About the Meertens Institute

The Meertens Institute researches and documents language and culture in the Netherlands, and Dutch language and culture around the world. Its focus is on the phenomena that shape everyday life in society. The Meertens Institute was established in 1930, and became part of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) since 1952.

Language variation and ethnology

The Meertens Institute maps out and investigates the role of language and culture in the development of social identities and group cultures in relation to each other. In the field of the Dutch language, the Meertens Institute studies both geographical and social variation, a specific area within linguistics referred to as variation linguistics or language variation – see the research group Linguistics and Language Variation. Research into the cultural factors that determine group-forming processes falls within the field of Dutch ethnology – see the Ethnology and Oral Culture research group. Information about our current research projects can be found on the overview page Research Projects and in the Research Programme 2018-2023 (pdf).

Centre of knowlegde

The Meertens Institute is characterised by the multidisciplinary composition of its research groups, which include disciplines such as linguistics, sociolinguistics, Dutch language and literature, history, anthropology, sociology, musicology and cultural studies. For decades, the institute has collected, preserved, documented, catalogued and researched material in these fields. With its extensive collections and documentation systems, it can be considered a centre of knowledge in the field of (folk) culture and language variation. Large-scale databases also support the research.

Scientific objective

As an institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), the Meertens Institute’s primary scientific objective is in the field of language variation and culture. To this end, it also collaborates with other knowledge institutions, such as universities and museums, and participates in various international partnerships. Partly due to globalisation and Europeanisation, there is also growing public interest in the role of language and culture in identity-forming processes.

By collaborating with institutions such as museums and the media, the institute can contribute to public education in this area. With the insights gained from its research, the institute hopes to support not only the scientific debate but also the social and political debate.

The results of the research are published in scientific publications (see the KNAW PURE website) and books and are presented in lectures at conferences and symposia. See also our agenda.

Services provided by the Meertens Institute

The documentation at the Meertens Institute is essential for scientific research. Among other things, the Meertens Institute is responsible for collecting, preserving, digitising and making data available in databases for future research. The content-related disclosure of professional literature and the creation of bibliographic databases are also part of research-related documentation.

As a research institute, the institute does not primarily serve the general public. It focuses mainly on scientists and interested parties working in the field of language variation or (folk) culture. Institutions that pass on or shape knowledge in this field for a wider audience (museums, media, knowledge institutions) can also consult the library, the collections and the documentation. Requests for information about the aforementioned research areas can be submitted on a daily basis. The institute can be reached by telephone on working days for appointments to visit the library or requests for information:

Tel. 020 – 46 28 500
e-mail info@meertens.knaw.nl