About Spoken Languages
Every language is a source of unique knowledge and cultural expression. Smaller languages provide us with new perspectives on the world. They give words to cultural phenomena, show us how people communicate and how a community forms its identity.
In the lecture series ‘About Spoken Languages’ five academics shine their light on a smaller or less known (and sometimes not standardised) language.

Frisian
Frisian holds a special place in the linguistic landscape of the Netherlands. It was once spoken along the entire Dutch coast, from Zeeland to Groningen. Today, it is spoken only in Friesland. Even so, Frisian still has many speakers — according to estimates, more than 400,000. That’s more than Icelandic, and even more than Irish and Scottish Gaelic combined.
But what actually makes Frisian a language and not a dialect? How exactly does it differ from Dutch? And will Frisian still be spoken in Friesland in the future? These questions will be discussed extensively in this lecture.

Dr. Alexia Kerkhof
Dr. Alexia Kerkhof is a linguist and medievalist. She received her PhD in 2018 from Leiden University for her research on language contact between Merovingian Gallo-Romance and Frankish. At the Fryske Akademy, she subsequently led interdisciplinary research projects. She combines historical linguistics and archival research in late medieval sources with public engagement projects and won the 2023 Friesland Science Prize for her work on the transition from Frisian to Dutch.

Language of instruction: Dutch

This lecture is part of the series About Spoken Languages.
Other lectures in this series:

9 January: Cappadocian, Pontic, Pharasiot by Prof. Dr. Mark Janse
19 February: Yiddish by Daniella Zaidman-Mauer
27 March: Catalan by Dr. Eva J. Daussá
10 April: Palestinian Arabic by Dr. Nina van Kampen

€18 per lecture | entire series €80
Student rate*: €6 per lecture | entire series €25

Entry is not possible after the lecture has started.

*The student rate applies to students enrolled at a university or university of applied sciences. Select ‘Invoice’ as the payment method and indicate in the ‘Additional remarks’ field that you are a student.