Venlo dialect (Dutch and ) is the city dialect and a variant of Limburgish spoken in the Dutch city of Venlo alongside the Dutch language (with which it is not mutually intelligible). It belongs to a group of transitional dialects between Kleverlandish and East Limburgish spoken in the northern part of Netherlands Limburg. That group of dialects is also known by its Dutch name Mich-kwartier ("Mich area", based on the usage of instead of the Brabantian as the accusative form of 'I').
Phonology
Vowels +Vowel phonemes Front Central Back Close Close-mid Open-mid Open Diphthongs
is restricted to unstressed syllables. is near-close . is the only "short open E" sound in the dialect. The phonetically open does not have a phonemic status. are phonetically open but phonologically open-mid, the back counterparts of . is somewhat 'laxer' than in Standard Dutch. As in most other dialects, it is the phonological long counterpart of .
Pitch accent
As many other Limburgish dialects, the Venlo dialect features a contrastive pitch accent, with minimal pairs such 'to rinse' vs. 'to play' and 'legs' vs. 'leg', with the first word in each pair featuring Accent 1 (left unmarked) and the second word Accent 2 (transcribed as a high tone).
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