made it possible to assess children's linguistic progress in West Frisian. Up till then, only a Dutch test had been used, which gave distorted results in the case of bilingual children. The academy is also the home of Fryske Rie foar Heraldyk, a heraldic advisory board for the Frisian region. History The Fryske Akademy was founded in 1938 with the support of the provincial authorities at the behest of many pro-Frisian politicians and scientists, notably the historian Geart Aeilco Wumkes and the theologian Titus Brandsma. Before the foundation of the Fryske Akademy, two societies were concerned with Frisian science: The Frisian society for History, Archaeology, and Linguistics The society for the Frisian language and book knowledge These 19th-century societies regarded themselves as the intellectual heirs to the University of Franeker, which was abolished by Napoleon and which the government of the new Kingdom of the Netherlands failed to reopen. To some extent, the Fryske Akademy considers itself a successor to the University of Franeker. References Johan Frieswijk (2000) “De oprjochting fan ‘e Fryske Akademy (1938)” in It Beaken 62, 245–265. H.H. Munske et al. (red.), Handbuch des Friesischen. Handbook of Frisian Studies. Max Niemeyer Verlag, Tübingen 2001. External links Mercator Research Centre Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) Learned societies of the Netherlands Language regulators Frisian languages West Frisian language 1938 establishments in the Netherlands Organizations established in 1938