Dutch Dialects

At www.nu.nl Nico Dijkshoorn wrote in his column about a wonderful website http:/www.meertens.knaw.nl/soundbites/ where you can listen to sound bites of Dutch dialects.

So I immediately went to listen to the local dialect of Nijmegen, where I was born.

I heard a woman speak in broad language about the purchase of a couch with chromium-plated legs.

I hadn't heard it since my youth. It sounded almost vulgar.

But now I'm addicted. I listen to dialects from Maastricht to Volendam. Sound bites from the past.

Research has shown that dialects are disappearing. That would be a shame because it's a part of local culture.