The position of the Limburgish language needs to be strengthened and put on a par with Fries and Papiaments, supporters of the language say.

In order for Limburgs to thrive, the provincial authorities must petition the home affairs minister to give  the language a higher status, Raod veur ’t Limburgs and other organsations told the Limburg authorities in an open letter.

The province is currently working on a new language policy and is contemplating the status upgrade,” Yuri Michielsen of the Limbörgse Academie told broadcaster NOS in January. “We hope the door isn’t going to close on use for another 25 years,” Michielsen said.

The so-called part III status of the Charter of Regional and Minority Languages promotes European minority and regional languages in public life.

Papiamento, a language spoken in the islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao, was recently given the same status as Frisian as a European minority language, by the Council of Europe.

The new status “will give Limburgs a vital and permanent status in Limburg society,” supporters say, including the possibility to teach Limburgs at degree level. Limburgs should also be taught in trade schools, particularly in professions in care where students come into contact with older Limburgs speakers, they argue.

As in the case of Low Saxon, a language spoken in parts of the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark which has been repeatedly refused higher status, proponents of Limburgs are tired of “having to explain the importance of regional languages over and over again”.

The battle for recognition has been going on since the 1980s, the letter writers said, and the Netherlands has a legal duty to protect its regional languages.

Reporting in local and regional media must also be in Limburgs for 50% of the time, the organisations said, and dual language road and place name signs must boost the visibility of the language.

Some three quarters of Limburgers speak Limburgs but just over half of young adults do so.