North Frisian Language - Current Situation

Current Situation

Officially the number of North Frisian speakers ranges from 8,000 to 10,000 but linguists propose significantly lower numbers. In 2007, Århammar estimated a total of 5,000 speakers within and 1,500 to 2,000 speakers outside North Frisia proper. Exact surveys do not exist.

North Frisian is an endangered language, as in most places children no longer learn it. In UNESCO's Red Book of Endangered Languages, North Frisian is classified as "seriously endangered". Exceptions are a few villages on the islands of Föhr and Amrum and the Risum-Lindholm area. Especially in the western parts of Föhr, the language community is still relatively sound. The number of speakers on Föhr and Amrum alone is estimated to around 3,500. The other dialects are in fact seriously endangered, like Karrharde Frisian, Central Goesharde and Halligen Frisian.

The elementary and grammar school on Amrum is called Öömrang Skuul and among other subjects focuses on teaching the local dialect. Fering is also taught in schools on Föhr and the Risum Skole/Risem Schölj in Risum-Lindholm on the mainland is a combined Danish-Frisian elementary school.

All speakers of North Frisian are at least bilingual (North Frisian and Standard German). Many are trilingual (North Frisian, Standard German and Low German) and, especially along the Danish border, quadrilingualism used to be widespread (North Frisian, Standard German, Low German and South Jutlandic).

In Schleswig-Holstein, the North Frisian language is protected by the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages as a minority language. On 24 December 2004 a state law became effective in Schleswig-Holstein that recognises the North Frisian language for official use in the Nordfriesland district and on Heligoland.