420 



AT^NUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1915. 



which German is spoken a zone of the old Frisian tongue of Holland 

 survives along the western coast of the peninsula. Frisian is also 

 spoken in the coastal islands. 



The degree to which linguistic variations adapt themselves to phys- 

 ical configuration is admirably illustrated in this case by the south- 

 erly extension of Danish along the eastern section of the penin- 

 sula where persistence of the Baltic ridge appears in the hilly nature 



o^^HlEt 



Fig. 2. — Sketch map of Schleswig-Holstein showing languages spoken. According to the Danish view? 

 point. Scale, 1:1,200,000 (after Rosendal based on Clausens and Heyers). 



of the land. The Niederdeutsch of the long Baltic plain also con- 

 tinued to spread unimpeded within the low-lying western portion 

 of the narrow peninsula until its northerly expansion was arrested 

 by uninhabited heath land. The presence of Frisian along the west- 

 ern coast is undoubtedly connected with the adaptability of Frisians 

 to settle in land areas reclaimed from the sea. 



The Province of Schleswig began to acquire historical prominence 

 as an independent Duchy in the twelfth centur3^ Barring few inter- 



