“A River Runs Through It”: Crossing the Meuse in Batenburg (The Netherlands)

Kees Versteegh

doi:10.18290/rh237106.13s

Published : 2023-07-24

Vol. 71 No. 6sp (2023)

“A River Runs Through It”: Crossing the Meuse in Batenburg (The Netherlands)

Kees Versteegh

https://orcid.org/0009-0003-1322-3967

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18290/rh237106.13s

Abstract

The dialects spoken in the Dutch region Land van Maas en Waal, between the two rivers Meuse and Waal, are usually classified as a mixed dialect group exhibiting characteristics of the dialects of both Brabant and Gelderland. The perceptual map of the dialects paints a different picture as it shows a division between the speakers in the southern part of the region, who regard their dialect as more related to Brabant dialects, while speakers in the northern part feel more connected with the dialects spoken to the north of the Waal. The present paper attempts to explain this difference in perception by looking at the contacts the inhabitants of the small town of Batenburg had across the river. Materials used for this study include interviews with elderly people in Batenburg and data from the municipal archives.

Keywords:

dialect contact, Dutch dialects, perceptual dialectology, cross-river contacts, marriage selection, religious affiliation, Meuse, social networks

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Kees Versteegh

chmversteegh@gmail.com
https://orcid.org/0009-0003-1322-3967

Affiliation:

University of Nijmegen, Emeritus Professor Netherlands

Bio Statement (e.g., department and rank)

Prof. Kees Versteegh graduated in Classical and Semitic languages and obtained his PhD degree at the University of Nijmegen, the Netherlands (1977). He was full professor of Arabic and Islam at the University of Nijmegen from 1989 till 2010, when he retired. His publications deal with the history of linguistics and contact linguistics and include Pidginization and creolization: The Case of Arabic (1984), The Arabic Linguistic Tradition (1997), and The Arabic Language (2nd ed., 2014). He co-edited the Handbuch für die Geschichte der Sprach- und Kommunikationswissenschaft (2000–2005) and was the editor-in-chief of the Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics (2006–2009).