GEDACHTENKASSIE
“When a generation fades away, dialect vanishes with them.‘
In my youth, I grew up in a Rotterdam family with my grandfather, who was a beacon of warmth and conviviality. When we gathered, we spoke in the Rotterdam dialect, reminisced about the past, laughed until we dropped, and used many unique Rotterdam words. Reflecting on this brings back the warmth and safety I felt. This was home.
After he passed away, I noticed that I heard fewer words in the Rotterdam dialect, just as stories about the past, as well as stories about places or things that no longer exist, became scarcer. This gave me the insight that the vocal identity of a city is also generation-related. When a generation disappears, words from a dialect disappear with them.
To pass on Rotterdam’s vocal identity to the next generation, we store it in our ‘Gedachtenkassie’. A language monument created by Rotterdammers, for the next generation of Rotterdammers in which remarkable and educational stories are told that we can take with us into the future. This way, the city’s mentality and vocal identity will not be forgotten. We store it in our gedachtenkassie.
Want to learn more about how it works? Or curious about the city tour? Check out my website to discover the ‘Gedachtenkassies’.