Flemish speech and language development is shaped by a complex blend of regional dialects, cultural identity, and close ties to the broader Dutch language. Flemish, which is also called “Flemish Dutch,” “Belgian Dutch,” or “Southern Dutch,” is spoken in Flanders, the northern region of Belgium. It is a West Germanic language and is closely related to Standard Dutch. Flemish is spoken by approximately 5.5 million people in Belgium and by several thousand in parts of northern France.
Although linguistically considered a form of Dutch, Flemish includes several unique features in pronunciation, vocabulary, and usage that distinguish it in both formal and informal contexts. There are four main dialect groups within Flemish: Brabantian, East Flemish, West Flemish, and Limburgish. Some of these, particularly West Flemish and Limburgish, are so distinct that they are occasionally classified as separate regional languages. These dialectal differences impact how children acquire language and can lead to considerable variation in phonological and grammatical development across regions.
In this post, we’ll explore the unique aspects of Flemish speech and language development and what they mean for SLPs working with Flemish-speaking clients. By understanding the dialectal diversity, cultural influences, and multilingual context in which Flemish develops, SLPs and other educators can better assess and support children and adults who speak this language.
Interesting Facts About Flemish Speech and Language Development
- The Belgian Revolution in 1830 initially favored French as the dominant language, causing Flemish to be marginalized in education and government for decades.
- Although often referred to as a separate language, Flemish is linguistically considered a regional variant of Dutch with unique pronunciation, vocabulary, and expressions.
- Flemish speech patterns often show influence from medieval Low Franconian dialects, especially in rural areas where older forms of the language have been preserved.
- The West Flemish dialect is so phonetically different that it can be difficult for Standard Dutch speakers to understand, highlighting the depth of regional variation.
Flemish Speech and Language Development
Flemish Consonants in Comparison to English
| Flemish Consonants Not Shared with English | Voiceless velar fricative /x/ and voiced /ɣ/; labiodental approximant /ʋ/; uvular or alveolar trilled/tapped /r/ (varies regionally); palatal allophones [ɲ] before /j/ |
| Consonants Shared With English | /p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /k/, /g/, /f/, /s/, /z/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /h/, /m/, /n/, /ŋ/, /j/, /l/ |
| English Consonants Not Shared with Flemish | /tʃ/, /dʒ/, /ð/, /θ/, /ɹ/, /w/ |
Flemish Vowels in Comparison to English
| Flemish Vowels Not Shared with English | Front rounded vowels /y/, /ø/, /œ/; central vowels like /ɪ/, /œy/; schwa /ə/ as stressed and unstressed; short /a/, /ɔ/ (though some English dialects use the /ɔ/). |
| Vowels Shared With English | /a/, /i/, /u/, /e/, /o/ schwa /ə/ as stressed and unstressed; short |
| English Vowels Not Shared with Flemish | /ɚ/, /ʌ/, /ʊ/, /ɛ/, /I/, /æ/ |
Notes on Flemish Phonology
- Consonants: Flemish includes velar fricatives (/x/, /ɣ/), an approximant /ʋ/ not present in English, and regional variants of /r/ (uvular or tapped). The palatal nasal [ɲ] emerges allophonically next to /j/.
- Vowels: Flemish features contrastive front-rounded vowels and central vowel qualities not found in English. It shares five core vowel qualities but lacks English’s r-colored and lax vowels.
The Use of Phonotactic Constraints in Flemish Speakers
Flemish phonotactics follow general Dutch rules, allowing relatively complex consonant clusters in codas, schwa deletion, and regional variations (e.g., velar fricatives, uvular /r/). These patterns influence how Flemish speakers structure English speech, such as simplifying unfamiliar clusters or altering voice quality.
Key Phonotactic Constraints in Flemish
- Complex Codas Allowed (up to 5 consonants)
Word-finally, Flemish permits up to five consonants in coda positions (e.g., “tekst”) and two consonants in medial codas (taalportaal.org). - Restricted Onsets
Initial /CC/ and /CCC/ clusters are allowed but follow strict sonority sequencing and are typically only in native or loan words (e.g., “straat”) . - Schwa Deletion or Reduction
Schwa (/ə/) often assimilates, becomes syllabic, or is dropped in casual speech, especially in unstressed positions—impacting cluster creation (e.g., rammen → /ramən/ → /ramn/) (lotpublications.nl). Some consider the schwa sounds of English and Flemish as different sounds for this reason. - Final Devoicing
Voiced obstruents in word-final position are devoiced (e.g., bed [bɛt]) (lotpublications.nl). - Ambisyllabic Final Consonants
After short lax vowels, a single consonant may belong to both the coda of one syllable and onset of the next (ambisyllabicity), though it is realized as a single segment (lotpublications.nl).
💡 Implications for SLPs and Teachers
- Initial clusters like street may be simplified or receive epenthetic vowels: /stɹit/ → /stə.rit/ or /strit/.
- Final cluster simplification may occur: text → /tekst/ (native-like) or /tes/ (simplified).
- Schwa omission or insertion may alter stress and syllable structure (e.g., banana → bnana or banana), affecting fluency.
- Devoicing may cause voiced consonants like /d/ to sound voiceless in English final positions.
- Ambisyllabic perceptions may lead to incorrect syllable boundaries in English, influencing timing and rhythm.
Flemish Speech Developmental Norms
| Age of Acquisition | Sounds / Phonological Features |
|---|---|
| By ~3 years (3;0–3;11) | Children have typically acquired all vowel sounds, including front-rounded and central vowels, and most consonants (stops, nasals, fricatives), except for voiced fricatives /v/ and /z/ and the liquid /r/ (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov). |
| By ~4 years (4;0–4;11) | All syllable-initial consonants are mastered; most syllable-final consonants are accurate; consonant clusters and phonological simplification processes (e.g., cluster reduction, gliding) resolve . |
| By ~6 years (6;0–6;11) | Complex consonant clusters and less frequent consonants are fully acquired, and phonological development is largely complete . |
Language Specific Differences Between English and Flemish
Flemish and English share the Subject–Verb–Object (SVO) word order in most sentences. However, Flemish—like Standard Dutch—uses verb-second (V2) word order, where the finite verb must appear immediately after the first element in a main clause (e.g. Morgen ga ik…). Flemish places descriptive words before nouns, uses postposed definite articles, and marks plurals with –en or –s. Pronouns have unique forms (gij, ge, u), and there’s no grammatical gender in noun-adjective agreement. These structural features can influence how Flemish speakers learn English grammar and syntax.
| Language Features | Flemish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Sentence Word Order | SVO by default; V2 applies in main clauses (Gisteren ging ik… means “Yesterday I went…”) (en.wikipedia.org) | SVO |
| Adjectives/Noun Modifiers | Adjectives precede nouns and are uninflected (een mooi huis) | Adjectives precede nouns |
| Possessives | Genitive ’s on nouns (Peter’s boek) or possessive pronouns (zijn boek) | Possessor + ’s |
| Possessive Pronouns | mijn, jouw, zijn, haar, ons/onze, jullie, hun | my, your, his, etc. |
| Verb inflection | Limited to tense/person (e.g., ik ga, hij gaat); no agreement for person beyond singular/plural | Verbs change for tense |
| Pronouns | Distinct forms: ik, jij, gij, ge, u, hij, zij, het, wij, jullie, zij | Independent pronouns required |
| Pronoun Gender | Natural gender only (hij/hun/hun); neuter pronoun het for neuter nouns | he, she, it |
| Subjects of Sentences | Cannot be dropped in Flemish standard | Normally expressed |
| Regular Past Tense | -te/-de suffixes (hij fietste) | verb + -ed |
| Irregular Past Tense | Irregulars like ging, zag, had | irregular forms (went, saw) |
| Negatives | niet placed after verb/subject (Ik zie hem niet) | Uses “not” or auxiliary verbs |
| Double Negatives | Common in dialects (e.g. niemand niet) | Present in dialects |
| Question formation | V2 applies (Ga je morgen?); question word + verb first (Wat zie je?) | Auxiliary inversion (“Do you…?”) |
| Definite Articles | Enclitic de/het before noun: de man, het huis | “the” |
| Indefinite Articles | een (no gender distinction) | “a,” “an” |
| Prepositions | Precede nouns (in het huis) | in, on, at |
| Present Progressive | No continuous form; simple present used (Ik ga morgen) | verb + -ing |
| Modal Verbs | Use auxiliaries: kan, moet, wil | can, will, must |
| Copula/”To Be” Verbs | zijn used across persons (is, zijn) | is, are, am |
| Auxiliary Verbs | hebben, zijn used for perfect; no dummy do | do, have, be |
| Passive Voice | worden/zijn + past participle (Wordt gedaan, is gedaan) | “be” + past participle |
| Direct Object Pronouns | Clitic pronouns: hem, haar, het, ze, ons | me, him, her |
| Conjunctions | en (and), maar (but), of (or) | and, but, or |
| Plurals | -en, -s, vowel changes, plural diminutives | noun + -s |
Additional Germanic Languages
This is just one of seven Germanic languages we feature in the World Language Library. Click below to explore related languages that share roots with English, including Dutch, Norwegian, Afrikaans, and others.
Sources:
BBC. (2014, October 10). Flemish, Vlaams. Retrieved
Berendsen, B. (2016a). Plurals nouns.
Berendsen, B. (2016b). Possessive pronouns. Retrieved from
Bernthal, John E., et al. “Phonetic and Phonemic Acquisition: Normative Data in English and Dutch Speech Sound Development.” International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, vol. 46, no. 6, Nov.–Dec. 2011, pp. 620–630.
Clozemaster. “The Complete Guide to Dutch Personal Pronouns.” Clozemaster Blog, 2022.
Clozemaster. “Flemish vs. Dutch: Key Differences.” Clozemaster Blog, 2024.
clozemaster.com
“Dutch grammar.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, accessed June 2025, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_grammar.
“Dutch language.” Citizendium, accessed June 2025. en.wikipedia.org
“Dutch phonology.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, accessed June 2025.
Flemish. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved October 1, 2016
Flemish people. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved October 1, 2016
Ladefoged, P., & Johnson, K. (2014). A course in phonetics. Nelson Education.
McLeod, S. (Ed.). (2007). The international guide to speech acquisition. Clifton Park, NY: Thomson Delmar Learning.
My languages. (2015a). Flemish Adjectives. Retrieved from
My languages. (2015b). Flemish Prepositions.
My languages. (2015c). Flemish Questions.
“Phonotactics.” Taalportaal, Dutch Language Portal, accessed June 2025. (taalportaal.org)
Swan, M., & Smith, B. (2001). Learner English. A teacher’s guide to interference and other problems.
Tone (linguistics). (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved October 2, 2016
“The Dutch vowel inventory.” Taalportaal, accessed June 2025. paul-marciano.fandom.com
Van Oostendorp, Marc. “Ambisyllabicity and Final Devoicing in Dutch.” LOT Publications, 2013. (lotpublications.nl)
Walter, B., & Salverda, R. (n.d.). Syntax: Word order.
Zonneveld, Maartje, et al. “Speech Sound Development of Typically Developing 2–7‑Year‑Old Dutch‑Speaking Children: A Normative Cross‑Sectional Study.” International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, vol. 55, no. 4, July 2020, pp. 629–642.
Contributors:
A special thanks to Amanda Aguirre with Concordia University- Wisconsin for data compilation and research that went into this article!
