View source for Dutch Language Union

{{Short description|Dutch language regulator}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{More citations needed|date=May 2011}}

{{Infobox geopolitical organization
| name                   = ''Dutch Language Union''
| native_name            = {{native name|nl|Nederlandse Taalunie|icon=no}}
| linking_name           = the Dutch Language Union
| symbol_type            = Logo
| image_symbol           = Logo of the Dutch Language Union.svg
| image_map              = Nederlandse Taalunie.svg
| map_caption            = A map showing the member states of the Dutch Language Union (red)
| membership_type        = Membership
| membership             = {{ublist|[[Belgium]]|[[Netherlands]]|[[Suriname]]}}
| admin_center_type      = Headquarters
| admin_center           = [[The Hague]], [[Netherlands]]<br />[[Brussels]], [[Belgium]]
| languages_type         = Official language
| languages              = [[Dutch language|Dutch]] ([[Standard Dutch]])
| leader_title1          = {{nowrap|[[Secretary (title)#Secretary-general|Secretary-general]]}}
| leader_name1           = Kris Van de Poel
| leader_title2          = 
| leader_name2           = 
| established_event1     = Treaty
| established_date1      = 9 September 1980
| area_km2               = 
| area_sq_mi             = 
| area_rank              = 
| population_estimate    = {{nowrap|~25 million}}
| population_estimate_year = 2022
| population_estimate_rank = 
| population_density_km2 = 
| population_density_sq_mi = 
| GDP_PPP                = 
| GDP_PPP_year           = 
| GDP_PPP_rank           = 
| GDP_PPP_per_capita     = 
| GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 
| GDP_nominal            = 
| GDP_nominal_year       = 
| GDP_nominal_rank       = 
| GDP_nominal_per_capita = 
| GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 
| official_website       = {{URL | https://taalunie.org/}}
| footnotes              = 
}}

The '''Dutch Language Union''' ({{langx|nl|Nederlandse Taalunie}} {{IPA|nl|ˈneːdərlɑntsə ˈtaːlˌyni||Nl-Nederlandse Taalunie.ogg}}, NTU) is an international regulatory institution that governs issues regarding the [[Dutch language]]. It is best known for its spelling reforms which are promulgated by member states, grammar books, the [[Word list of the Dutch language|Green Booklet]] and its support of Dutch language courses and studies worldwide. It was founded on a treaty concluded between the [[Netherlands]] and [[Belgium]] (in respect of the [[Flemish Community]]) on 9 September 1980. [[Suriname]] has been an associate member of the ''Taalunie'' since 2004.

==History==
[[File:Map of the Dutch World.svg|left|thumb|The Dutch-speaking world.]]

The Dutch Language Union was established by a treaty between Belgium and the Netherlands, signed on 9 September 1980 in Brussels. It succeeded the "Cultural Agreement" (governing more than just language) between the two countries signed just after the Second World War. This agreement was redone in 1995, after the [[state reform in Belgium|federalization of Belgium]], and a new treaty was signed between the Netherlands and [[Flanders]].<ref name=Willemijns176>Willemyns 176.</ref> On 12 December 2003, president of the Committee of Ministers of the Dutch Language Union [[Medy van der Laan]] and Minister of Education of Suriname [[Walter Sandriman]] signed the agreement to the accession of Suriname to the union. The accession was ratified by the [[National Assembly (Suriname)|National Assembly of Suriname]] in 2004 and came into force in 2005.<ref name="Suriname">{{cite web |url=http://taalunie.org/organisatie/samenwerking-tussen-nederlandse-taalunie-en-suriname |title=Suriname, lid van de Taalunie |website=Nederlandse Taalunie |access-date=19 June 2014 |language=nl |archive-date=22 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141222233246/http://taalunie.org/organisatie/samenwerking-tussen-nederlandse-taalunie-en-suriname |url-status=dead }}</ref>

{{anchor|Algemeen Beschaafd Nederlands}}
Standard Dutch (''Algemeen Nederlands'', often abbreviated to ''AN'') is the [[standard language]] as it is taught in schools and used by authorities in the Netherlands, [[Flanders]], Suriname, and the [[Netherlands Antilles|Dutch Caribbean]]. The Dutch Language Union defines what is ''AN'' and what is not. Since efforts to "uplift" people had come to be considered rather presumptuous, the earlier name ''Algemeen Beschaafd Nederlands'' ("Common Civilised Dutch") and its abbreviation, ''ABN'', were replaced with ''Algemeen Nederlands'' (''AN''). The implication that [[non-standard variety|non-standard varieties]] are not civilised was thus removed.

==Word list==
[[File:Groene Boekje 1954.png|thumb|''Groene Boekje'' (1954)]]

An important change that was carried out by the Dutch Language Union was the [[History of Dutch orthography#The spelling reform of 1996 .28The Netherlands and Flanders.29|modification]] of [[Dutch orthography]] in 1995, regarding in particular the writing of the [[interfix]] ''-n'' in many [[Compound (linguistics)|compounds]]. Among the Union's publications is the well-known [[Word list of the Dutch language]] (''Woordenlijst Nederlandse taal''), commonly known as the “''Groene boekje''” ("''Green booklet''", because of its distinctive green colour). The green booklet is the official orthographic and grammatical reference of the Dutch language. It is laid out like a vocabulary, including plural forms and spelling but without actual word definitions.

The most recent version of the Green Booklet appeared on 13 October 2015. Its content does not differ from the previous version of 2005, which included a somewhat controversial spelling reform that was not received well in general because a part of the spelling reforms of 1996 was changed again. In December 2005, most of the Dutch mainstream media announced a boycott. In August 2006, they released a 'White book' as their own, subtly different guideline. Currently these two spellings are both in use, sometimes confusing people; the 'green' one is used by schools and officials, the 'white' one by papers, magazines and television stations.

In Belgium, on the other hand, the spelling reform was generally accepted without protest.

==Dictionary==
The [[Van Dale]] dictionary is commonly accepted as the most authoritative [[list of Dutch dictionaries|Dutch dictionary]]. Commonly named the [[Van Dale|Dikke Van Dale]] ("Thick" Van Dale due to its size) the dictionary is split into three volumes (A–I, J–R, S–Z) and is usually updated every 7–8 years. The 15th edition was published on 23 September 2015.

The ''[[Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal]]'' ('''''WNT''''') is a historic dictionary that includes all words used from 1500 to the present day.  
Work began in 1864 and was finished in 1998 when the last volume was published. It has 46 volumes, occupying about 3 metres of shelf space, with about 400,000 words on 49,255 pages. In 2001, three additional volumes were published containing mostly words from the 20th century that were not included in the previous 43 volumes. This dictionary is published by Instituut voor Nederlandse Lexicologie and can be found online.

== Dutch as a foreign language ==
The Dutch Language Union supports the teaching of Dutch in primary and secondary schools in the neighbouring regions and countries. It concerns [[Belgium]] ([[Brussels]] and [[Wallonia]]; 350,000 learners), [[Germany]] ([[Lower Saxony]] and [[North Rhine-Westphalia]], 40,000 learners) and [[France]] ([[Nord-Pas-de-Calais]], 8,000 learners).

The Union also supports the study of [[Dutch language]] and [[Culture of the Netherlands|culture]] at universities and schools worldwide. Approximately 14,000 people study the Dutch language and Dutch literature at 140 institutions.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://taalunieversum.org/sectie/nederlands-internationaal |title=Nederlands internationaal |website=Taalunieversum |language=nl |access-date=25 September 2018}}</ref>

==Organisation==
===Internal organisation===
The NTU has offices in The Hague and Brussels, and it comprises four institutions:
*The Secretariat-General, responsible for preparing and implementing policy, headed by Kris Van de Poel since March 2020
*The Committee of Ministers, containing the ministers of education and culture from the Netherlands and [[Flanders]];
*The Interparliamentary Commission, made up of members of the Dutch and Flemish parliaments;
*The Council for Dutch Language and Literature.<ref name="Willemijns176"/>

===={{anchor|Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal}}''Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal''====
The binational (Belgium and the Netherlands) ''Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal'' ("Institute for the Dutch Language") in Leiden, formerly ''Instituut voor Nederlandse Lexicologie'', works under the auspices of the Dutch Language Union, and is responsible for the ''[[Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal]]'' (Dictionary of the Dutch language).<ref>Willemyns 125.</ref> In addition, the institute publishes a number of dictionaries, including the ''Old Dutch Dictionary'', the ''Early Middle Dutch Dictionary'', and an etymological dictionary; and databases, including databases indexing various newspapers and magazines, and legal documents. The ''Spoken Dutch Corpus'' has contemporary Dutch as spoken in the Netherlands and Flanders, including audio recordings of Standard Dutch.<ref>Willemyns 177–78.</ref>

====Royal Academy of Dutch Language and Literature====
The [[Royal Academy of Dutch Language and Literature]] was founded in Belgium in 1886 to stimulate the culture and literature of Flanders. It is the official advisory board to the Flanders government, and publishes the ''Materiaal Willems'' database, based on the dialect surveys done by Pieter Willems, containing material from dialects in Flanders, the Netherlands, and [[French Flanders]].<ref>Willemyns 178-79.</ref>

===External connections===
The organisation is also responsible for the external linguistic policy of the Netherlands and Flanders and is active in [[Indonesia]] and [[South Africa]], two countries with historic links with the Dutch language. Nevertheless, cooperation with South Africa is not limited to the [[Afrikaans]] language but aimed also at fostering multilingualism.{{citation needed|date=June 2012}}

The purposes of the organisation are limited to Dutch language and Dutch-language literature, and are hence not as wide as those of the [[Community of Portuguese Language Countries]], [[Organisation internationale de la Francophonie|La Francophonie]] or the [[Commonwealth of Nations]].

The Treaty on the Dutch Language Union foresees the possibility that the Kingdom of the Netherlands extends application to NTU members’ parts outside Europe. The organs of the NTU are its Committee of Ministers (composed of the ministers of education and culture of the Dutch and Flemish Governments), its Secretariat-General, an Interparliamentary Committee (composed of members of the [[States General of the Netherlands]] and the [[Flemish Parliament]]) and a Dutch Language and Literature Council (composed of twelve independent experts). There are specific arrangements for the participation of Suriname in the organisation's inner workings.

===Member states===
The basis of the Taalunie is a treaty between the [[Kingdom of the Netherlands]] and the [[Belgium|Kingdom of Belgium]], the two sovereign states that constitute the Union. For the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the treaty is only applicable to its [[Netherlands|European territory]].
The treaty allows for two types of extensions:
* membership of other sovereign states through an "association membership"<ref name=verdrag>{{cite web|url=http://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBV0002947/geldigheidsdatum_16-04-2011|title=Verdrag tussen het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden en het Koninkrijk Belgie inzake de Nederlandse Taalunie, Brussel|date=9 September 1980|language=nl|work=Netherlands government portal}}</ref>
* extension to other territories of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (presently: [[Aruba]], [[Curaçao]], [[Sint Maarten]], and the [[Caribbean Netherlands]]).<ref name=verdrag/>

In 2004, Suriname signed an "associative treaty" with the Taalunie.<ref name="Suriname"/> From 27 November 2013 the treaty also applies to the [[Caribbean Netherlands]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://zoek.officielebekendmakingen.nl/trb-2013-253.html|language=nl|title=Tractatenblad 2013, 253|date=19 December 2013 |publisher=Kingdom of the Netherlands|access-date=21 December 2014}}</ref>
The three autonomous Caribbean countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, [[Aruba]], [[Curaçao]], and [[Sint Maarten]], are designated as candidate member states.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://taalunieversum.org/taalunie/wie_zijn_wij/|language=nl|title=Wie we zijn: Drie landen, één taal|publisher=Nederlandse Taalunie|access-date=30 October 2013}}</ref> Additionally, [[Indonesia]] and [[South Africa]] are considered "special partners" of the Dutch Language Union.

== Prizes ==
The Dutch Language Union has administered the [[Prijs der Nederlandse Letteren]] (''Dutch Literature Prize'') since 1986. The prize is awarded every three years to an author from the Netherlands, Belgium or Suriname. It is considered one of the most prestigious prizes in Dutch language literature. 

Another literary award administered by the Dutch Language Union is the [[Toneelschrijfprijs]] for [[playwright]]s.

== See also ==
* [[Dutch orthography]]
* [[List of language regulators]]
* [[OpenTaal]]
* [[Verwantschapslanden]]
* [[Genootschap Onze Taal]]
* [[Digital Library for Dutch Literature]]

== References ==
===Notes===
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

===Bibliography===
* {{Citation |title=Dutch: Biography of a language|first=Roland |last=Willemyns|publisher=Oxford UP |year=2013|isbn=9780199858712}}

== External links ==
*{{official website}}
**[http://www.inl.nl/ Institute for Dutch Lexicology]
**[http://www.meertens.knaw.nl/ P. J. Meertens Institute]
**[http://www.kantl.be/ Royal Academy of Dutch Language and Literature]
*[http://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBV0002947/geldigheidsdatum_16-04-2011 Treaty text]

{{Countries and languages lists}}
{{Dutch colonies}}
{{Dutch Language Union}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Dutch language]]
[[Category:Language regulators]]
[[Category:Belgium–Netherlands relations]]
[[Category:Organizations established in 1980]]
[[Category:Intergovernmental organizations established by treaty]]
[[Category:1980 establishments in Belgium]]
[[Category:Organisations based in The Hague]]
[[Category:Intergovernmental cultural organizations]]
[[Category:Cultural promotion organizations]]