Bruges dialect explained

Bruges dialect
Nativename:	Brugs
Pronunciation:	Standard Dutch: in Dutch; Flemish pronounced as /ˈbrʏxs/ Bruges dialect: pronounced as /[ˈbrœhs]/
Region:	Bruges
Speakers:	?
Familycolor:	Indo-European
Fam2:	Germanic
Fam3:	West Germanic
Fam4:	Istvaeonic
Fam5:	Low Franconian
Fam6:	Dutch
Fam7:	West Flemish
Isoexception:	dialect
Glotto:	none

The Bruges dialect (Standard Dutch and West Flemish: Brugs) is a West Flemish dialect used in Bruges. It is rapidly declining, being replaced with what scholars call general (rural) West Flemish.

Phonology

Consonants

• After pronounced as //u//, the sequence pronounced as //nd// is realized as a velar nasal pronounced as /link/.
• The sequence pronounced as //ən// is realized as a sequence pronounced as /[ən]/, rather than a syllabic pronounced as /[n̩]/.

Realization of pronounced as //r//

According to, pronounced as //r// is realized as a voiced uvular trill with little friction pronounced as /link/. In the neighbouring rural area, an alveolar pronounced as /link/ is used.

However, according to, the vast majority of the speakers in Bruges realize pronounced as //r// as alveolar, not uvular.

Definitely, the most common realization of pronounced as //r// is a voiced alveolar tap pronounced as /link/, which is used about four times more often than the second most common realization, which is a voiced alveolar trill pronounced as /link/. The other alveolar realizations include: a voiceless alveolar trill pronounced as /link/, a partially devoiced alveolar trill pronounced as /link/, a voiceless alveolar fricative tap/trill pronounced as /[{{IPAplink|ɾ̞̊}} ~ {{IPAplink|r̝̊}}]/, a voiceless alveolar/postalveolar fricative pronounced as /[{{IPAplink|ɹ̝̊}}, {{IPAplink|ɹ̠̊˔}}]/ (the least common realization), a voiced alveolar/postalveolar fricative pronounced as /[{{IPAplink|ɹ̝}} ~ {{IPAplink|ɹ̠˔}}]/ and a voiced alveolar approximant pronounced as /link/.

Among the uvular realizations, he lists a voiced uvular trill pronounced as /link/, a voiced uvular fricative trill pronounced as /link/, a voiced uvular fricative pronounced as /link/ and a voiced uvular approximant pronounced as /link/, among which the uvular fricative trill is the most common realization. He also lists a central vowel (which probably means pronounced as /link/, pronounced as /link/ or both of these) and elision of pronounced as //r//, both of which are very rare.

Vowels

! colspan="4"

Front	Central	Back
Close	pronounced as /link/		pronounced as /link/			pronounced as /link/
Mid	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /ɛ̃ː/	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/
Open	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/				pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/

• In comparison with Standard Dutch, the short front vowels underwent a chain shift, so that the standard pronounced as //i, y, ɪ, ʏ, ɛ// became pronounced as //ɪ, ʏ, ɛ, œ, æ//. The standard pronounced as //u// was also lowered to pronounced as //ʊ//, yet the standard pronounced as //ɔ// was left untouched.
• Among the back vowels, pronounced as //ʊ, ɔ, ɔː// are rounded, whereas pronounced as //ɑ, ɑː// are unrounded.
• pronounced as //ɪ, ʏ, ʊ// are near-close pronounced as /[{{IPAplink|ɪ̟}}, {{IPAplink|ʏ}}, {{IPAplink|ʊ̠}}]/; pronounced as //ɪ// is fully front, whereas pronounced as //ʊ// is fully back.
• pronounced as //ʏ, ʊ, œː// (but not pronounced as //œ, ɔ, ɔː//) are rather weakly rounded pronounced as /[ʏ̜, ʊ̜, œ̜ː]/.
• Phonetically, pronounced as //ɛ, ə// are mid pronounced as /[{{IPAplink|ɛ̝}}, {{IPAplink|ə}}]/, whereas pronounced as //ɛː, ɛ̃ː, œ, œː, ɔ, ɔː// are open-mid pronounced as /[{{IPAplink|ɛː}}, ɛ̃ː, {{IPAplink|œ}}, {{IPAplink|œː}}, {{IPAplink|ɔ}}, {{IPAplink|ɔː}}]/.
• Before pronounced as //l//, pronounced as //æ// is lowered and retracted to pronounced as /link/. This feature is typical of working class speech and is nearly extinct.

! colspan="3"

Ending point
Front	Central	Back
Close		pronounced as /iːə uːə/
Close-mid	pronounced as /eɪ øʏ/	pronounced as /eːə/	pronounced as /oʊ/
Open-mid		pronounced as /ɔːə/	pronounced as /ɔu/

• All of the diphthongs are falling.
• pronounced as //eɪ, øʏ, oʊ// used to be pronounced as monophthongs pronounced as /[eː, øː, oː]/, a realization which is rapidly regaining popularity among younger speakers.
• Traditionally, pronounced as //ɔu// used to have such a close first element that there was practically no distinction between pronounced as //ɔu// and pronounced as //oʊ//.
• Phonetically, pronounced as //ɔːə// can be either pronounced as /[ɔːə]/ or pronounced as /[ɔːɑ]/.