The Dutch Language Institute (INT) hosts and maintains three major grammar sites: the General Dutch Grammar (Algemene Nederlandse Spraakkunst or ANS), Taalportaal and Taaladvies.net. Each one focuses on a different target audience.
e-ANS, Taalportaal and Taaladvies.net
The Algemene Nederlandse Spraakkunst, or ANS, has been the go-to reference grammar for Dutch since 1984. Written in Dutch, it is the most extensive current description of all grammatical aspects of contemporary Dutch. Its target audience includes both native speakers and international speakers learning Dutch. The online e-ANS is currently being revised, so that it reflects not only recent insights from research into Dutch grammar, but also the vision of Dutch as a pluricentric language. Large text corpora are used during this revision process, not only to retrieve examples of actual language use, but also to obtain descriptions of the different varieties of standard Dutch. To facilitate the use of the ANS in education, each revised chapter is provided with an educational module, which includes a basic summary, lesson plans and a list of terms.
Taalportaal (Language Portal) describes the phonology, morphology and syntax of four closely related languages: Dutch, Frisian, Saterfrisian and Afrikaans, thus offering interesting opportunities for linguists to discover relations and connections between the languages. Taalportaal is a collaboration between the INT, Meertens Instituut, Leiden University, the Fryske Akademy, and the Virtuele Instituut Vir Afrikaans (VivA). It is written in English, for an academic audience.
Taaladvies.net offers short answers to questions about the Dutch language for a broad audience. Topics include grammar, as well as spelling and style. Taaladvies.net is a collaboration between the INT, the Taalunie, Onze Taal and Taalteam Vlaanderen.
Role of the INT
The INT is responsible for hosting and maintaining these grammar sites. We actively work on keeping the sites up-to-date, both front end and back end, and on improving their accessibility and integration with other sites, such as the database of historical grammars DAGENTA. The current revision of the ANS is coordinated and carried out at the institute, in close collaboration with external grammar experts.
Further information and links:
- Visit the e-ANS
- Visit Taalportaal
- Visit Taaladvies.net
Contact persons:
Frank Landsbergen (general) and Maaike Beliën (e-ANS)