Do you say “Tessel” or “Teksel”?

Have you ever wondered about the official pronunciation of the name of our largest Wadden Island? How do you pronounce Texel?

Different pronunciations

If you visit our island, you will often hear its residents pronounce its name as “Tessel”. Nonetheless, there are other Texelaars who prefer to say “Teksel”. So, what could possibly be the reason for this difference?

Southern Island

Texel’s name has everything to do with its location compared to the other islands in the Wadden Sea region; it is, in fact, the most southerly of these islands. That’s why, long, long ago, Texel was called “Tehswa”, which is Germanic for “southern”.

The name Texel has been used in both Friesian and Dutch for many centuries. Due to a phonetic law, “hs” gradually changed to “ks” in Friesian over time, while in Dutch, people started to pronounce it as “s”. And that is how the difference in pronunciation between “Teksel” and “Tessel” arose. The same phonetic law has affected other words, and as a result, “vos” (fox) is pronounced as “foks” in Friesian.

Welcome to Texel

Which ever pronunciation you prefer, we would be delighted to welcome you to our lovely island!

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