Tweants

Tweants or Twents is a dialect of the Low Saxon language. It is spoken in the region of Twente, in the east of the Netherlands. About 320.000 people speak it daily, but the number of people who can but don't is higher. As a dialect of Low Saxon, it shares many characteristics with neighbouring dialects, such as Sallands and Achterhooks, but also across the border into Germany.

Map of languages and dialects in the Netherlands and Belgium. Tweants is spoken in areas 15 and 16.

Tweants can be roughly divided into two main dialects: East and West Tweants (sometimes called Twents-Groafskops). For instance, the English phrase I have done translates to Ik heb doan in East Twents, and Ik hebbe edoan(e) in West Tweants. Another difference between East and West is that the eastern dialects say nich for English not, while western dialects use neet.

There is no common form of Twents. Every town or village has some features that are slightly different from the rest. They all share roughly the same grammar, words and phrases, with a few local special words.

Twents has long been looked down on. Parents were discouraged to pass it onto their children. Today, there is a renewed interest in the language and local culture, though many can't speak it anymore.

Some well-known speakers of Tweants are football manager Erik ten Hag and Dutch comedian Herman Finkers.