Gronings

Gronings is a Dutch Low Saxon dialect spoken in Groningen, the northern Dutch province. It belongs to the East Low Saxon group of the Low Saxon language family and forms part of the wider continuum of Low Saxon varieties spoken across the northern Netherlands and adjacent regions in Germany. The name Gronings can refer to the dialect as well as to its speakers, the Groningers.

Geographic and social distribution: Gronings is traditionally spoken in rural areas and smaller towns within Groningen; in the city of Groningen it coexists with standard Dutch. Most speakers are bilingual, using Dutch in education, media, and public life, while Gronings is commonly used at home and in local communities.

Linguistic characteristics: Gronings displays features typical of Low Saxon varieties, including phonological and lexical differences from standard Dutch. There is no single official written standard; when written, Gronings is usually represented with Dutch spelling or with local phonetic conventions, and there are regional dictionaries and publications.

Status and preservation: Gronings is regarded as a regional language/dialect. It has cultural and linguistic significance for the Groningen community, with active efforts by associations, media, and researchers to document and promote it. However, like many regional languages, it faces ongoing shift toward Dutch, especially among younger people.

See also: Low Saxon language, Groningen (province), Dutch language, Groninger culture.