About Jan van Steenbergen
Born 1970. Jan van Steenbergen is a Dutch poet, journalist, translator, language inventor and interpreter, known for Interslavic and Wenedyk.
Johannes Hendrik "Jan" van Steenbergen (; born June 3, 1970) is a Dutch translator and interpreter. He is known for being the author of several constructed languages, notably Interslavic and Wenedyk.
He was born in Hoorn, where he spent most of his childhood. In 1988 he became a student at the Amsterdam University, where he graduated in East European Studies with major topics in Slavistics and musicology. He continued his studies in Poland at Warsaw University and worked at the Warsaw Autumn festival for contemporary music. In 1997, he became a Polish translator and interpreter in the Netherlands.
In 1996, he started work on an artificial North Slavic language, VuozgaĆĄchai (Vozgian), and in 2002 he created another language, Wenedyk, designed to show what Polish might have looked like if it had been a Romance rather than Slavic language. In 2006, he was one of the initiators of the Pan-Slavic language Slovianski (later renamed Interslavic), as well as the coordinator of a project for the creation of an electronic Interslavic dictionary. In November 2013, he was awarded the Josef DobrovskĂœ medal for his 'contributions to Slavic culture and science'. In 2018 he also received the medal "The Living Word" of the Khovansky Foundation.
Van Steenbergen lives in IJmuiden. He is married and has three children.
Donât just read it â
keep it.
Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.
- E-book
- Audio
- Video
Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free
Important facts
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Jan van Steenbergen's
Frequently asked questions
Who is Jan van Steenbergen?
Dutch translator
When was Jan van Steenbergen born?
Jan van Steenbergen was born on 3 June 1970 in Hoorn.
What is Jan van Steenbergen's occupation?
Jan van Steenbergen is a poet, journalist, translator, language inventor and interpreter.
What is Jan van Steenbergen known for?
Jan van Steenbergen is known for Interslavic and Wenedyk.
What nationality is Jan van Steenbergen?
Jan van Steenbergen is Dutch.
Sources & further reading
· Wikipedia: Jan van Steenbergen
· DBpedia: Jan van Steenbergen
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Jan van Steenbergen. https://biography.guide/jan-van-steenbergen/
MLA: "Jan van Steenbergen." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/jan-van-steenbergen/.
Chicago: "Jan van Steenbergen." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/jan-van-steenbergen/.
Data last updated: 2026-09-24 · Spot an error? Report a correction.
Portrait: Wikimedia Commons · author & licence
Page generated 2026-09-27 05:08 UTC