As of this time, the Netherlands has about 16 million inhabitants. The country’s official language is Dutch. Another official language is Frisian. This is a language that is widely used in the north. This is specific to the province of Fryslân. The Netherlands has two kinds of Dutch. When one refers to the people of the country, we call them Dutch. The other time is when we refer to its official language – Dutch. The Dutch language has another name. Sometimes, we call it Netherlandic. Other times, we call the language Dutch Netherlands. Dutch can be in its standard form. It can also be in its dialectal form. This is the most common language in the Netherlands. Aside from the Netherlands, the language is also common in the northern parts of Belgium. There is also a smaller part of France that speaks the language. Dutch is also common in other countries. This is not just in the Netherlands. In fact, the language of administration in Suriname is also Dutch. The same is actually used in other countries like Curacao and Bonaire. These, together with St. Maarten and Aruba, make up the Netherlands Antilles. The Dutch language was something called Dietsc or Duutsc hundreds of years ago. In simple terms, it was roughly translated into the “language of the people. “ Notice that this is of the people, compared to Latin’s language of religion and/or learning. Its English equivalent then evolved into the term it is referred to as now Dutch. But officially, the language is Netherlandic. When you are in the Netherlands, one also refers to the language as Hollands. Sometimes, people call it Hollandish. This is because of the language that it now has strong foundations in a dialect of the province of Holland. As we all know, the old province of Holland is now North and South Holland. The Dutch language has many varieties. First, there is the Standard Dutch. This is something that they use for official purposes. This is common in instructional materials that they use in schools. They also use the language in other educational institutions in the country. Aside from Standard Dutch, there are also a wide array of local dialects. These are those that the locals use on other less formal occasions. Examples would be when communicating with family and friends. You would know Standard Dutch when you hear one. Grammatically, these are those without the case endings in the noun. However, in the neighboring country Belgium, they exerted efforts in favor of the Dutch. It was in this country that they tried to give the language as much importance as the French. As we know, the French language gained traction in Belgium around the end of the 18th century. But there seems to be no equal space for the Dutch language in this country. It was only in the late 1930s when the Dutch language became an official language. But this is just in the northern part of Belgium. In the Netherlands, it is more common to hear locals speak Dutch than in Belgium. This is natural. Because in Belgium, the French language is more widely used. The Netherlands has standard Dutch widely spoken. This, together with the Dutch dialects, are the most popular. The capital city, Amsterdam, uses more standard Dutch than any other part of the country. The same is true for areas like the Hague and Rotterdam. When one listens to its population talk, one easily hears a strong hint of standard Dutch. Aside from the Dutch language, there are also a few other languages that the Dutch people speak. Some of these languages may be influenced by their neighboring countries. Others can be because of the need to be globally competitive. No matter the reason, the Netherlands is more than just the Dutch language. There are a few more that they use to communicate.