De bynwurden as, at, dat, of, oft

Abstract

In written Frisian there is, even more so than in the individual's idiolect, a great deal
of uncertainty about the use of the conjunctions as, at, dat, of and oft. One of the
reasons for this is the fact that at had no parallel in Dutch as taught in the schoolroom and that oft, at least when pronounced [ft], was unknown in the spoken language and was thus ascribed functions it had never had. This article intends to clear up the mess as found in written Frisian. In addition it provides guidelines for using conjunctions in Frisian.