Hindeloopen Frisian

Hindeloopen Frisian
Hindeloopen–Molkwerum Frisian
Hielepes, Hielpes or Hylpers
Native toNetherlands
EthnicityFrisians
Language codes
ISO 639-3None (mis)
Glottologhind1273
Hindeloopen Frisian is classified as Critically Endangered by the
UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger.

Hindeloopen Frisian (natively Hielepes [ˈhiləpəs], Hielpes [ˈhilpəs] or Hylpers [ˈhilpr̩s], West Frisian: Hylpersk [ˈhilpr̩s], also referred to as Hindeloopers (Dutch: [ˈɦɪndəˌloːpərs]) in English and Dutch) is an endangered West Frisian language spoken in the port town of Hindeloopen and the village of Molkwerum on the west coast of Friesland. It has preserved much of the Old Frisian phonology and lexicon, and has been attested since the 17th century. Hindeloopen Frisian is spoken by some 500 people in Hindeloopen, almost all of them elderly, with the number of speakers decreasing.