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Language
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Dutch is a West Germanic language
spoken by over 22 million people as a native language, and over 5
million people as a second language. Most native speakers live in
the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, with smaller groups of
speakers in parts of France, Germany and several former Dutch
colonies. It is closely related to other West Germanic languages
(e.g., English, West Frisian and German) and somewhat more remotely
to the North Germanic languages.
Dutch is the parent language of several creole languages as well as
of Afrikaans, one of the official languages of South Africa and the
most widely understood in Namibia. Dutch and Afrikaans are to a very
large extent mutually intelligible, although they have separate
spelling standards and dictionaries and have separate language
regulators. The Dutch Language Union coordinates actions of the
Dutch, Flemish and Surinamese authorities in linguistic issues,
language policy, language teaching and literature
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