The following is the entry for this language as it appeared in the 14th edition (2000).
It was superseded by the corresponding entry in the 15th edition (2005). See also the corresponding entry in the current edition of Ethnologue.
| Population | 700,000 in the Netherlands, including 400,000 in Friesland, 300,000 elsewhere (1976 Stephens). Population total all countries 730,000 or more. |
| Region | Friesland, northern Netherlands. Also spoken in Canada, Denmark, Germany, USA. |
| Alternate names | FRYSK, FRIES |
| Dialects | TOWN FRISIAN. |
| Classification | Indo-European, Germanic, West, Frisian. |
| Comments | Linguistically between Dutch and English. Not intelligible with Eastern and Northern Frisian of Germany (E. Matteson SIL 1978). 71% lexical similarity with Standard German, 61% with English, 74% with Eastern Frisian. Most speakers are bilingual in Dutch. Over 70% of those in Friesland still speak Western Frisian. Town Frisian is a mixed language. National language. Literacy rate in first language: Speakers not generally literate in Frisian. Bilingual education is compulsory in Friesland but speakers are not generally literate in Frisian. Has an official orthography in the Netherlands. Bible 1943-1978. |
