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{{Infobox language|boxsize=250px|name=<center> Amerikaens|nation=[[New Netherland]] </br> [[Tussenland]] </br> [[South Tussenland]] </br> [[Amerikaens Free State]] </br> [[Opdamsland]] </br> [[Boschland]]|minority=[[Mexico]] </br> [[Panama City]]|agency=[[Taelkomisie]]|ethnicity=[[Amerikaeners]]|fam1=Scythian|fam2=Germanic|fam3={{nowrap | West Germanic}}|fam4=Netherlandic}}
'''Amerikaens''' (Dutch: ''Amerikaans'') is a West Germanic language spoken in New Netherland, Tussenland, the Amerikaanse Free State, South Tussenland and, to a lesser extent, Mexico and Opdamsland. It evolved from the Hollandish dialect spoken by the Dutch settlers in North America, where it gradually began to develop distinguishing characteristics in the course of the 18th century. It is recognized as a daughter language of Continental Dutch and is the youngest of the Germanic languages.
 
'''Amerikaens''' ([[Amerikaens#Phonology|[ˌɑ.miriˈkɒːnz]]]) is a West Germanic language primarily spoken throughout North America. Along with [[Afrikaans]] and [[Tauaans]], Amerikaens is a product of 17th-century Dutch settler colonialism. It is established as an official language in six sovereign states, several northwestern [[Mexico|Mexican]] provinces, and the ''de facto'' [[Colombia|Colombian]] territory of [[Panama City|Panama]]. Since 1951, Amerikaens has also been been recognized as the primary working language of the [[Association of North American Nations]].
The Amerikaense Taelkomisie (Amerikaens Language Commission) is the official regulating body of the Amerikaense language, and the central authority tasked with developing, preserving, and promoting Amerikaens.
 
It is the second most widely spoken Germanic language in the world, behind [[English language|English]] and after [[Dutch language|Dutch]]. Only since 1910 has Amerikaens been subject to legal regulation by the [[Taelkomisie]], allowing it to diverge greatly from its sister languages, eventually becoming mutually unintelligible with standard Dutch sometime in the 19th century. Its unique phonology, orthography, and grammar has been influenced by a diverse pool of European immigrants, indigenous languages of North America, the great geographic extent across which its dialects are spoken, and the rise of [[Anti-Atlanticism|anti-Atlanticist ideology]] in the late modern era.
== History ==
 
==== OriginNomenclature ====
Dialects of the Dutch language in the Americas were referred to as ''Nederduytsch'' or ''Lîg Duyts'' ('Low Dutch') prior to the late 18th century. With the independence of New Netherland, the term ''Amerikaens'' gained popularity as the [[Amerikaener|Amerikaener identity]] formed. The former two terms are still used extensively in academia, everyday speech, and regional dialects, especially when needed to distinguish it from other Germanic varieties.
 
== History ==
===== '''Early French influence''' =====
During its establishment in the 1620s, the original settlers of New Netherland were not Dutch but French-speaking Wallonians families sent by the Dutch West India Company to settle the claimed lands. The Wallonian community made up a bulk of the early settlers, and Hollandic-speaking inspectors and officers often had to resort to frequent code-switching to communicate more effectively. This code-switching resulted in French-origin words entering the Amerikaense vocabulary, mostly words relating to family and household, such as ''koetoe'' (knife; from ''couteau'') and tapie (carpet; from ''tapis).''
 
== Phonology ==
It was not until the late 1650s that the first wave of Dutch-speaking settlers arrived in the colony. This immigration wave resulted from the newly-reformed colonial government's efforts to promote settler growth. Hollandic Dutch was the primary variant that these settlers had brought. However, these Dutch settlers had to interact with the French-speaking Wallonian families that had already settled there since the 1620s. These new settlers adopted the French-inspired vocabulary.
{{Main|Amerikaens phonology}}
Standard Amerikaens pronunciation, commonly known as the ''Juys Mondordt'' (<abbr>lit. 'p</abbr>roper speech'), is the preferred formal register of the language originating in the 19th-century speech of bourgeois communities in coastal [[New Netherland]].
 
=== <small>Consonants</small> ===
===== '''English influence''' =====
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
English settlers began moving in to New Netherland in the late early 1640s, mostly in Lange Island and lands west of the Verse River, mostly coming in from the English colonies.
! colspan="2" |
!Labial
!Alveolar
!Post-alveolar
!Dorsal
!Glottal
|-
! colspan="2" |Nasal
|m
|n
|
|
|-
! rowspan="2" |Plosive
!<small>{{abbr|vl.|Voiceless}}</small>
|p
|t
|
|k
|
|-
!<small>{{abbr|v.|Voiced}}</small>
|b
|d
|
|g
|
|-
! colspan="2" |Affricate
|
|
|t͡ʃ 
|
|
|-
! rowspan="2" |Fricative
!<small>{{abbr|vl.|Voiceless}}</small>
|f
|s
|ʃ{{ref|''Sch'' sound|2}}
|χ{{ref|''Cha'' sound|1}}
|h
|-
!<small>{{abbr|v.|Voiced}}</small>
|v
|z
|
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" |Approximant
|w
|l
|
|j
|
|-
! colspan="2" |Rhotic
|
| colspan="3" |r
|
|}
{{note|''Cha'' sound|1}}/χ/ formed as a merger of the Dutch /ɣ/ and /x/. Its voiced allophonic contexts is [ʁ], often mistaken as a rhotic due to its similarity to the French 'r'.
 
==== Standardization and RecognitionPalatalization ====
Due to mutual conditioning with the umlaut process and the diverse origins of Amerikaens speakers, Dutch consonant sequences such as /sx/ were palatalized into /ʃ/{{note|''Sch'' sound|2}}. Palatal consonants such as /t͡ʃ/, previously analyzed as the sequence /tj/, became distinctly phonemic.
 
The traditional and most common Dutch diminutive, -''(t)je'', is too palatalized in Amerikaens, One of the most popular examples is the given name ''Annetje'' ('Annie'), which according to the 1910 Taelbück is to be written as ''Anne<u>tia</u>'' and pronounced [[Amerikaens#Phonology|[ɑnæt͡ʃə]]].
===== De Amerikaense Taelbook =====
 
=== <small>Vowels</small> ===
== Geographic distribution ==
{|
| style="vertical-align: top" |
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
!
! colspan="2" |Front
!Central
! colspan="2" |Back
|-
!Close
|i
|y
|
|
|uː
|-
!Mid
|
|ø{{ref|Morphological umlaut|1}}
|o
|
|-
!Open-mid
|
|
|ɔː
|-
!Open
|
|
|ɑː
|}
| style="vertical-align: top" |
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!Fronting
!Centering
!Backing
|-
|ui
| rowspan="3" |ɛ<sup>ə</sup>
|iu
|-
|ɔi
|œu
|-
|ɑi
|ɑu
|}
|}
The Amerikaens vowel system, largely based on that of Hollandic Dutch, underwent a thorough counterclockwise vowel shift known as the ''Linksom''. It also developed features found in some littoral Flemish or Rhenish German dialects, such as morphological umlaut.
 
==== VarietiesUmlaut ====
Amerikaens has developed a system of i-umlaut mutation in long back vowels. This feature initially failed to spread to western Dutch dialects, such as the dominant Hollandic. According to the ''Palatalsprickel'' theory proposed by linguist [[Hans Meißen]] in 1924, the palatalization of certain consonants is responsible for the mutation of radical vowels (i-umlaut) in Amerikaens and other trans-Rhenish Germanic languages. This change can originally be traced back to the diverse stock of European immigrants who arrived in America between 1650 and 1800.
 
This mutation of /uː/ and /ɔː/, most commonly represented with /ø/{{note|Morphological umlaut|1}}, only occurs in closed syllables with all coda except ''-s(t)'', ''-(n)t'', or ''-r(t)'', which fail to trigger the preceding vowel and cause it to retain its backness. As a pure result of morphological umlaut, /ø/ is not a part of Amerikaens' underlying vowel inventory, unlike every other front vowel present in the language. Due to its proximity to other phonemic vowels, it may be realized as [ʏ], [ø̞], or even [ɵ] depending on the individual speaker and morphological context.
==== Tussenlandic Amerikaens ====
 
=== <small>List of major sound changes</small> ===
==== New Netherland Amerikaens ====
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible" style="text-align: center;"
 
!Dutch
==== Irokees-Amerikaens ====
!Amerikaens
|-
| rowspan="2" |eː
|i
|-
|ɛ<sup>ə</sup>
|-
|-
|-
| rowspan="2" |aː
|ɔː
|-
|ɑː
|-
|o
|-
| rowspan="3" |oː
|ɔː
|-
|uː
|-
| rowspan="2" |øː
|-
| rowspan="2" |uː
|-
|uː
|-
|-
|œy
|œu
|-
|ɛi
|ɑi
|-
|eːu
|iu
|-
|aːi
|ɔi
|-
|oːi
|ui
|-
|sx
| rowspan="2" |ʃ
|-
|sj
|-
|tj
|t͡ʃ
|-
|h
|-
| rowspan="2" |χ
|-
|x
|}
 
== Orthography ==
Modern Amerikaens orthography is based on the rules published by the [[Taelkomisie]], specifically the [[Law of New Netherland|Placaet]] of 19 August 1910 and the proliferation of the Taelbück. It was created during an era of intense [[Amerikaeners|Amerikaener nationalism]] and [[anti-Atlanticism]]. Unlike other Latin orthographies, Amerikaens orthography departs heavily from tradition and Latinate conventions. It has also been noted as over-representing phonological processes such as palatalization and umlaut to compensate for the lack of it in its sister scripts such as those of [[Dutch language|Dutch]] and [[Standard German]].
 
=== <small>Spelling to sound correspondences</small> ===
==== Major changes from Continental Dutch ====
{|
In many cases older orthography and spelling is preserved from early modern Dutch. Some regions in Tussenland did not adopt Amerikaner orthography before it was standardized in 1910. As a result, some words of historical value retain their Hollandic spelling. An example of this is the city of Eenheydwyck, which is not written as Înheydswÿck.
| style="vertical-align: top" |
 
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible" style="text-align: center;"
* '''ei → ey''' (''înheid'' (unity) → ''înheyd'')
|+Consonants
* '''k → ck'''    (boek → boeck), only when occurring at the end of the syllable
!Spelling
* '''aa → ae'''   (Amerikaans → Amerikaens)
!Main values
* '''ui → uy'''   (fruit → fruyt)
!Minor values
* '''ij → ÿ'''    (vrijheid → vrÿheyd)
* '''d  → dt'''   (stad → stadt), only when at end of syllable
* '''f → v''' (kalf → kalv), onlf at the end of words
* '''In other''' cases double vowels (long vowels) are reduced and replaced with by a vowel with a diacritic.
* '''oo → ö''' (Voorlandt → Vörlandt)
* '''uu → ue'''
* '''ee → î'''
* '''oe → ü'''
* Yet in other cases constants are doubled.
* '''m → mm''' (Komen → Komme)
* '''l → ll'''
 
== Grammar ==
In Amerikaens noun genders are removed; the 'The' article in Amerikaens would simply be "De" for all nouns, instead of De/Het in Hollandic Dutch. This occurs without exceptions across all dialects. This corresponds to a series of grammar shifts in Amerikaens where grammatical gender is minimized as much as possible both in nouns and in adjectives which also don't conjugate for gender in Amerikaens.
 
In Amerikaens Hollandic Dutch words that end in -en (excluding en and een) the n is dropped in most cases (tevreden > tevrede). In Amerikaens, Hollandic Dutch words that end in -de (excluding de) the e is dropped in most cases (zeide > zeyd, zijde > zÿd). In Amerikaens the corruption middle-word consonant corruptions are common such as -tie into -sie (politie → polisie).
 
=== Pronouns and verb conjugations ===
{| class="wikitable"
| colspan="5" rowspan="1" |Pronouns and Verb Conjugations
|-
|'''b'''
| colspan="1" rowspan="2" |English
|/b/
| colspan="1" rowspan="2" |Amerikaens
|/p/
| colspan="1" rowspan="2" |Dutch
| colspan="2" rowspan="1" |
|-
|'''c'''
|Singular
|/k/
|Plural
|/s/, /t͡ʃ/
|-
|'''ch'''
|I
|Ik/ äkʃ/
|/χ/
|Ik
|Ik ben
| -
|-
|'''ck'''
|You
|Jÿ/k/
|—
|Jij, U
|Jij ben
|
|-
|'''d'''
|He
|Hÿ/d/
|Hij/t/
|Hÿ is
| -
|-
|'''dt'''
|She
|Sÿ/t/
|Zij/d/
|Sÿ is
| -
|-
|'''dsch'''
|We
|/d͡ʒ/
|Wÿ
|/t͡ʃ/
|Wij
|Wÿ is
|
|-
|'''f'''
|It
|It/f/
|Het
|-
|It is
|'''g'''
|/g/
|/χ/
|-
|'''gh'''
|/χ/
| rowspan="4" |—
|-
|'''h'''
|/h/
|-
|'''j'''
|/j/
|-
|'''k'''
|/k/
|-
|'''kh'''
|/χ/
|/k/
|-
|'''l'''
|/l/
| rowspan="3" |—
|-
|'''m'''
|/m/
|-
|'''mm'''
|/m(ː)/
|-
|'''n'''
|/n/
|/ŋ/
|-
|'''ng'''
|/ŋ/
|/n/, /ŋk/
|-
|'''p'''
|/p/
|/b/
|-
|'''ph'''
|/f/
|/p/
|-
|'''q'''
|/k/
|—
|-
|'''qu'''
|/k/
|/ku/
|-
|'''r'''
|/r/
|—
|-
|'''s'''
|/s/
|/z/
|-
|'''sch'''
|/ʃ/
|—
|-
|'''t'''
|/t/
|/d/
|-
|'''th'''
|/t/
|/d/
|-
|'''tsch'''
|/t͡ʃ/
|/d͡ʒ/
|-
|'''v'''
|/v/
|/w/
|-
|'''w'''
|/w/
|/v/
|-
|'''z'''
|/z/
|/s/
|-
|'''zh'''
|/z/
|/ʒ/
|}
| style="vertical-align: top" |
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible" style="text-align: center;"
|+Vowels
!Spelling
!Main values
!Minor values
|-
|'''a'''
|/ɑ/
|/ə/
|-
|'''ae'''
|/ɑː/
|/ɔː/
|-
|'''aey'''
|/ɑːi/
|—
|-
|'''ay'''
|/ɑi/
|/ɔi/
|-
|'''au, auw'''
|/ɑu/
|—
|-
|'''e'''
|/æ/
|/ɛ/
|-
|'''ey'''
|/ɑi/
|—
|-
|'''eu, euw'''
|/œ/
|/ø/
|-
|'''i'''
| rowspan="3" |/i/
|/ɛ/
|-
|'''î'''
|ɛ<sup>ə</sup>
|-
|'''ie'''
| rowspan="2" |—
|-
|'''ieuw'''
|/iu/
|-
|'''o'''
|/o/
|/ɔː/
|-
|'''ö'''
|/ɔː/
|/ø/
|-
|'''oy, öy'''
|/ɔi/
| rowspan="3" |—
|-
|'''ou, ouw'''
|/ɑu/
|-
|'''u'''
|/ə/
|-
|'''ü'''
|/u/
|/ø/
|-
|'''üy'''
|/ui/
| rowspan="3" |—
|-
|'''uy'''
|/œu/
|-
|'''ue'''
|/y/
|-
|'''ÿ'''
|/ɑi/
|/ə/
|}
|}
 
=== TensesGrammar ===
Compared to other Germanic languages, Amerikaens is considered weakly inflected, genderless, and by far more analytic of a language. The simplification of Amerikaens grammar is attributed to the need among early speakers of distinct ethnolinguistic backgrounds to communicate for purposes such as trade — thus, features like inflectional endings became redundant.
In Amerikaens, verbs do not conjugate differently depending on the subject.
 
==== Nouns and pronouns ====
{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable floatright"
| colspan="4" |'''ît''' (eat)
|+Amerikaens pronouns
!Person
!Subject
!Object
!Possessive
|-
|1st singular
|'''Tense'''
|Ik (''<nowiki/>'k'')
| colspan="1" |'''Amerikaens'''
|Mÿ ('''Dutch'me'')
|Mÿn ('''English'men'')
|-
|2nd singular
|'''Infinitive'''
|Jÿ (''je'')
|ît
|Jou (''ju'')
|eten
|Jouw (''juw'')
|(to) eat
|-
|3rd singular, masculine
|'''Present'''
|Hÿ (''he'')
|Ik ît.
|Hem (''em'')
|Ik eet.
|Hÿs (''hes'')
|I eat.
|-
|3rd singular, feminine
|'''Past'''
|Sÿ (''se'')
|Ik hab ît.
|Her (''er'')
|Ik at.
|Hers (''ers'')
|I ate.
|-
|1st plural
|'''Future'''
|Wÿ (''we'')
|Ik wil/zhal ît.
| colspan="2" |Ons
|Ik zal eten.
|I will eat.
|-
|2nd plural
|'''Past Progressive'''
| colspan="2" |Jul
|Ik dîd ît.
|Juls
|Ik was aan het eten.
|I was eating.
|-
|3rd plural, for a person
|'''Present Progressive'''
| colspan="2" |Hun
|Ik doe ît.
|Huns
|Ik ben aan het eten.
|I am eating.
|-
|3rd plural, for an object
|'''Future Progressive'''
| colspan="2" |It
|Ik wil/zhal doe ît
|Its
|I will be eating.
|}
Amerikaens only differs between the singular and plural forms, much like English. The plural form is usually created by the addition of the suffix ''-s''. If a word already ends in an ''s'', then an ''-en'' is appended in order to signify plurality.
 
Amerikaens also preserves the possessive genitive case from archaic Dutch declension unlike other Netherlandic varieties. Its survival beyond the early 18th century most probably was influenced by the [[English language]].
{{Blockquote|text='''Dutch''' <br> ''De vriend van de man'' lit. 'the friend of the man' <br> '''Amerikaens''' <br> ''Des mans friendt'' lit. 'the man's friend'}}
Like Dutch, Amerikaens pronouns retain case distinction; subject (nominative), object (accusative), and possessive (genitive). Pronouns occur in a stressed form and an unstressed form (shown in brackets). The stressed form retains the whole original vowel and is used mainly in formal situations or when distinction is needed.
 
==== Determiners ====
Only two articles, the definitive ''de'' 'the' and the indefinitive ''în'' 'a(n)' exist in Amerikaens. They may be inflected in the genitive form (for example, ''Koninckrÿck <u>der</u> Nederlandts'' lit. '[[Netherlands|Kingdom of the Netherlands]]').
{| class="wikitable"
!
| colspan="4" |'''kück''' (cook)
!Singular
!Plural
!Indefinite
|-
!Nominative
|'''Tense'''
| colspan="12" |'''Amerikaens'''de
|în (''<nowiki/>'Dutch'n'')
|'''English'''
|-
!Genitive
|'''Infinitive'''
|des
|kück
|der
|koken
|îns (''<nowiki/>'ns'')
|(to) cook
|}
Demonstratives are words used to distinguish entities being referred to. As grammatical gender does not exist, there are only four demonstrative determiners in Amerikaens. Proximal indicates that the entities are close to the speaker, while distal indicates that they are far away.
{| class="wikitable"
!
!Singular
!Plural
!English
|-
!Proximal
|'''Present'''
| colspan="2" |dese
|Ik kück.
|This, these
|Ik kook.
|I cook.
|-
!Distal
|'''Past'''
| colspan="2" |dat
|Ik hab kück.
|That, those
|Ik kookte.
|I cooked.
|-
!Possessive
|'''Future'''
|dies
|Ik wil/zhal kück.
|dier
|Ik zal koken.
|Their's, the latter's
|I will cook.
|}
 
==== Verbs ====
Much like its sister language [[Afrikaans]], Amerikaens does not inflect or conjugate, nor is there a distinction between the infinitive and present forms of verbs. In order to form different verb forms such as tense, aspect, and modality, the infinitive form of the verb is accompanied by a pronoun and an auxiliary verb. The below table uses the example of the verb ''ît'' ('eat') in the perfect and continuous tenses.
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2" |
! colspan="3" |Amerikaens
! rowspan="2" |Dutch
! rowspan="2" |English
|-
!<small>Pronoun</small>
|'''Past Progressive'''
!<small>Auxiliary verb</small>
|Ik dîd kück.
!<small>Infinitive</small>
|Ik was aan het koken.
|I was cooking.
|-
|'''!Present Progressive'''
| rowspan="6" |Ik
|Ik doe kück.
|∅
|Ik ben aan het koken.
| rowspan="6" |ît
|I am cooking.
|Ik eet
|I eat
|-
!Past
|'''Future Progressive'''
|hab
|Ik wil/zhal doe kück
|Ik at
|
|I ate
|I will be cooking.
|-
!Future
|zal
|Ik zal eten
|I will eat
|-
!Present continuous
|dü
|Ik ben aan het eten
|I am eating
|-
!Past continuous
|dîd
|Ik was aan het eten
|I was eating
|-
!Future continuous
|zal dü
|Ik zal eten
|I will be eating
|}
 
=== Case system ===
Amerikaens preserves the possessive genitive case from archaic Dutch; an example of this would be the sentence '''de vriend van de man''' in modern Hollandic Dutch becomes '''des mans vriend''' in Amerikaens. Historians & linguistics often debate whether the retaining of this case was a direct retention from Archaic Dutch, linguistic feature adopted from English & High German, or a mixture of both.
 
== Vocabulary ==
 
==== Loanwords ====
 
===== Words of English origin =====
 
# Plänti (plenty)
# Super (supper)
#Darn (damn it)
#Too de nainz! (to the nines)
 
===== Words of indigenous origin =====
 
# Moes (Moose) from Algonquian
# Wapiti (Elk) from Shawnee/Cree
# Kwaewon (Woodpecker) from Mohawk
# Jötenu (Hail) from Mohawk
# Atÿron (Racoon) from Mohawk
# Anowara (Turtle) from Mohawk
# Sewant (Wampum) from Pidgin Delaware
 
===== Words of Romance origin =====
 
# Bufalö (American Bison)
# Kütü (Knife)
 
==== Tongue twisters ====
Ik wil ît it if it is în weynig bît. (''I will eat it if it is an small beetroot'')
 
== Script ==
 
== See also ==
__FORCETOC__
 
[[Category:Languages]]
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