As an undergraduate, I wrote a paper for a linguistics class on my Dutch dialect, Limburgs. Well, it was considered a dialect when I was young. Since 1997, Limburgs has been recognized as a regional language. Actually, I'm not sure if Limburgs is officially recognized as a language by the Dutch authority, but it seems the European Union does recognize Limburgs as an official language. I'll have to get this sorted out when I return to Limburg for a visit in May.
As a child, I didn't give much consideration to speaking both Limburgs and Standard Dutch. I've come to appreciate my "linguistic" heritage more over the years and find that my identity is closely linked to this "dialect" and region of the Netherlands.
This link shares some interesting information and isogloss maps.
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/540/langdial/limburg.html
Maastricht aka Mestreech
Maastricht a.k.a Mestreech, "the oldest city in the Netherlands".
Wow! Forgive my ignorance, but never knew limburgs was dutch dialect. How great that you speak both this and standard dutch, and that you now know more in retrospect about your linguistic heritage! Thanks for sharing.
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