History of Dutch - Standardization and Modern Dutch

Standardization and Modern Dutch

A process of standardization started in the Middle Ages, especially under the influence of the Burgundian Ducal Court in Dijon (Brussels after 1477). The dialects of Flanders and Brabant were the most influential around this time. The process of standardization became much stronger in the 16th century, mainly based on the urban Brabantic dialect of Antwerp. In 1585 Antwerp fell to the Spanish army: many fled to Holland, influencing the urban dialects of that province. In 1618 a further important step was made towards a unified language, when the first major Dutch Bible translation was created that people from all over the United Provinces could understand. It used elements from various dialects, but the spoken form was mostly based on the urban dialects from the province of Holland. A linguistic saying therefore is that "The Dutch language was born in Flanders, grew up in Brabant and reached maturity in Holland."

Linguistically speaking, Dutch has evolved little since the late 16th century; differences in speech are considered to be negligible especially when comparing the older form with modern regional accents. Grammar has been somewhat simplified though, but a great deal of the grammar lost in contemporary Dutch is preserved in many much-used expressions dating back to or before that time.