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right|350px|thumb|Position of East Flemish (colour: brown) among the other minority languages, regional languages and dialects in Belgium and the Netherlands
East Flemish (, ) is a collective term for the two easternmost subdivisions ("true" East Flemish, also called Core Flemish, and Waaslandic) of the so-called Flemish dialects, native to the southwest of the Dutch language area, which also include West Flemish. Their position between West Flemish and Brabantian has caused East Flemish dialects to be grouped with the latter as well. They are spoken mainly in the province of East Flanders and a narrow strip in the southeast of West Flanders in Belgium and eastern Zeelandic Flanders in the Netherlands. Even though the dialects of the Dender area are often discussed together with the East Flemish dialects because of their location, the latter are actually South Brabantian.
History
Before the occurrence of written records, the dialect continuum that took shape in the Old Dutch language area was characterised mainly by differences from east to west, with the east showing more continental Germanic traits and the west having more coastal Germanic features.
- Southeast Flemish
- The Sas van Gent dialect, a mixture of several dialects, as Sas van Gent was a colonial town with many people from different regions.
Notable characteristics
Even though the East Flemish dialect area is one of the most diverse linguistic landscapes in Belgium, and in West Flemish the ancient diphthongs [iə] and [uə] have been retained though the sound [u] occurs before velars and labials. A notable exception is the dialects of Ghent and Ronse, which, apart from having a general tendency to stretch vowels, have diphthongised them in certain positions to [ɪ.i] and [o.u], respectively. The latter sound can also be heard in Central Flemish before velars and labials. Those pronouns are also used in continental West Flemish, but Maldegem appears to use the coastal pronouns.
- As in West Flemish and Brabantian, the subject is doubled or even tripled. which had the indirect effect of current Platgents rounding to in multiple words as a counterreaction.