for translation agencies: ISO 9001 and ISO 17100. These standards require us and the translators we work with to continuously provide the best quality. In addition, we offer a lowest price guarantee and our 100% satisfaction guarantee with all our translations. We are not satisfied until you are.