De positie van het Standaardnederlands en tussentaal in Vlaanderen : opvattingen van Tieltse jongeren

In this paper, the results of a perception study in the West-Flemish town Tielt are reported. Twenty teenagers were subjected to a qualitative interview, to gain insight in the way they evaluate several Dutch language varieties and how they judge on the situational appropriateness of these varieties. According to the teenagers the standard language is superior, and pre-eminently appropriate for more formal situations (which points to the existence of a standard language ideology). At the same time, Standard Dutch is considered an ideal which is hardly ever achieved, and a variety which is unsuitable for everyday informal situations. Tussentaal (lit. ‘in-between language’), on the other hand, is the adolescents’ default language, and is appropriate for everyday situations.In this paper, the results of a perception study in the West-Flemish town Tielt are reported. Twenty teenagers were subjected to a qualitative interview, to gain insight in the way they evaluate several Dutch language varieties and how they judge on the situational appropriateness of these varieties. According to the teenagers the standard language is superior, and pre-eminently appropriate for more formal situations (which points to the existence of a standard language ideology). At the same time, Standard Dutch is considered an ideal which is hardly ever achieved, and a variety which is unsuitable for everyday informal situations. Tussentaal (lit. ‘in-between language’), on the other hand, is the adolescents’ default language, and is appropriate for everyday situations.A