Sannah won the Fryske Akademy Thesis Award: “I use the knowledge every day in my work”

What was your thesis about?
"My thesis explored how attitudes toward Frisian relate to the comprehensibility of Frisian among people with a Dutch linguistic background. I found this interesting because I noticed that people who have a negative attitude toward Frisian were less able to understand the language, as one might almost expect from a linguistic perspective. So the central question in my thesis was whether the attitudes and associations people have toward Frisian influence their ability to understand it. To answer that question, I applied the Theory of Planned Behavior from psychology to linguistics, among other things. It seems that the more modern people perceive a language to be, the better they understand it.”

How did you find out about the Fryske Akademy’s thesis prize? 
“I knew the thesis prize existed because I had heard about it once at the Linguistics Day. A day before the deadline, I received a reminder, and then everything had to be done very quickly. According to the rules at the time, the thesis still had to be sent by mail; fortunately, that can be done digitally now. So I quickly printed and bound it. It was very hectic and rushed, so it was a close call—I almost didn’t win the thesis prize at all!”

And then you were awarded the Skripsjepriis…
“Yes! I remember getting the email very well. I was at work and said out loud, ‘Oh my God, I won the thesis prize!’ When I read on, I saw that I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone yet. I made all my colleagues who had heard about it promise not to tell anyone. On the day of the award ceremony at Akademydag, I was nervous about being in the spotlight, but in the end, it wasn’t as bad as I thought.”

What has winning the Skripsjepriis brought you?
"It’s always nice when your work is appreciated, and it also brought me further into contact with the Frisian network. During my studies, I often felt that my work didn’t really apply to the real world. I really wanted my thesis to be meaningful. So to hear from the jury that my thesis is a valuable contribution to Frisian studies—that was truly special.”

Are you still working on the topic of your thesis?
“I’m very aware that attitudes toward the Frisian language also influence people’s behavior, and as a Frisian policy advisor, I naturally incorporate that into my work. I apply my knowledge in my policy advising, hoping to contribute to the vitality of the Frisian language. The knowledge you gain from writing your thesis stays with you, and it’s nice that I can apply it in a positive way in my work.”

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