Dutch dialects and the use of the Limburgian dialect

The theme of this end term paper is the Dutch dialects and the use of the Limburgian dialect. The goal of this paper is to describe in theory the phenomenon 'dialect' and to understand this phenomenon better with the help of 'Research in the use of the Limburgian dialect'. The central question is connected with psychological and sociological perspectives of the dialect problem: why do people speak so much in dialect in The Netherlands and foremost in Limburg? How do Limburgians experience their language? Which advantages come with the use of dialect and does the speaker feel more closely connected with each other while using this dialect? Are higher educated people as inclined to use dialect as much as lower educated people? And in which situations do Limburgers prefer to speak dialect and when do they prefer to switch to the standard Dutch? Do women and men speak different? In the first part of the paper, the phenomenon of dialect will be lined out in general terms. The term 'dialect' will be defined and an explanation will follow how dialects differ from standard Dutch. There's also a focus on the science aspect of dialects and a focus on the dialect users themselves. Because dialect is often seen as negative, there will be a focus on the negative and the positive attitudes towards dialects. The dialect..