Revising the Algemene Nederlandse Spraakkunst

Abstract

The third, fully revised version of the Algemene Nederlandse Spraakkunst (ANS), the main reference grammar of Dutch, aims to describe grammatical variation in the national standard varieties of Dutch. This paper investigates whether this pluricentric perspective is compatible with the geographical distribution patterns of Dutch grammatical variants. We provide an overview of the distribution patterns described in the second edition of the ANS and we check this description against frequency data from newspaper corpora for four selected variants which represent different distribution patterns. Although the observed distribution patterns do not always coincide with national borders, we argue that the pluricentric model does not (necessarily) conflict with linguistic reality and that it is the appropriate choice to meet the needs of Dutch language users.