Reviews
De Nederlandse Taalunie (Dutch Language Union)
Dutch, Organizations
March 10, 2013
Skill Level Intermediate, Advanced
The Nederlandse Taalunie, or Dutch Language Union, is a kind of language regulator.
It dates back to 1980, when the Netherlands and Flanders signed a treaty agreeing that the two governments would “set joint policy with respect to the Dutch language.” Suriname joined as an associate member in 2004.
“Nowhere else in the world,” according to the Nederlandse Taalunie website, “does such a treaty exist between countries with the same language.”
Among its linguistic activities, it offers language advice via the website Taalunieversum, for which a group of language experts meet regularly to address frequently asked questions about Dutch.
The group is also responsible for maintaining and updating the official Woordenlijst Nederlandse Taal (Word List of the Dutch Language).
Then there is the official grammar handbook of the Dutch language, called the Algemene Nederlandse Spraakkunst, whose production this group supports.
The website displayed here is in Dutch, but in typical multilingual Dutch fashion, they also have a version in English.
Address:
Lange Voorhout 19
2514 EB The Hague
The Netherlands
URL:
E-Mail:
Phone:
+ 31 70 346 95 48