Frisian language/vocabulary

Frisian is a language spoken by a minority of people in the northern part of the Netherlands, mostly in the province of Friesland. There are perhaps 100,000 speakers. It was once spoken in nearby parts of Germany and Denmark as well. It is most similar to Old English (but not Modern English), the Netherlandic language, and LowGerman.

The earliest definite written examples of Frisian are from approximately the 9th century AD. A few examples of Runic inscriptions from the region are probably older and possibly in the Frisian language.

The Frisian language is still spoken in Fryslân, East- and North-Friesland. In Fryslân around 440.000 people speak Frisian, in East-Friesland about a thousand and in North-Friesland about 10.000 people.