Frisian Americans are Americans with full or partial Frisian ancestry. Frisians are a Germanic ethnic group native to the coastal parts of the Netherlands and Germany. They are closely related to the Dutch and the English. They have their own Frisian languages divided by geographical regions. The Old Frisian language was once the Germanic language closest to English, though outside influences (from Dutch on Frisian and from French or English) have made both languages grow ever farther apart as time went by.