People who study the evolution of the English language have always had a fascination with Frisian.

In their older forms, the two languages shared vocabulary and grammar patterns that differed from other Germanic languages.

It's less clear today. The Norman invasion of England in 1066 resulted in a French invasion of English, while Dutch has rubbed off on Frisian, or at least the version of Frisian that is spoken in the Netherlands.

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Many children's books are translated into Frisian. Credit: Patrick Cox

So what about that connection with English? It goes back at least 1,400 years. The English king Ethelbert oversaw the establishment of the so-called Kentish laws, the first laws that we know of written in any Germanic language. The Kentish Laws are the oldest surviving documents in Old English.

This is the oldest fragment of Old Frisian, circa 1100-1125. It was sold by Sotheby’s in 2014 and bought by a private collector in Belgium. Credit: Courtesy of Han Nijdam

I spoke with Nijdam and many others in Friesland about the Frisian language: writers, artists, teachers, students and just plain old speakers of a language that has refused to die.

Frisian teacher Anna Marije Bloem discusses an essay topic with students. Credit: Patrick Cox

Podcast Contents

00:30 The Kentish Laws and the Frisian connection

1:05 Soundtrack provided by "Furious Frisian folk" band Baldrs Draumar.

4:02 Frisian in America. You can hear it, if you're lucky.

6:22 The Frisian view: "Dutch people can really be so stuck up."

7:20 The Dutch view: "I get a bit tired by Frisians going on about how special their language is."

8:50 Teaching and language activist Anna Marije Bloem: "Do you think we are stubborn?"

9:30 I am on Frisian TV.

12:26 Clubbing Friday. Not what you think.

Dutch MP Lutz Jacobi raised eyebrows when she pledged allegiance in Frisian at the coronation of Dutch King Willem-Alexander in 2013. Credit: Patrick Cox

14:52 Frisian-speaking Dutch MP Lutz Jacobi gets cute with the new king of the Netherlands.

17:30 English and Frisian are grammatical bedfellows.

19:30 Why Frisian today sounds so similar to Dutch.

Ira Judkovskaja is the artistic director of Frisian-language theater company Tryater. Credit: Omrop Fryslân/Annet Huisman

20:46 Theater director Ira Judkovskaja: "There are some people who call me 'Our Frisian Russian.'"

21:52 A play about Friesland's epic speedskating race.

Novelist Willem Schoorstra at his home in Ternaard, Friesland. Credit: Patrick Cox

25:20 Learning in three languages.

27:08 Weirded out at the very idea of writing in Frisian.

28:10 Social media is reintroducing Frisians to written Frisian.

29:10 Standard written Frisian may not remain standard.

29:30 Why novelist Willem Schoorstra never corrects people's written Frisian on Facebook.

30:30 "In 100 years, our language will be very different."

31:00 Willem Schoorstra's first novel is being made into a film.

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