In some words from French we actually find 'long' versions of Dutch
'short' vowels like
'short E'
-
[(de)] militair
('a soldier // military')
- ordinair2
("common," 'vulgar')
- vulgair2
('vulgar, cheap')
Compare with:
- ter
('~at') - Ger - nergens2
('nowhere')
(a boys' name) - ver
('far') - veer
('feather // ferry // spring')
and 'short O'
- roze
('pink') - (de) katastrofe2
('catastrophe') - (de) zone2 ('area')Compare with: - (het) ros
('trusted horse') - rozen2
(roses) 'short' U
or 'voiceless, unstressed E'
(the 'schwa')
- (het) oeuvre
('an artist's body of work')
As I've mentioned before, 'long' and 'short' are traditional
terms, the difference is actually more a matter of tone
English A's
English A's are (like in the English words) Dutch
'long E'
'short E'
- and actually following the Dutch
spelling rules
- (de) baby
('baby, very small child') - (de) tank
('tank') - (de) manager
('manager' - English G) - (de) tram
('streetcar, tram')
- (de) flat
('apartment in high-rise building' // 'high-rise apartments building')
- (het) flatje
(apartment') - flats
('high-rise apartment buildings')
AE
In a few words of Latin origin AE is said as Dutch
'long E'
- English A as in FACE:
Caesar2 - (de) praeses / (de) quaestor ('president; treasurer')
- (de) laesie2
('lesion' - medical jargon)
but in old-spelling Dutch family names AE is said as
'long A'
- Bogaerts234 - Van Rensselaer - Waelput2 - Kersemaeker
/ (see also: Old Spelling in
Names)
French AIE As in the original French, like Dutch
'long E'
- (de) portemonnaie
('purse')
'French/Italian' AINE as in the original French or Italian, Dutch
'short E'
+ N +
'voiceless, unstressed E'
(the 'schwa')
- (de) migraine2
('migraine') - (de) quarantaine
2
(quarantine)
French AIR As in the original French, a long
Dutch 'short E'
+ R -
(de) militair / militaire
('militairy') - ordinair2
("common," 'vulgar')
- vulgair2
('vulgar, cheap')
- populair2
('popular, generally liked')
- (de) documentaire
('documentary')
French AU - like Dutch
'long O'
- (de) auto
('car')
- automatisch
('automatic, automatically')
- (het) restaurant2
('restaurant') - (de) aubergine2
('eggplant')
Some people say words like these with a Dutch AU:
(de) auto
but to me that doesn't sound nice
- (de) automaat
('something "automatic"')
- autochtoon
('original inhabitant')
- I don't like it
- but the already ugly - (de) automatiek2
('fast-food vending machine') is OK
B in MBT
MBT: B is dropped between M and T:
(de) ambtenaar
('civil servant, government worker')
- (de) beambte
('an official')
- (het) ambt
(''office,' job title of official')
- ambtelijk2
('official, 'bureaucratic')
French CH
Several words from French have kept the French CH (like English SH): - (de) charme
('charm') - charmant
('charming') - (de) cheque
('check (money)') - (de) chirurg
('surgeon') - (de) chocola
('chocolate') - (de) machine2
('machine') - (de) manchet
('cuff') - manchetknopen
('cufflinks') - (de) broche
('brooch') - (de) douche
('shower')
(also French OU, like
Dutch OE
)
É -
as in French, Dutch 'long E'
hé
('hey!') - één
('one, 1') - (het) café2 ('cafe, bar')
È -
as in French, Dutch 'short E'
hè
('expression of disappointment') - (het) appèl
('appeal')
- (de) première
('festive opening night')
- (de) carrière
('career')
- (de) kassière
('cashier (female)') - (de) misère2 ('misery')
EA pronounced as IA It's only a small difference, but a few not uncommon words
pronounce the E before a long A as Dutch long I, English EE:
- (het) ideaal2 ('ideal') - idealen
('ideals') - (de) idealist
('idealist')
French EAU
French eau is just like Dutch long O
- (het) bureau
('office; office desk') - (de) bureaustoel
('office chair') - (het) politiebureau2
('police station') - (het) cadeau
('a present')
(also written as 'kado')
- (de) eau de Cologne
('inexpensive perfume')
-EUM ending in
words from Latin, E and U are pronounced
separately:
- (het) museum
('museum') - (de) petroleum
('petroleum')
- the everyday cheap fuel
/ (de) petroleum
('petroleum')
- engineers' crude oil
- (het) Atheneum
('high-level High School')
Greek EU
EU from Greek sounds like Dutch
UI: - Zeus2 - Zeus Odysseus Theseus - (het) eufemisme2
('euphemism') - (de) euthanasie2
('euthanasia') - (het) neutron23
('neutron') - (de) therapeut2
('therapist') - therapeut
pseudodemocratie
('therapist pseudo-democracy')
- (het) pseudoniem
('pseudonym')
French euille As in the original French,
Dutch Diphthong UI
+ consonant Y(Dutch J)
+ 'voiceless, unstressed E'
(the 'schwa')
- (de) portefeuille
('wallet') - (het) feuilleton23
('feuilleton, (print) serial')
French G
1. Several words from French have kept the French G
- to my ears it sounds like Dutch ZJ - (het) percentage
(' % ') - (de) energie2 ('energy') - (de/het) genie2
('genius' - person // the military corps of engineers)
- (de) gel
('gel') - gênant
('embarrassing') - (de) gène2
('embarrassment') - (de) logeerkamer
('guest room')
- (de) passagier
('passenger')
- (de) slijtage
('wear and tear') - (de) giraf
('giraffe') - corrigeren
('to correct') - (de) marge2 ('margin') - (de) geste2 ('gesture') - (het) college ('class at college or university')
First G Dutch, second G French:
- (de) garage
('car repair shop // car housing')
- (de) bagage2 ('luggage') - ongegeneerd2
('without shame or embarrassment')
French OU: (de) bougie
('spark plug')
- (de) courgette
('zucchini') 2. A very small number of not very common words in Dutch
have a 'hard' French G (very similar to G in English GO or
BEGIN):
- (de) guerilla2 ('guerilla') - (de) gouache
('gouache') - bigarreaux2
('candied cherries')
- (de) guillotine2
('guillotine') - (het) gaullisme
('gaullism') - Grenoble
('a city in France')
French GN
'French' GN is pronounced as N - Consonant Y (Dutch NJ):
- (het) signaal2 ('a signal') - signaleren2
('to notice, point out')
- magnifiek
("magnificent") - (het) vignet2
("certificate") - (de) appelbeignet
('a type of apple cake')
In the often-used, common word
champignons ('button mushrooms')
the NG has disappeared. With difficulty I say (exaggerated!)
champiGNons Compare with 'regular' Dutch GN:
- (de) magneet2 ('magnet') - Agnes
(girls' name)
H after T H in TH is not pronounced:
- (de) thee
('tea') - (de) theorie2
('theory') - (de) apotheek2
('pharmacy') - thuis
('at home') - (het) thema
('theme') - Thea
(girls' name) - (de) catharsis
('catharsis') - (de) therapie
('therapy')
- thermometer
('thermometer')
- mythe
('myth')
Compare: - thee/teen
('tea/toe') - thans/tand
('at present/tooth') - ether/eter
('ether/eater') - theoloog theïne
('theologist/theine (=caffeine)')
Do note that T and H are pronounced
separately in some compound words
(like in English 'pothole') - for example:
witheet
(wit-heet)
2
([white-] 'red-hot')
French ier
French ier sounds like
consonant Y + A like in FACE,
Dutch J + 'long E'
- (de) premier
('prime minister')
- compare with regular Dutch
kassier ('male cashier, bookkeeper')
IEU 'ieu'
represents two somewhat different sounds:
when ending in W,
Dutch -IEUW
2
is like EW in English NEW —
it is said Dutch IE
+ consonant Y(Dutch J) + Dutch
UW
but to my ears it sounds more like
Dutch IE
+ Dutch OE
though the difference is very small
-
But when ending in S or R:
'long i / IE'
+ Dutch EU
+ S or R, with a faint consonant‑Y
(Dutch J) connecting I and EU - serieus
('serious') - furieus
('furious, very angry')
- ambitieus
('ambitious')
(T as TS)
- religieus
('religious') - superieur
('superior') - inferieur
('inferior') - curieus2
('strange, odd, makes you wonder')
In a few Dutch words from French the i
in IEU is just a consonant Y(Dutch J) - (de) ingenieur
('engineer' - French G)
- (het) milieu2
('(the) Environment')
-ING ending
The -ing ending sounds just like in English RING:
ring2 ('ring') - ding
('thing') - dinges
('what's-its-name, what's-his-name')
French J
pronounced somewhat like Dutch ZJ
(like 'French G' mentioned above)
- (de) journalist
('reporter')(French OU) - (het) journaal
('TV News')(French OU) - (de) jam
('jelly, jam')(English A) - (de) jus2 ('gravy')
(also French -US ending)
Some French L and LL's as in the original French, consonant Y(Dutch J) - (het) detail
('detail') - [(het)] failliet2
('bankrupt' // 'bankruptcy')
- (het) faillisement23
('bankruptcy') - (de) medaille2 ('a medal') - (het) braille
('Braille') - (de) taille2 ('waist') - (de) wespentaille
('a wasp's waist')
- fouilleren2
('to frisk, body-search') - (de) vanille2
('vanilla') - (de) portefeuille
('wallet')
NK = "NGK" Like in English, NK sounds like NGK
compare:
bang
('afraid')
/ (de) ban
('spell // excomunication')
/ (de) bank
('bank; bench')
- (het) zink
('zinc' - metal)
/ (de) zin
('sense // desire // sentence,
line') ‑>> / zing
('(I) sing')
- zinken
('to sink')
/ zingen
('to sing')
/ zinnen
('senses // desires // sentences')
- drinken
('to drink')
/ dringen
('to push, press forward')
- wankel2
('not stable')
/ wangen
('cheeks')
In
diminutives, the G of the -ING ending is dropped in the
spelling, but not in the sound of the word
- (de) koning
('king')
/ (het) koninkje
('little king')
- (de) haring / (het) harinkje2
('herring') More examples:
-
(de) klinker
('vowel // clinker' - street paving)
- (de) medeklinker
('consonant')
- (de) klank
('sound')
- (de) stank2
('stink, a bad smell')
- (de) stinken
('to smell bad')
- (de) vink
('finch' - a bird)
- (de) pink
('little finger, pinky')
- (de) inkt2 ('ink') - [(de)] enkel
('only, single // ankle') - (de) winkel2
('a shop')
->> - donker2
('dark') - dronken
('drunk' - too much alcohol)
- (de) bunker2
('bunker, blockhouse')
- afhankelijk
('dependent') - een
kink in de kabel2
('a kink in the cable, a problem came up')
French O French O sounds like a long Dutch
'short O'
roze
('pink')
compare with Dutch short O:
- (het) ros
('an old, trusted horse') - rossig
('reddish')Dutch 'long O'
- (de) roos2 ('rose')rozen2
('roses') ->> - roze rozen
('pink roses') - roze roos2
('pink rose') - roze ros
("pink horse")
more French O:
- (de) katastrofe2
('catastrophe') - (de) zone2 ('area')compare with:
- zonnen2 ('suns') - zonen
('sons')
second O is French:
- (de) trombone
('trombone') -
(de) controle2
('checking on, verification of')
- (het) comfort2
('comfort')
Greek OE
OE in words from Greek is pronounced as
Dutch EU:
oecumenisch2
('ecumenical') - Oedipus
('Oedipus')
(Latin -US ending pronounced as OOS, Dutch OES)
- oedipaal
('like Oedipus') - (het) oedeem
('edema, water retention')
- (de) foetus23
('fetus,' unborn baby)
Frech OEU
OEU in words from French is pronounced
much like Dutch 'short' U
or 'voiceless, unstressed E'
(the 'schwa') but a little longer:
- (het) oeuvre
('an artist's body of work')
- (de) manoeuvre2
('maneuver, strategic move')
- though the OEU of the Dutchified verb
manoeuvreren2
('to maneuver')
is pronounced as English OO (Dutch OE
)
French Oi As in French,
Dutch W + 'short A'
or W + 'long A'
- (het) toilet
('toilet, bathroom') - (het) dressoir / (het) boudoir
('fancy dining room cabinet; a lady's dressing room')
French OU
French OU is like English OO,
Dutch OE
- (de) gouverneur
('governor') - (de) route
('route, way, course') - (de) routine
('routine, habit') - (de) troubadour2
('troubadour, minstrel') - (de) coureur
('race car driver, motorcycle racer')
- (het) enthousiasme23
('enthusiasm') - enthousiast23
('enthusiastic') - (de/het) rouge
('make-up item, red')
(French G) - (het) bouillonblokje2
('beef cube') - (de) souffleur
('stage whisperer') - (de) zouaaf
('zouave' - Papal soldier) - zouaven
('zouaves')
Mid-word DT
At normal speaking speed, mid-word TD is
pronounced
as D. Only in deliberately slow speech are the
letters pronounced separately. There is no difference in the
pronunciation of ontd- and ond-:
- ontdekt
ondier ont-dekt
('discovered monster')
T in CHTJ, STJ, STZ
T is usually dropped in CHTJ, STJ, STZ
- (de) postzegel ('stamp' - mail)
- postzegels ('stamps')
- (het) tochtje
('small trip')
It's just too much effort, too hard to say:
pos-t-zegel2
or
toch-t-je - zachtjes
('softly')
- (het) nichtje
('cousin (female); niece')
- (het) luchtje
('a smell // something fishy')
- (het) nestje
('a bird's nest')
- (het) feestje2
('small party')
- (het) kastje
('small cabinet') - worstjes
('small sausages') - (het) kastje / (het) worstje2
('small cabinet / small sausage')
Stress, Emphasis in a word (de) klemtoon2
stress, accent, emphasis (in a word)
See also: (de) nadruk2
'emphasis, stress, focus' -
moreDutch has the almost identicalvooruit2
('forward! come on!')
and
(de) voorruit2
('windshield, front window') - the difference is not in how the R's
are said, but in the stress of the words:
"voorUIt"
2
or
"vOOrruit"
2
Similarly, a very small number of words with identical spelling get a different
meaning with a shift of the stress or which E's are voiceless, unstressed:
'uh' stands for 'voiceless (unstressed) E'
(schwa)
bedelen:
bedelen("beDElen - buhdéluhn"
- to apportion, distribute)
bedelen
("BEdelen - béduhluhn"
- to beg, ask for things)
- bedelaar2
- 'beggar'
more about het and 't Dutch has two definite articles 'the:'
de2 and het
- more " 'n "
- 'n
is another way to write the indefinite article
een ('a') which has the
same, there irregular pronunciation
- 'n beetje
('a little')
more
m'n
is short for the first person singular possessive
mijn
('my')
z'n
is short for the third person male singular possessive
zijn
('his')
z'n lust en z'n leven
([his passion and his life]
something very important to him') zo een2
('such a')
is often shortened to
zo'n2
- it sounds somewhat like
zoon
('son')
usually no voiceless E, but it can be exaggerated to
zoown234 zo'n mooie dag
2 such a beautiful day
zo'n sombere zomer
such a dark, sad summer
" 'r "
- 'r
('her // ~there')
- for ease of pronunciation, often said a bit slangy as:
d'r
('her // ~there')
'r is
either short for the third person female singular possessive
haar
('her')
- or the word of many meanings
er
('~there')
more d'r op of d'r onder
([on top of it or under it]
- 'do or die')
" 's "
pronounced as S (no voiceless, unstressed E) Apostrophe-s can be:
1.
an indication of time:
's morgens
('in the morning')
-
's middags
('in the afternoon')
-
's avonds
('in the evening')
-
's nachts
('at night')
-
's zomers
('in Summer')
-
's winters
('in Winter') - see also the
'Time' page
2.
for S-plurals of words ending in single A, I, O or U,
to keep that single vowel 'long:'
foto's
('pictures, photographs')
- risico's('risks') - more
(if we would write "fotos" or "risicos" OS would
be pronounced with a short O, which is not correct, and to write
"fotoos" or "risicoos" would look silly.)
3. an incorrect possessive, following the English model, very common:
Jan's vrienden
("Jan's friends")
it should be: "Jans vrienden.")
‑>>
aä, eë,
eï, eü,
ië, oë,
uï, uü
Diaeresis (dieresis) - two dots on top of a vowel indicate that
the vowel is pronounced separately from the preceding vowel(s), not
forming a long vowel or a diphtong. In Dutch, it's called
(het) trema It may look somewhat similar to the German
Umlaut, but its meaning is completely
different.
Kanaän / kanaal
('Canaan / channel')
- beëdigd / beet
('sworn in, board-certified / animal bite; gotcha!')
- geïnd / gein
('money collected / fun' - slang)
- reünie / reuma
('reunion / rheumatism')
- piëteit / pieten
('piety / Peters')
- agrariër / gier
('agriculturist, farmer / vulture')
- poëten / poezen
('poets / cats')
- bedoeïen / loeien
('bedouin / to moo')
- coördinatie / koord
('co-ordination / cord, rope')
- ruïne / ruime
('ruin / roomy, spacious')
- vacuüm / buur
('vacuum / neighbor')
- geëerd2
('honored, respected')
- weeën
('contractions' - birth)
- kopiëren2
('to copy, xerox')
- ingrediënt
('ingredient')
- België2
('Belgium')
- De Zeven Provinciën
('The Seven Provinces' - official name of the Dutch Republic ca. 1600-1795)
-
De Verenigde Provinciën
('The United Provinces' - official name of the Dutch Republic ca. 1600-1795)
-
Nederlands-Indië2
('The Dutch Indies' - Indonesia of the Dutch colonial era)
- Californië
('California')
- Oekraïne
('Ukraine')
- Israël ('Israel')
- Sinaï
('Sinai')
- Rafaël
(boys' name)
- Daniël
(boys' name)
