An independent university bachelor's degree program in Frisian language and culture must be established again, with the necessary staff, including a full-time professor. And the government has to pay for that. Because Frisian is the second official 'national language' in the Netherlands and, as a minority language, it is also protected by European treaties.
The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences states this in an advisory report. She is concerned about the “weakening” of scientific education and research into Frisian in the Netherlands and points out to the government its responsibility to do something about this.
In the 1970s there were still complete Frisian courses at the universities of Groningen, Amsterdam (both at the UvA and at the VU), Utrecht and Leiden. No university now offers an independent bachelor's degree program in Frisian. The last full-time professor of Frisian language and literature at the University of Groningen retired in September 2022. This was initially followed by a university lecturer. That led to a commotion – in and outside Friesland – and parliamentary questions. Another professor has now been appointed, but on a part-time and interim basis.
Language politics
A KNAW committee, led by historian of philosophy and science Keimpe Algra (Utrecht University), considered the question of how to proceed with 'Frisistics'. She believes that the government should bear the responsibility for financing a new bachelor's degree in a “sustainable” manner. In principle, the committee leaves it open as to which university this should be, although there are pragmatic reasons for choosing Groningen.
“There is tension between broad support for the protected position of Frisian on the one hand and the weakened position of this language in higher education on the other,” says Algra. “The province of Friesland pursues an active cultural and language policy, which is supported by the central government. Friesland is now increasingly teaching the language, there is also teacher training, but there are fewer and fewer scientific experts who can transfer knowledge about the Frisian language and culture or conduct research into it. This has consequences for the entire cultural structure of Frisian, including for institutions such as Tresoar and the Fries Museum and for Omrop Fryslân. There are still plenty of jobs for freshers, but the influx is drying up.”
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Financing
In Amsterdam, Frisian is part of the special chair of Germanic languages, in Utrecht it is an area of interest in sociolinguistics. At the University of Groningen, the language is included in the broader bachelor's program Minorities & Multilingualism. Algra: “The package of Frisian subjects that you can take in Groningen covers approximately one year of the bachelor's degree.”
According to the universities, student numbers were too low to maintain full-fledged Frisian studies. “It is understandable that universities no longer find Frisian profitable,” says Algra. “The number of enrolled and graduated students partly determines the financing. We believe that the government should make special arrangements for Frisian. A university should receive separate funding for the new bachelor's degree.” The KNAW has calculated that this will cost around 6.5 to 7 tonnes.
To ensure that a new Frisian bachelor's degree program does not become a 'reserve', the KNAW believes it should be possible for students from other programs to take courses within this bachelor's degree. It should also become easier to study Frisian as a second course of study, possibly part-time.
The KNAW also wants a Council for Frisian Studies to be established, which will monitor cooperation between the various institutions where education is still provided in Frisian and research into this language is conducted. That cooperation “could be better”.
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