Editing Dutch language

'''Dutch''' (Dutch: ''Nederlands'') is a [[West Germanic languages|West Germanic language]] of the [[Indo-European language family]]. It developed in the [[Low Countries]] and became the main language of the [[Netherlands]]. It is also one of the official languages of [[Belgium]]. In Belgium it is used mainly in [[Flanders]]. It also has official status in [[Brussels]] together with [[French language|French]].

Dutch is written with the Latin alphabet. Its [[ICR 300]] short code is ''NL''. Its canonical ICR code is ''NLD'', with ''DUT'' retained as a compatibility alias.

== History ==
Dutch developed from Old Low Franconian speech used in the western Germanic area of the Low Countries. Old Dutch was used during the early Middle Ages. It later developed into Middle Dutch.

Middle Dutch was used from the 12th century onward. It appeared in town records and court writing. It was also used in trade documents. Religious texts and local administration used regional written forms. These regional forms influenced spelling and vocabulary.

Printing made written Dutch more regular. Urban government increased the use of written Dutch in public records. Trade also spread written forms between towns. After the Dutch Republic developed in the late 16th century, the written traditions of Holland and Brabant had strong influence on standard Dutch.

The ''Statenvertaling'' was published in 1637. It helped strengthen a common written form for religious and public use. Modern standard Dutch later developed through schools and publishing. Government administration also helped fix written usage.

== Geographic distribution ==
Dutch is the official language of the [[Netherlands]]. It is used in public administration. It is also used in schools and courts. Newspapers and broadcasters use standard Dutch in national communication.

[[Vriendendam University]] uses the Dutch name ''Universiteit van Vriendendam''.

In [[Belgium]], Dutch is one of the official languages. It is the main language of [[Flanders]]. In [[Brussels]], Dutch has official status together with [[French language|French]].

Dutch is also an official language in [[Suriname]]. In the Caribbean parts of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Dutch is used by government offices. It is also used in schools and legal records.

== Writing system ==
Dutch uses the Latin script. The modern alphabet has 26 basic letters. The digraph ''ij'' has a special position in Dutch spelling. It is often treated as one unit in names and alphabetical ordering.

Written Dutch uses accents in limited cases. The diaeresis is used when two adjacent vowels are pronounced separately. Apostrophes appear in contractions and possessive forms. Hyphens appear in some compound words.

== Grammar ==
Dutch nouns are marked for number. Standard Dutch uses common gender and neuter gender. Articles change according to the noun form. Adjectives and pronouns also change according to the noun form.

Dutch verbs change according to tense and the subject of the clause. Main clauses usually place the finite verb in second position. In subordinate clauses, the finite verb normally appears near the end of the clause.

Dutch forms many compound words by joining existing words together. This is common in official writing. It is also common in technical language and everyday speech.

== See also ==
* [[Netherlands]]
* [[Belgium]]
* [[Suriname]]
* [[French language]]
* [[German language]]
* Language
* [[List of ICR language codes]]
* [[West Germanic languages]]

[[Category:Languages]]
[[Category:West Germanic languages]]
[[Category:Netherlands]]
[[Category:Belgium]]
[[Category:Language codes]]