Dutch Windmill Language

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Six windmill codes (see below)

Joja Dhara just shared this. Dutch windmills have their own language!

Molen: “windmill”
Wieken: “sails”

Machine translation of an old article:

In former days people had tel. still no, radio or television. Sometimes the millers had pass on rapidly reported. That did them with the wicks of a mill. The millers put down the wicks in a special manner. About that agreements had been made. Each event had its own score of the wicks.

1. Joy cog – If the miller is glad he wants show this to everyone. For example if there is a baby born. The miller puts down the wicks in a special manner. This a joy cog is called. In the joy cog the wicks stand not entirely in the middle, but something to left.

2. Mourning cog – If there is someone from the family deceased late the miller the mourning cog see. Everyone weet then that someone has died from the family of the miller. The wicks stand not entirely in the middle, but something to right.

3. Short rest cog – Sometimes the miller does not work a couple days. Then keeps he rests. The miller wants show people then that he rests keeps. Then he puts down the mill in the short rest cog. The wicks stand then entirely right. You see one wick in the middle. The wicks now seem net on +.

4. Long rest cog – As a miller a couple weeks does not work he has very long rests. For example if he is on holiday. The miller wants show this then to people. This does he putting the mill in the long rest cog. The wicks stand then slanting. The wicks seem now net on x. those encounter you sometimes during to count.

5. Emergency cog  – Sometimes there something happens terrible in a mill. For example complete a conflagration. Then people had come very rapidly. If you very fast something must do becomes that emergency called. Because they had tel. still no they did not can ring. For this reason the wicks of the mill were used. For each wiek a screen was done. This sees people very fast, because them that only do at emergency.

6. Festival cog – This score to see you not everywhere in the Netherlands. At particular festivals the mill is decorated. For example at a wedding. This does the miller decorating the wicks with flags.

Mill language in Zuidoost-Nederland

The 6 scores of the wicks are not everywhere in the Netherlands the same. In Zuidoost-Nederland its some scores exactly something else. A type mill dialect therefore.

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