the dutch/afrikaans/west flemish link

let's discuss this....

Again? ;)

Could you call them the "Netherlandic family" of languages?

Yes! Beautifull "The Netherlandic languages familly"

(although WF isnt really a language)

You're right Lazar


With WF being the third language in the family

No!Not the 3rd language,but the nr 1 dialect.

The original settlers to South Africa came mainly from the provinces of Zuid Holland and Zeeland. The name of the river Merwe in the former province even testifies to that origin.
Hence the early Afrikaans language descended from the language
spoken in that region.
At a later stage after 1900 the only contact many Afrikaners had with 'proper' Dutch was through their ' dominees' , who studied and improved their Dutch in a small Dutch town by the river Ijsel , called Kampen. ( Previously a Hanse town)

>The name of the river Merwe in the former province even testifies to that origin. <

Hence the surname Van der Merwe in Afrikaans

http://web.uct.ac.za/depts/age/people/Gordon/JD220.htm

To pay dutch (tight person)
Dutch courage
Dutch bargain
To be in dutch

I wouldn't necessarily call them the "Netherlandic" language group as much as the Low Franconian language group, which is in turn a branch of the Low West Germanic languages, along with Low Saxon and the Anglo-Frisian languages.

This is interesting Sander

http://afrikaans.be/derijger/20020125161811976409.htm

To Sander:
If there is nothing like Flemmish language (you say it is just a dialect) so why have I found in my encyclopedia that in Belgium there are 2 official languages: French and Flemmish?

KSa,

I don't know? Bad encyclopedia? :) No,its quite simple...Ill take American and British English as an example.

Imagine American English being written just the way British English is being written but pronounced with an accent (not even a heavy accent)

That's the case between Dutch and a "Flemish"accent.Vlaams (Flemish) is spoken in Vlaanderen,in (nothern) Belgium and the Dutch speaking Belgians in Belgium are however called Vlamingen (the Flemish),they are called after the area's the inhabit not the language they speak.Really Flemish will never become a separet language...even the Flemish themselves will anwser "Dutch" if you ask them what they speak.

Sander:
I understand that this is general opinion. But do all the people, especially Dutch/Flemmish-speaking belgian citizens, share this opinion?