The Dutch Language Institute (INT) is a research institute with the mission to ensure a high-quality digital infrastructure for the Dutch language. The INT not only documents the Dutch language in all its aspects and variety, but also takes a central position in the Dutch-speaking world (the Netherlands, Flanders, Suriname and the Dutch Caribbean) as a developer, repository and distributor of digital language resources such as corpora, lexical and grammatical databases, and language software and tools. The INT’s specific tasks include:
- supporting linguistic research by creating, maintaining and dynamically developing digital resources for research on Dutch
- working on the Dictionary of Contemporary Dutch (Algemeen Nederlands Woordenboek or ANW) and maintaining all other products previously created by the institute
- maintaining and developing representative historical and contemporary corpora of Dutch
- compiling lexical databases of Dutch, including the official Word List of the Dutch Language (Woordenlijst Nederlandse Taal) and several historical and contemporary lexicographic databases
- providing sources, data and tools (language materials) for linguistic research and for language and speech technology within the Dutch-speaking world
- supporting the field of terminology with our Centre of Expertise for Dutch Terminology (Expertisecentrum Nederlandstalige Terminologie or ENT), for example by collecting and publishing (online) term lists
- expanding and updating the electronic version of the General Dutch Grammar (Algemene Nederlandse Spraakkunst or e-ANS), the go-to reference grammar for the Dutch Language
- giving training and advice on CLARIN (Common Language Resources and Technology Infrastructure)
- developing a dialect portal for Flemish, Brabantian and Limburgish
- supporting Dutch language education, for example by providing information to students, writing lesson plans and developing tools for language learners, such as Vertaalwoordenschat and Woordcombinaties
- setting up our own research projects and participating in Dutch, Flemish and European research projects
- forming a network that connects academic institutes and other institutions in the Netherlands and Flanders that are active in the field of Dutch
- performing application-oriented research and providing language advice and information to a wide audience
A little history
The INT traces its origin back to 1851 when the Leiden University professor Matthias de Vries, at the behest of the 3rd Dutch Literature and Linguistics Conference in Brussels, started working on the Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal (WNT), the large historical dictionary of Dutch. Like its German and English counterparts, the Deutsches Wörterbuch (started in 1838) and the Oxford English Dictionary (started in 1857), the WNT was based on scientific-philological principles and would take multiple decades and several generations of lexicographers to complete. In fact, the direct predecessor of the INT, the Institute for Dutch Lexicology (Instituut voor Nederlandse Lexicologie or INL), was founded in 1967 as a more structural and institutional setting, not only to finalize the WNT (which finally succeeded in 1998), but also to start documenting the Dutch language and its vocabulary using novel “mechanical” methods and based on “machine-readable” text collections. This innovative computational approach to language documentation has been a hallmark of the institute ever since.
In 2016, the institute obtained its current name and form, and was re-organized into a knowledge and research centre with a broader scope that now also includes the documentation of Dutch grammar, terminology and dialects, the development of language applications for users with special needs, the support of R&D on Dutch through a digital language infrastructure, support for Flemish and Dutch Sign Language, and the representation of Dutch in language infrastructure projects and initiatives at the European level.
Organization and funding
Since its early beginning, the institute has always been a collaboration between Flanders (Belgium) and the Netherlands. Currently, the INT is mainly funded through the Union for the Dutch Language (Taalunie), the bi-national Flemish-Dutch treaty organization that sets the language policy for Dutch. The institute is a foundation under Dutch law with its own legal personality and own liability.
The institute has always been located in Leiden (the Netherlands), hosted by, but separate from, the University of Leiden, but also has structural co-operation with the University of Leuven (KU Leuven, Flanders-Belgium) and the University of Ghent.
Apart from the general services division, the institute employs linguists, computer linguists and information technologists. Since 2016, Prof Dr Frieda Steurs has been the institute’s managing director, as well as its one-person Board. Supervision of the Board is guaranteed by a Supervisory Board and an Advisory Board.
Supervisory Board: Mr Mieke Zaanen (chair), Mr Frank Judo, Drs Erik Boels
Advisory Board: Prof Dr Hans Bennis (chairman), Prof Dr Willy Vandeweghe (vice-chairman), Prof Dr Dirk Geeraerts, Prof Dr Veronique Hoste, Prof Dr Reinhild Vandekerckhove, Prof Dr Jack Hoeksema, Prof Dr Paula Fikkert, Drs Jan Jaap Knol, Lic Wim Vanseveren, Prof Dr Gert Oostindie
Read more about our staff members here.
INT and anbi (Public Benefit Organisation)
The Dutch Language Institute is a public benefit organization (algemeen nut beogende instelling or anbi). When an organization is designated by the Dutch Tax Administration as an anbi, this means that benefactors can deduct their gifts from their Dutch income tax or corporate income tax. The most important tax advantages that are available to an anbi are:
- An anbi does not pay Dutch inheritance tax or gift tax on inheritances or gifts that the organisation uses for public benefit.
- Natural and legal persons who donate to an anbi can deduct their gifts from their Dutch income tax or corporate income tax.
For more information about topics such as anbi, periodic gifts, tax-free gifts, tax benefits, tax rebates and deductible donations, please visit the website of the Dutch Tax Administration.
Plans and reports
The Dutch Language Institute makes annual and multi-annual policy plans, which are discussed with the Advisory Board and the Supervisory Board and then presented to the Dutch Language Union. We also record our activities and results in annual reports. The reports and plans are available in Dutch here.