Overview The North Frisian dialects can be grouped into two main dialectal divisions: mainland and insular dialects. Altogether, both groups have 10 dialects. Since the beginning of Frisian linguistic studies in the 19th century, the following ten dialects have typically been noted as distinct:
Insular North Frisian •
Sylt Frisian (Söl'ring) • Föhr-Amrum Frisian (
Fering,
Öömrang) •
Heligolandic Frisian (Halunder)
Mainland North Frisian •
Wiedingharde Frisian (Wiringhiirder) •
Bökingharde Frisian (Mooringer) •
Karrharde Frisian (Karrharder) •
Goesharde Frisian (Gooshirder) • Northern Goesharde Frisian (incl. Hoorninger Fräisch & Hoolmer Freesch) • Central Goesharde Frisian • Southern Goesharde Frisian (extinct since early 1980s) •
Halligen Frisian (Halifreesk) The mainland and insular dialects clearly differ from each other because they were shaped by Frisian immigrants in different centuries. The islands of
Sylt,
Föhr and
Amrum were colonised in around AD 800, and the mainland was settled by Frisians in AD 1100. There are also various influences of neighbouring languages on the dialects. On Sylt, Föhr and Amrum and in parts of the northern mainland such as Wiedingharde, there is a strong
Danish (
South Jutlandic) influence, but on
Heligoland and the rest of mainland North Frisia, the Low German influence is predominant. Moreover, there has historically been little exchange between the dialects and so hardly any
lingua franca could develop and there was no cultural centre in North Frisia for which the dialect could have had a leading role.
Samples The sentence displayed below in many variants reads, Shine, old moon, shine!', cried Häwelmann, but the moon was nowhere to be seen and the stars neither; they had all already gone to bed" (based on
Theodor Storm's
Der kleine Häwelmann). ; Insular
Söl'ring (dialect of
Sylt) :
Fering-
Öömrang (dialect of
Föhr and
Amrum) :
Heligolandic (dialect of
Helgoland) : ; Mainland
Northern Goesharde Frisian, Hoorninger Fräisch variety of
Langenhorn :
Wiedingharde Frisian :
Halligen Frisian (although it is spoken on the
Halligen islands, it is linguistically grouped with the mainland dialects) :
Mooring (dialect of
Bökingharde) : Despite the differences between the dialects, the Fering and Öömrang are highly similar; in this example nearly identical. Another source that highlights the differences between all of the main dialects of North Frisian (even extinct ones) are translations of the Lord's Prayer. The following table further demonstrates the similarities and differences between the various dialects.
Extinct dialects The
Eiderstedt Frisian on the
Eiderstedt peninsula were abandoned in favour of Low German during the 17th and 18th centuries. In contrast to the northern
hundreds, Eiderstedt was economically strong and wealthy and was oriented towards the southern, Low German parts of Schleswig-Holstein. Moreover, there was a strong Dutch immigration during the 16th century. A similar situation was to be found on the island of
Strand, which was destroyed during the
Burchardi flood. The population of the eastern, remaining part of Strand, the modern
Nordstrand, did not succeed in rebuilding the dikes on their own. Therefore, many Frisian speaking people left their homeland on Strand or were otherwise not able to maintain their native language against mostly Dutch-speaking immigrants. On
Pellworm, the western remainder of Strand, the repair of the dikes was quickly accomplished and so the Frisian language was still spoken in the 18th century, until it also vanished due to changes in population structure. The old
Strand Frisian was presumably closest to Halligen Frisian. Likewise close to Halligen Frisian was the Wyk Frisian that used to be spoken in
Wyk auf Föhr until the town completely shifted to Low German. The Wyk dialect is thought to have developed from the dialects of immigrants from the Halligen and Strand island. The dialect that most recently died out is Southern Goesharde Frisian which became extinct with the death of its last speaker in the early 1980s. Other mainland dialects are also facing extinction. North of the German-Danish border North Frisian was spoken only in some marsh-farms, located directly at the border. ==Phonology==