Editing West Flemish (section)

==Phonology==
West Flemish has a phonology that differs significantly from that of Standard Dutch, being similar to [[Afrikaans]] in the case of long E, O and A. Also where Standard Dutch has ''sch'', in some parts of West Flanders, West-Flemish, like Afrikaans, has ''sk''. However, the best known traits are the replacement of Standard Dutch (pre-)velar fricatives ''g'' and ''ch'' in Dutch ({{IPA|/x, ɣ/}}) with glottal  ''h'' {{IPA|[h, ɦ]}},. The following differences are listed by their Dutch spelling, as some different letters have merged their sounds in Standard Dutch but remained separate sounds in West Flemish. Pronunciations can also differ slightly from region to region.

* ''sch'' - {{IPA|/sx/}} is realised as {{IPA|[ʃh]}}, {{IPA|[sh]}} or {{IPA|[skʰ]}} (''sh'' or ''sk'').
* ''ei'' - {{IPA|/ɛi/}} is realised as {{IPA|[ɛː]}} or {{IPA|[jɛ]}} (''è'' or ''jè'').
* ''ij '' - {{IPA|/ɛi/}} is realised as {{IPA|[i]}} (short ''ie'', also written as ''y'') and in some words as {{IPA|[y]}}.
* ''ui '' - {{IPA|/œy/}} is realised as {{IPA|[y]}} (short ''u'') and in some words as {{IPA|[i]}}.
* ''au'' - {{IPA|/ʌu/}} is realised as {{IPA|[ɔu]}} (''ow'')
* ''ou'' - {{IPA|/ʌu/}} is realised as {{IPA|[ʊ]}} (short ''oe''), it is very similar to the long "oe" that is also used in Standard Dutch ({{IPA|[u]}}), which can cause confusion
* ''e'' - {{IPA|/ɛ/}} is realised as {{IPA|[æ]}} or {{IPA|[a]}}.
* ''i'' - {{IPA|/ɪ/}} is realised as {{IPA|[ɛ]}}.
* ''ie'' - {{IPA|/i/}} is longer {{IPA|[iː]}}
* ''aa'' - {{IPA|/aː/}} is realised as {{IPA|[ɒː]}}.

The absence of {{IPA|/x/}} and {{IPA|/ɣ/}} in West Flemish makes pronouncing them very difficult for native speakers. That often causes [[hypercorrection]] of the {{IPA|/h/}} sounds to a {{IPA|/x/}} or {{IPA|/ɣ/}}.

Standard Dutch also has many words with an ''-en'' ({{IPA|/ən/}}) suffix (mostly plural forms of verbs and nouns). While Standard Dutch and most dialects do not pronounce the final ''n'', West Flemish typically drops the ''e'' and pronounces the ''n'' inside the base word. For base words already ending with ''n'', the final ''n'' sound is often lengthened to clarify the suffix. That makes many words become similar to those of English: ''beaten'', ''listen'' etc.

The short ''o''  ({{IPA|[ɔ]}}) can also be pronounced as a short ''u'' ({{IPA|[ɐ]}}), a phenomenon also occurring in [[Russian phonology|Russian]] and some other [[Slavic languages]], called [[akanye]]. That happens spontaneously to some words, but other words keep their original short ''o'' sounds. Similarly, the short ''a'' ({{IPA|[ɑ]}}) can turn into a short ''o'' ({{IPA|[ɔ]}}) in some words spontaneously.

The diphthong ''ui'' ({{IPA|/œy/}}) does not exist in West Flemish and is replaced by a long ''u'' ({{IPA|[y]}}) or a long ''ie'' ({{IPA|[i]}}). Like for the ''ui'', the long ''o'' ({{IPA|[o]}}) can be replaced by an {{IPA|[ø]}} (''eu'') for some words but a {{IPA|[uo]}} for others. That often causes similarities to ranchers English. {{clarification needed|reason=what is “ranchers English”?|date=January 2022}}

Here are some examples showing the sound shifts that are part of the vocabulary:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Dutch !! West Flemish !! English
|-
| vol (short ''o'') || vul {{IPA|[vɐl]}}|| full
|-
| zon (short ''o'') || zunne {{IPA|[ˈzɐnːə]}}|| sun
|-
| boter (long ''o'') || beuter {{IPA|[ˈbøtər]}}|| butter
|-
| boot (long ''o'') || boot {{IPA|[buot]}} || boat
|-
| kuiken || kiek'n {{IPA|[ˈkiːʔŋ̍]}} || chick
|-
| bruin || brun {{IPA|[bryn]}} || brown
|}