Urk - Dialect

Dialect

One of the oldest and most distinctive dialects of Dutch is the language which is spoken in Urk. Nearly everybody in this village speaks this dialect and uses it in daily life. The dialect deviates considerably from contemporary standard Dutch, and has preserved many old characteristics which disappeared in standard Dutch a long time ago. The Urkish dialect also includes elements that are older than standard Dutch and were never a part of the standard language. For example, the old word for "father" in the Urkish dialect is taote. The dialect developed this way because until WWII, Urk was an island and could only be reached by boat. Radio was unknown, and the poor population didn't have much money for newspapers and books. Until the modern era, primary education for the children typically lasted only two years; afterwards, children had to help maintain the family and formal schooling ended.

Recent linguistic classifications have assigned the Urk dialect to the "Urkers dialect family", of which it is the only member.

The Urkish dialect has more vowel sounds than standard Dutch, and each vowel has short and long forms, potentially with different meanings. The pronunciation of vowels deviates from standard Dutch and is closer to English.

Because living conditions on Urk in historical times were very poor, young girls (typically about age 11 or 12) would frequently leave the island to become domestic servants, mostly in or around Amsterdam. They often served with Jewish families. After a few years, they would return to Urk to form families of their own. As a result of this practice, the Urkish dialect absorbed some loanwords from the Amsterdam dialect and also from Yiddish. For instance, the Yiddish "Shnur" for sister-in-law became the Urkish "Snoar" (identical meaning); the Hebrew "Kallah" ("כלה") for bride became the Urkish "Kalletjen" (girlfriend).

When Napoleon occupied the Netherlands, many French words were incorporated into both standard Dutch and Urkish. Just as for standard Dutch, French words often changed form when incorporated into Urkish. The Urkish dialect has always been primarily a spoken language, and there are not many old texts written in the dialect. Only in recent years have people begun to write prose and poetry in the Urkish dialect. There are Urkers who have translated Bible books into Urkish, such as the book of Psalms.

Currently, Urk is no longer an island, and exposure to the standard Dutch through the media is widespread. However, the distinctive Urkish dialect is still alive.