From Wednesday 30 October up to and including Saturday 2 November, the city of Groningen will be taken over by the future & inspiration festival Let’s Gro. Internationalization is one of the main themes during this free and four-day festival.
The Groningen Language & Culture Center (CGTC) and the SIB – Student Association for International Relations have compiled a Gronings program on behalf of Let’s Gro. This program includes ‘Gronings for internationals’ which includes lectures, performances and a crash course of Gronings.
On Friday afternoon, November 1, singer Marlene Bakker, researcher Goffe Jensma and Olaf Vos will perform at the Grand Theater. Apart from the music performance, the various activities of the festival shall be in English.
Lecture – Gronings of today: science and art as a mirror of a language community
Goffe Jensma (affiliated with the Groningen Language & Culture Center and professor of Frisian Language and Literature at the University of Groningen) talks about the ‘Gronings of today’ and the history surrounding Gronings.
Singer and songwriter Marlene Bakker tells how she uses Gronings in her music. What does she encounter when she writes and sings in Gronings? What language choices does she make? Are there Groningen language rules? And do you have to stick to that at all when writing poetry or songs? She will explain her choices based on her own work. The lecture is alternated and supplemented with live music by Marlene Bakker and guitarist Bernhard Gepken.
Crash course Gronings
In the short crash course, Gronings, the international is given an introduction to Gronings and an overview of Groningen-language words to help them in the city. Olaf Vos – known from TV Noord and the Groninger band VanDeStraat among others – teaches you a “mouth of Grunnegs”; the most important words and sentences to get through Groningen during the day and at night. Many topics will be covered, from learning how to ask for directions or grocery shopping related questions, to topics such as nightlife and flirting.
Background cooperation CGTC and SIB
At the start of this year, the Groningen Language & Culture Center and the Student Association for International Relations organized a special Groningen evening for foreign students for the first time. The Groninger Night was held at Club Kiwi in the city. During this evening the students became acquainted with Groningen (City and Ommeland) and with Gronings as a regional language.
