Learn Dutch languageDutch language is spoken by 22 millions people in Europe. Around 16 millions are in Holland and 6 millions are in Belgium. In North Belgium paople speak Flemish. Flemish is the kind of dialect of Dutch. In general Flemish and Dutch people can understand each other, but there are some differences between Dutch and Flemish:
- Pronunciation. The sound of the Flemish language is softer. So Dutch people find Flemish pronunciation very funny.
- Vocabulary. Belgians (Flamish dialect) used real ald Dutch words, while Netherlanders (Dutch language) used loan words from other languages.
- In Belgium people use gij/ge/u instead of jij/je/jou in the Netherlands.
- Word Order.
- Intonation.
Dutch Alphabet Dutch PhrasesDutch grammarDutch language are similar to English and German (mostly German). Netherlands understand German. Indefinite article (een), definite article (de) for masculine and feminine nouns and definite article (het) for neuter nouns. Depending on the articles demonstrative pronouns and adjective endings are change. The other difficulty is verbs with prefixes. Position of prefix changes depending on the verb usage.
Is it Holland or Netherlands?Dutch people prefer to call their country “Netherlands”. Holland is the name of one of two provinces – Northern Holland (“Noord-Holland” – capital: Haarlem) and Southern Holland (“Zuid Holland” – capital: Den Haag), which together make up a large part of the country, so “Netherlands” is more correct when refering to the whole country.
Is Dutch language difficult to learn?Every language is difficult to learn, especially
Russian, and Dutch is not the exception. A lot of words in Dutch are similar to English and German words, mainly to German. So if you know English or German, learning Dutch will be easier for you.
Dutch Pronunciation
| Letter |
Dutch Pronunciation
|
| b |
like b in bad |
| c |
c in can |
| ch |
ch in character |
| d |
d in dog |
| f |
f in finish |
| g |
ch in character (never pronounce it like English g) |
| h |
h in help |
| j |
y in yes |
| k |
ck in lack |
| l |
l in line |
| m |
m in minister |
| n |
n in name |
| p |
p in spot |
| r |
r in French (rolled) |
| s |
s in sad |
| sch |
between ch in character and s in sad |
| t |
t in type |
| v |
v in van (unvoiced sound) |
| w |
w in will |
| z |
ds in Hudson |
| a (short) |
a in fast |
| a (long) |
a in map |
| e (short) |
e in wet |
| e (long) |
ai in pain |
| i |
i in bit |
| o (short) |
o in spot |
| o (long) |
oa in float |
| u (short) |
u in hurt |
| u (long) |
oo in foot |
| eu |
u in hurt (long) |
| oe |
oo in took (long) |
| ie |
ea in meat (long) |
