Dutch Language Union

Listen to the Dutch Language Union? / I ( Dutch for Dutch Language Union ) is an international non-profit organization in the Netherlands, Flanders (Belgium) and Suriname, which deals with the Dutch language, language teaching and literature.

The Language Union was founded on 9 September 1980 by the Netherlands and Belgium; as part of the federalization of Belgium, the Flemish government has been supporting. Since 2004, Suriname became an associated member. There are connections to Indonesia as well as South Africa and Namibia, the closely related because of Afrikaans.

The institution is committed to the integration of the Dutch-speaking community in Language and Literature level in the broadest sense:

• A uniform spelling
• The joint development of expensive reference books and other aids
• Collecting experiences in the classroom
• The training of teachers and translators
• Language policy at European level

An important task of the Language Union is to define the official spelling. It publishes to the Woordenlijst Nederlandse Taal ( dictionary Dutch language ), often called the Groene Boekje ( Green Book). The organization is also concerned with the support of language teaching in the three countries and abroad. In the literature, the lending of the Nederlandse Letteren Prijs (price of Dutch literature) may be mentioned.

The Language Union consisting of the Ministerial Committee ( Raad van Minister ), the Inter-parliamentary Commission ( Commissie Interparlementaire ), the Council for the Dutch language and literature ( Raad voor de Nederlandse Taal en Letteren ) and the General Secretariat (Algemeen Secretariaat ).