Heerlen 'flat'

The dialect belongs to the "Ripuarian transitional dialect" characterized by verbs "han" (=have) and "zage" (say), for example.

Heerlen Dutch

In addition to this dialect, many people also speak "Heerlen Dutch." Although this is a Dutch language, it is very much influenced by the dialect. *Like the Dutch city dialects, such as Amsterdams and Haags, Heerlens Dutch exists in different gradations. In daily communication, at home or in the café, the language deviates most from the Common Dutch.

Typical Heëlesj

Heerlen's vocabulary has a large number of words of its own for everyday items, such as bats ("buttock"), foemel ("rag") , heem ("home"), kitsj ("bell house"), pietsje ("pinch"), pratsj ("mud"), richtig ("real, right"), sjpas ("fun"), veëdig ("ready"), sjoepkar ("wheelbarrow") and zeem ("apple syrup").

Lovers of the dialect

Originally from Heerlen, poet John Bovendeert writes in Heëlesj Plat, among other languages, and has published several books of poetry. That research is even being done on the Heerlen dialect is evidenced by the chair "Language Culture in Limburg" held by Leonie Cornips at the University of Maastricht. Among other things, she did research on spoken Dutch in Heerlen and published about it. An example of Heerlen's dialect can be viewed via YouTube: sung ode to the "Heëlesj plat" by Ger Prickaerts. This Heerlen native has been working for years to promote Limburgish in publications and song lyrics. There are also associations for lovers of the dialect, such as the Veldeke Kring in Heerlen.

For more information, visit the website of Veldeke Kring Heerlen.