Goesharde Frisian

Goesharde Frisian
Gooshiirder
Native to	Germany
Region	Goesharde, Nordfriesland
Language family	Indo-European Germanic West Germanic Ingvaeonic Anglo-Frisian Frisian North Frisian Mainland Goesharde Frisian
Dialects	Northern Central Southern †
Language codes
ISO 639-3	–
Glottolog	nord1237
Linguasphere	52-ACA-eai to 52-ACA-eak
North Frisian dialects

Goesharde Frisian (North Frisian: Gooshiirder, German: Goesharder Friesisch) is a collective term for three of the ten dialects of the North Frisian language. Goesharde Frisian is spoken in the historical Goesharde region north of Husum. The three distinct dialects are Northern, Central and Southern Goesharde Frisian. The latter became extinct with the death of the two last speakers in 1980 and 1981 in Hattstedt. Central Goesharde Frisian is therefore now the southernmost dialect of mainland North Frisian. Two local varieties of Northern Goesharde have been extensively catalogued, those spoken around the villages of Langenhorn (Hoorninger Fräisch) and Ockholm (Hoolmer Freesch).

Grammar

Verbs

Below are some common verbs in the Ockholm variant of Goesharde Frisian.

	Be	Have
infinitive	wee'e	heewe
past participle	wään	heeft
person	present
1sg	bän	hääw
2sg	bäst	hääst
3sg	äs	heet
plural	sän	hääwe
person	past
1 & 3sg	wås	häi
2sg	weerst	häist
pl	weern	häin

Current situation

The two remaining dialects of Goesharde Frisian are also threatened by acute extinction. Already in the early 20th century only Ockholm in the Northern Goesharde region had been identified as a "truly Frisian" village with a majority of Frisian-speaking households and children. Also the Central Goesharde Frisian is severely threatened. In 2006 the last local speaker died in Bohmstedt and only few speakers are remaining in Drelsdorf.