TiU-event: Tilburg Taol

Tilburg University is celebrating its 85th-anniversary and has organised an event about the Tilburg language. In Univers Magazine we published several articles on the matter in Dutch. Now also, the English translations.

Tilburg Taol, how a raw dialect developed
Drawl and twang; it may be part and parcel of being a Tilburg native, it is rarely heard in university lecture halls. Yet, the event to celebrate Tilburg University’s anniversary on 26 September is all about the Tilburg Taol. Jos Swanenberg, Diversity in Language and Culture professor, delves deeper in the history of this remarkable dialect.

“Tilburg a bit rough and ready.” Jos Swanenberg (45), doesn’t mince his words. The dialect expert and, since 2009, Professor of Diversity in Language and Culture at Tilburg University, has a soft spot for the city where he first stepped into student life in the beginning of the eighties. “Tilburg is very different from Den Bosch and Bergen op Zoom. Those are historical provincial towns, while Tilburg is truly a student city, alternative and creative.”

Although his first stay here was short, the Gemert-born dialect professor remembers it fondly. The city itself, but also its inhabitants, and even is curiously nasal dialect. The fact that the Tilburg dialect is reckoned to be one of the most unpleasant dialects of our country doesn’t faze him. On the contrary, that twang, the protracted pronunciation of the end of each word; he thinks it’s charming.

Could his job have anything to do with it? Possibly, since after his spell in Brabant, Swanenberg, who loves the Dutch language, went on to it study in Utrecht. “During my studies, I was very taken with the analytical part of the Dutch Language and Literature course I took. I wanted to understand how language works.” He then did his PhD in Nijmegen, studying the names of birds in various dialects from the south of the Netherlands.

The next ten years, he spent on putting together a 33-part dictionary of Brabant dialect. “That made me a bit of an expert”, Swanenberg admits, grinning. “But it took time to discover I was passionate about this subject. How did that happen? By being inspired by people who love the language and being open to it. Only then did I realize what a dialect means to people.”

He only has to turn to his childhood to do so. “My dad was a teacher”, the dialect expert says, who grew up in the small village of Middelrode near Den Bosch. “He spoke Dutch with his children, but dialect with his parents. I heard it all around me. Dialect was much more common on the streets back in the seventies. I spoke it as well, I still can effortlessly.”

The language of his childhood is wholly different from the Den Bosch dialect. “Because the cultures are separate, country dialects are always different from the ones in the city.” However, Tilburg is the exception. The city expanded from several villages or herdgangen, which resulted in a varied dialect. “The various districts were characterized by different social backgrounds”, Swanenberg says. “As a result, every district has its own dialect.”

It is difficult, he says, to pinpoint how they arose. “We do know how the Dutch language developed, for example.” He traces it back to the Dutch War of Independence, which strengthened the desire for a common language. The Brabant dialects most likely originate from the earlier time of the Migration Period, when the Franks dominated the region of Brabant, about a thousand years before the war. “Dialect is a colloquial language, so there are hardly any reliable sources. However, some small fragments have been found in the law books of that time.”

The Tilburg dialect is influenced by the French language, which has also affected many other dialects. Due to the War, the Dutch language was purged of French influences, but they can still be traced in the Tilburg dialect. “Dialects cannot be regulated”, says the dialect expert.

At the time, the language teaching was pretty basic and most Tilburg citizens had trouble with the pronunciation of difficult French words, which resulted in a mix of sorts. As a result, typically Tilburg words such as petozzie (soup), affeseere (hurry up) and afronteere (offend) have French roots.

Even though you can hear a lot of drawling around Tilburg, most dialects are facing difficult times. “For older generations, the dialect is their mother tongue, and integral to their identity.” But from the sixties on, the Tilburg dialect has had firm competition from the Dutch language.

Because the economy grew, the influence of the agricultural sector dwindled. Business meetings were no longer small-town affairs, and the importance of communication increased. Dialects gained a negative connotation, while Dutch became the norm. “It’s a formal language that shows that you are educated”, Swanenberg explains.

In a recent article on language website taalcanon.nl, he suggested that the Dutch dialects were on their way out. As a result, speaking the Tilburg dialect as a first language may be doomed. “That doesn’t mean that dialects, the Tilburg one included, will become extinct. It will change, it will be more heavily influenced by Dutch, but its typical accent will remain. Dialect is a living thing, which will keep on developing in the future, influenced by other cultures.”

Besides, due to the process of globalization, the Tilburg locals often feel the need to highlight their heritage. Dialect is an excellent vehicle to do so, so it surfaces in music, poetry and literature. “It creates a certain intimacy”, Swanenberg explains. “Since it’s an informal language, you see a lot of dialect on Twitter, although in a fragmented sense.”

Due to these recent developments, the spoken language has gained a written one. There are now two dictionaries which document the Tilburg Taol. The Tilburg Taol Foundation has an active online presence and also organizes the annual Grôot Dikteej van de Tilburgse Taol, a dictation test of the dialect.

“Tilburg is quite active when it comes to the local language”, Swanenberg says. He supports it too, “Without the written word, our knowledge about it would be lost for the future.”

Tilburg with gusto

He’s seen them around, those born and bred Tilburg locals who demonstrate their dialect in verse. “I’ve seen a ton of them during the qualifying rounds for Dichttalent Tilburg, a competition for amateur poets”, says poet and performer Nick. J. Swarth. “They are more so storytellers than poets. Those poems may be better off left at home than on a stage.”

His father was a teacher and felt it wasn’t appropriate for his family to speak dialect, he says. “And definitely not in the sixties, when people believed they would be held back if they spoke the local language. But I did learn it in high school.”

The former Tilburg Poet Laureate does have a weak spot for the city’s dialect, which shows in his poem Ballade van de City Bar (Ballad from the City Bar), a sound poem that excels in the use of the local drawl and twang. “That’s a great example of how I incorporate the dialect in my work: as a sound among other sounds.”

He distances himself from the moniker of ‘Tilburg poet’. “I am a poet who lives in Tilburg, and that is not the same as being a Tilburg poet. His poetry conveys an international perspective through the use of Dutch, German, English and sometimes, the Tilburg dialect.

Swarth doesn’t feel obligated to use the dialect, contrary to others. He finds their use strange, fake even. “Especially when it stems from a romantic longing to preserve the language, cultivated by the middle class. I’m sure that people who use it every day, won’t sit down for the Grôot Dikteej van de Tilburgse Taol, the dictation test of the Tilburg dialect.”

Nick J. Swarth regularly performs with his band Betonfraktion. You can find his plekgedichten, street poetry, around Tilburg.

Sharp, petty and but also generous

Houdoe, ‘see you’ in the regional dialect; Marcel Musters and his three brothers weren’t allowed to say it. Of course they did anyway in secret. The Tilburg-born actor, known for his work with theatre company mugmetdegoudentand and various television shows, laughs about it, looking back. Particularly because his parents were Tilburg locals through and through, coming from families that did speak the dialect. “But, they wanted a better future for us”, he remembers, so dialect was off-limits at home.

Musters acknowledges he has a weak spot for the Tilburg dialect. “I’ve used it many times on stage and screen”, the actor, who has been dividing his time between Amsterdam and New York for some time, explains. “Why? Because it’s fun.” Although, it took him some time to figure that out. “When I was in drama school, I shunned the dialect, but later on I revisited my repertoire and started to appreciate it.”

He says it’s because he’s become more aware of his roots. “I’m from a family of jovial people who had to work very hard. People who didn’t complain and wanted to improve their lives whichever way they could. I think that’s why my parents urged us to talk proper Dutch.

Still, the neighborhood children were not concerned about that, and neither were his aunts. They spoke their own language. “So I used to talk broad as a joke, even though it was not allowed.”

In his 2011 show Meepesaant, a collaboration with another Tilburg native, comedian Marc-Marie Huijbregts, everything fell into place. “It was great fun, very nostalgic”, Musters says about the play in which they play two Tilburg women. “When we’re having a drink at a bar we often fantasized about it and it automatically came together.”

He does see why people say that the Tilburg dialect is rather unpleasant. “It has a sharp quality to it, it’s a bit petty as well, but it’s also generous. And of course, characteristically nasal. But if you listen closely, you’ll hear it’s a beautiful language. “

Marcel Musters and Lies Visschedijk will start touring with FiftyFifty, written by Aaf Brandt Corstius, in November.

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Tough talk

Ferry van de Zaande, the alter ego of Frans van der Meer who expresses himself in broad dialect, is the ultimate Tilburg native. Unlike van der Meer himself, who has lived in Berkel-Enschot all his life and was not brought up with the Tilburg dialect. Yet, he calls it his second language, which he picked up at his relatives and while working in a factory.

“I used to associate the Tilburg dialect with being tough”, he says. But not anymore; van der Meer has embraced it, not only when he performs as Ferry van de Zaande, but also in his columns, poems and lyrics.

Yet, he thinks the dialect is in decline. “Ferry has fans of all ages, five-year-olds but also scooter-riding teenagers. None of them speak the Tilburg dialect.” That’s a shame, he says. “In Limburg, even the dignitaries speak the local language. Here, that’s just unthinkable. The native Tilburg people aren’t proud of their dialect, because it is considered common. Yet, my grandparents spoke it too, and they weren’t common at all. It would be great if talking broad was the norm.”

It is remarkable though, that it’s the ‘nice’ people who support the Tilburg dialect, although van der Meer appreciates that they are trying to preserve the language. “Reminds me of collector’s mania.” Because, it’s still a strange language. “When you consciously think about it, it’s impossible to speak broad.”

Frans van der Meer will record his new album at Paradox on 6 October. He will be performing as Ferry van de Zande at the University’s anniversary event.

Not mincing words

Karin Bruers was hardly surprised by her bad grades for Dutch in elementary school. When she was young, everyone around her spoke dialect, although not the heavy drawl of the Tilburg dialect, but a mish-mash of Tilburgs and a fair bit of Brabants, the regional dialect.

Any language deficiency the comedian may have had has long been made up for, but she still feels attached to it. “It’s because the sounds are more varied than in Dutch”, she explains. “The Tilburg dialect has many influences, with words stemming from Bargoens, a working-class dialect, and Yiddisch.” But mainly, Bruers stresses, because it’s her mother tongue. “It’s rich with emotion, which makes it easy to express myself.”

As jovial as the Brabant dialect sounds, as blunt does the Tilburg dialect come across, she says. “It’s rather direct, it has a no-nonsense quality about it.” Because people from Tilburg are adverse to fuss. “The fair, for instance. You used to meet your neighbors there. Why does it need to expand? The people from Tilburg are more proud of each other than of their city. They’re compassionate people.”

But modest, they are not, says Bruers, who found success in the late nineties with a comedy show in dialect, ’t Bènkske. “People from Tilburg love to be on stage.” And so does Bruers herself, but whether she’s performing or presenting, her characteristic Brabant joviality is always present. “I am who I am, I never have to mince my words.” she says about her strength.

That also useful when she’s abroad, where her Tilburg personality traits come in handy at times. “That Tilburg-type common sense is a strong basis”, Bruers, who recently published her first novel Brigadier Oversteekmoeder, acknowledges. The language of her youth features heavily in her debut novel. “Because it’s so rich, and communicating is hard enough as it is.”

Karin Bruers currently performs in theatres with her show Waar was ik? (‘Where was I?’).

She will be opening and closing the anniversary event on 26 September.

Tilburgse Toal centroal

The theme of Tilburg University’s 17^th anniversary will be the Tilburg language (Tilburgse Toal), and accordingly, the section of Univers you’re currently reading. We delve deeper into the history of our dialect with Diversity in Language and Culture professor Jos Swanenberg. And, four prominent locals reveal what the Tilburg Toal means to them. Jeroen de Leijer signed up for the illustrations.

The university on its part, promises a spectacular evening on Thursday 26 September, the central theme being of course, the Tilburg Toal. It promises a dazzling and interactive program, including music, comedy and a Tilburg dialect quiz: the Taolbèttel. Prominent born and bred Tilburg native; Karin Bruers, Oma and Aal, the Kruik Family and Peer de Graaf will put on a fantastic event in the Tilburg University Aula.