Dutch is a West Germanic language spoken by around 22 million people, mainly in the Netherlands, Belgium and Surinam. The language was first attested around 470 AD.
Dutch is an official language of the Netherlands, Belgium, Suriname, Aruba, and the Netherlands Antilles. The Dutch, Flemish and Surinamese governments coordinate their language activities in the Nederlandse Taalunie (Dutch Language Union). Dutch was an official language in South Africa up until 1961, having fallen into disuse since Afrikaans (itself a descendant of Dutch) became an official language in 1925.
The Dutch immigrants of the 20th century often quickly began to speak the language of their new country. For example of the inhabitants of New Zealand, 0.7% say their home language is Dutch despite the percentage of Dutch heritage, is considerably higher.
Algemeen Beschaafd Nederlands (‘Common Dutch’, abbreviated to ABN) is the standard language as taught in schools and used by authorities in the Netherlands, Flanders, Suriname, Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles. The Dutch Language Union defines what ABN is and what is not, for example in terms of orthography.
Dutch names
In Dutch society a given name is given to a child by the parents shortly after, or before, birth. It is common to give a child several given names, particularly among Catholics, but only one of them is meant to be for daily use. This is often underlined on official documents, as it is often the second or third christian or a different name not even related to the Christian names. Dutch surnames are easily recognizable, mainly because of tussenvoegsels such as van, van der or de. In the United States, partly due to the fame of rich industrials such as Cornelius Vanderbilt, Dutch surnames are often associated with the upperclass of society even though when translated the surnames are often very simplistic. For example, Vanderbilt means "(coming) from De Bilt", De Bilt being a small village in the province of Utrecht. Unlike what is sometimes thought, Dutch van does not denote any aristocratic status
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