Dutch language

Dutch is the language spoken in the Netherlands. In Dutch the language is called Nederlands. It is also spoken in the northern half of Belgium (Flanders). They also speak it in Suriname. A language developed from Dutch called Afrikaans is spoken in South Africa and Namibia. About 22 million people speak the language worldwide. Dutch is related to German.

History

Dutch is a Germanic language, so it is related to German. The Dutch of before 1170 is called Old Dutch (Oudnederlands). The Dutch between 1170 and 1500 is called Middle Dutch (Middelnederlands), which is also called Diets. That's why Dutch is called Dutch in English (Dutch is called Nederlands in Dutch). The oldest Dutch book known is Wachtendonckse Psalmen which was written in 900. The first Dutch writer we know by name is Hendrik van Veldeke, who was born around 1150.

Letters

Dutch uses the same roman alphabet (letters) as English.

Vowels

Short	Long
a – like the a in art.	aa – somewhat like the "i" in Fire
e – like in pet	ee – like the "a" in space
o – like in organic	oo – like in no
u – somewhat like the "e" in the	uu – like the "ü" in the German word für
i – like in lip	ie – like in piece

Note: The e can also be a schwa (like in the)

• oe – like the "ou" in you
• eu – like the French "eu" in fleur
• ui – typical Dutch sound
• ou/au – like in sound
• ij/ei – typical Dutch sound
• aai – like the "i" in ice
• eeuw – typical Dutch sound
• ieuw – somewhat like "iew" in view

Open and Closed syllables

The way of how vowels are pronounced, depends on the fact if the syllable is open or closed. If a syllable is open, short written vowels are spoken as long ones. Short written vowels are only spoken short if the syllable is closed. Example:

The word praten can be divided into 2 syllables: Pra|ten. Because pra is open, the a is pronounced like aa.

The word plat only has one syllables, and the a is therefore short (just a).

There is, however, an exception to this rule. This is the "e". This is because "e" can also be a "stupid e" (Schwa) (IPA character ə). In most words, where an open syllable ends with e it is a stupid e. Therefore, open syllables with a long e (ee) are written as ee. Example:

The word "me" contains a stupid e and is not pronounced as "mee". (Mee has a totally different meaning).

There are, however, exceptions to this rule as well. This can be seen in the word meenemen. This word can be divided into three syllables: mee|ne|men. The e's in the first two syllables are long ones, but the last one is a stupid e.

The stupid e also occurs in the ending of verbs (usually -en).

Consonants

• b
• c
• d
• f
• g/ch – not pronounced as the English G; the Dutch G is more or less like the German CH. In the south of the Netherlands, the G is spoken differently (so called soft G) than in the north (hard G).
• h
• j – like "y" in you
• k
• l
• m
• n
• p
• q – only used rarely; spoken as k
• r – not like English; the Dutch R is a more rolling R
• s
• t
• v
• w
• x – only used rarely, mostly in foreign words, pronounced as ks
• z

Note: In words that end with "-d", the "-d" is pronounced like "-t".

Grammar

The grammar of Dutch is slightly different from English. The order in which words are put in sentences are different in complex sentences. The most simple sentence-structure is "Subject - Verb". The Dutch language has few grammatical tenses. The most used are:

• Onvoltooid Tegenwoordige tijd (present simple)
• Onvoltooid Verleden tijd (past simple)
• Voltooid Tegenwoordige tijd (present perfect)
• Voltooid Verleden tijd (past perfect)

Onvoltooid Tegenwoordige Tijd

The most simple verb-time is the Onvoltooid Tegenwoordige Tijd (ott; present simple). The ott is used when something is occurring now, or regularly (like: Hij eet regelmatig (He eats regularly)). Most verbs are conjugated (changed) in a regular form (these verbs are called Regelmatige werkwoorden (regular verbs)). The word stem of the verb is still there in all of the conjugations (changes). The correct way of doing this is

Person	Verb conjugation	Example with "lopen" (to walk)
Ik (I)	Stem	Ik loop
Jij (you)	Stem+t	Jij loopt
Hij/Zij (He/She)	Stem+t	Hij loopt
Wij (we)	stem+en* (infinitive)	Wij lopen
Zij (they)	stem+en*	Zij lopen
Jullie (you, plural)	stem+en*	Jullie lopen
U (you, polite)	stem+t'	U loopt

Note*: The stem of a verb is the infintive of the verb without the final -en. In some verbs, the first syllable is open, and any vowel therefore is long. The stem changes to a written long vowel. So the stem of lopen becomes loop. If the -en is then added to the stem (for example with wij), the written form becomes short again (but it still will be spoken as a long vowel).

Onvoltooid Verleden Tijd

The past form of the ott is the Onvoltooid Verleden Tijd (ovt). The way how verbs are conjugated (changed) in the ovt is not easy to understand, and is mistaken often. This is because some verbs are conjugated by adding a D, while others are conjugated while adding a T. A way of solving this problem is the socalled 't Kofschip. If the verb without -en (the stem in most verbs, but not always) ends with a consonant which is also in "'t Kofschip", the verb is changed with a T. Example:

The verb praten (to talk) is changed with a T, because prat ends wit a T.

The verb can now be changed as the following:

Person	Verb conjugation (with T)	Result with praten
Ik	stem+te	Ik praatte
Jij	stem+te	Jij praatte
Hij/Zij	stem+te	Hij praatte
Wij	stem+ten	Wij praatten
Zij (they)	stem+ten	Zij praatten
Jullie	stem+ten	Jullie praatten
U	stem+te	U praatte

There are however words in which "'t Kofschip" is not so easy. This is for instance in the word vrezen (to fear). The stem of the verb is vrees, so it seems that the verb is changed with a T. This is not true (it changed with a D), because vrezen minus -en is vrez. The Z is not in "'t Kofschip", so the verb is changed with a D.

The verb can now be changed as the following:

Person	Verb conjugation (with D)	Result with Vrezen
Ik	stem+de	Ik vreesde
Jij	stem+de	Jij vreesde
Hij/Zij	stem+de	Hij vreesde
Wij	stem+den	Wij vreesden
Zij (they)	stem+den	Zij vreesden
Jullie	stem+den	Jullie vreesden
U	stem+de	U vreesde

Continuating verbs

Although the Dutch have a kind of present continuous (the -ing form of verbs in English), they do not use it much. Example:

The senctence "I am eating", is in Dutch "Ik eet", which is literally "I eat".

The present continuous in Dutch would be "Ik ben etende", but this is almost never used.

Actually, there are three types of continuous verbs in Dutch.

1. The first type is a form of the verb zijn (to be) with the actual continuous verb. This is done, by adding de on the infinitive. It's not wrong to use this in Dutch, but it will sound very odd. It is only used in very formal texts.
2. The second type is a type where the verb actually functions as an adverb. Depending on subject, the verb is changed by adding either a "d" or "de" to the infinitive. The verb then has the function of while..... An example: Hij liep drinkend de supermarkt uit. In English this is Hij walked out of the supermarket, while drinking .
3. The third type is a type which is used a lot. The use of this type can be compared with the English type of continuous. It is used when something is being done, at that moment, but still not completed yet. It is made up by a form of zijn + aan het + the infitive. Example: Ik ben aan het lopen, which means I am walking (at the moment).

Examples

hallo (hello)
Ik heet ... (my name is...)
Ik hou van je (I love you)
ja (yes)
nee (no)

Numbers

een (one)
twee (two)
drie (three)
vier (four)
vijf (five)
zes (six)
zeven (seven)
acht (eight)
negen (nine)
tien (ten)
elf (eleven)
twaalf (twelve)

In number with three digits (e.g 100), the Dutch change the u into o and replace 1 of the r's. Example:

The number 100 becomes: honderd, which literally means hundred.

Basic Dutch expressions

Dutch	English
Hallo	Hello
Hoi	Hi
Daag	Bye
Doei!	See you later!
Goedenmorgen/Goedenmiddag/Goedenavond	Good morning/Good afternoon/Good evening
Hoe gaat het met je/u?	How are you?
Met mij gaat het goed!	I am fine!
Dank je/Dank u	Thank you
Graag gedaan	You are welcome
Spreekt u Engels?	Do you speak English?
Ik begrijp het niet	I do not understand
Tot ziens	Goodbye
Mijn naam is...	My name is...
Ik ben...	I am...
Alstublieft	Please
Wat is jouw/uw naam?	What's your name?
Waar kom(t) je (u) vandaan?	Where are you from?
Ik kom uit Nederland/België	I'm from the Netherlands/Belgium
Wat is er?	What's wrong?
Sorry, waar is het station?	Excuse me, where's the train station?
Hoeveel kost deze trui?	How much is this sweater?
Mevrouw	Miss/Mrs.
Meneer	Mr.

This language has its own Wikipedia Project.

See the Dutch language edition