Both Santa Claus / Kris Kringle and the 'Dutch' girl in the movie
'Miracle on 34th Street' speak Dutch with an accent. Now of course
nobody would expect Kris Kringle to be a native speaker of Dutch, he
could speak Dutch with any accent (Arctic?) but for the people in the
audience who know Dutch it's a disappointment that the supposedly
Dutch girl speaks with an American accent. It's not credible that she
cannot speak English. Shattering the illusion of reality. Would
it have been so hard to find a really Dutch girl?
It's a
long time ago that I saw the movie. I had assumed it would be
about the same as the play, but Jeannine Kellogg pointed out to me
that the Dutch lines I had from the play are not what's said in the
movie. Thank you Jeannine!
Also find some Dutch material from other alternative versions below
The Movie
Kris: Hallo! Ik ben blij dat je gekomen bent.
2
- Hallo!
Hello! I'm glad you came by.
blij
('glad') - there is no sound like Dutch IJ
in English, but here in the movie the actor says it about right
An actor who will remain unnamed
( )
asked me to read these lines from
a play version, and added a few lines himself.
Kris: Ja, en wat is je naam, klein meisje?
Yes, and what is your name, little girl?
Girl: Marijke
- I would recommend an 'easier' name, like
Marieke
K: Marijke, waarom huil je zo?
Marijke, why are you crying [that badly]?
G: Omdat ik geen vriendinnetjes heb.
Because I don't have (any) (girl)friends
K: Geen vriendinnetjes heb! Als je een lief meisje bent en luistert
naar je nieuwe moeder, dan vind je zo andere meisjes om mee te spelen,
en die willen vast ook je vriendinnetjes zijn.
You have no friends? When you are a good girl and listen well to
your new Mom, then you'll easily find other girls to play with, and
I'm sure they'll want to be your friends.
G: Maar ik weet niet waar ik over moet praten.
But I don't know what to talk about.
K: Dan gaan we een St Nicolaasversje zingen. Ken je dat versje? We
gaan het samen zingen.
Then we'll sing a Santa Claus song. Do you know that song? We'll
sing it together.
This is more like regular Dutch to me
('liedje' instead of 'versje')
Kris: Dan gaan we een sinterklaasliedje zingen.
Ken je dat liedje? We gaan het samen zingen.
Then we'll sing a Santa Claus song. Do you know that song? We'll
sing it together.
Additional lines
On first meeting Santa, Marijke is a little surprised, because Santa
looks a bit like the Dutch Sinterklaas; and at the end the
actor playing Kris Kringle added a few lines saying goodbye.
I was asked for some other lines for the girl
and a Dutch version of 'Good King Wenceslas'
Sinterklaas!
Santa! Ik wil een pop
I want a doll
en ik wil dat oma op bezoek komt
23and I want Grandma to come visiting
ik mis de mensen uit Nederland
I miss the people from Hollandhear
complete
First try on Good King Wenceslas:
Op de dag van Sint Steven
23On the day of St Steven
Zag koning Wenceslas
2[Saw] King Wenceslas saw
De sneeuw die gevallen was
2The snow that had fallen
Heel mooi, maar bitter koud
2Very pretty, but bitter coldhear
complete alternate last line: Heel mooi, maar diep en koud
Very pretty, but deep and cold
A better version:
Op de dag na Kerstmis zag
2On the day after Christmas [saw]
Goed' Koning Wenceslaus
Good King Wenceslas (saw)
De sneeuw die op 't land lag
2The snow lying on the land
Heel mooi, maar bitter koud
2Very pretty, but bitter cold
hear complete
A slight variation:
Goed' Koning Wenceslaus zag
Good King Wenceslas saw
Op de dag na Kerstmis
2On the day after Christmas
De sneeuw die op 't land lag
2The snow lying on the land
Heel mooi, maar bitter koud
2Very pretty, but bitter cold
hear complete -
2
alternate last line: (St James Infirmary) Zo mooi, zo diep, zo koud
So beautiful, so deep, so cold
(Poetic license
(dichterlijke vrijheid2)
allows "Goed' Koning Wenceslaus" - gramatically correct would be:
'de Goede Koning Wenceslaus')
Another theatre group had a kind-of phonetic version of probably a
hunting song:
Waldhoorns schallen voor jong en voor oud
French horns ring out for young and for old 'schallen'
234to ring out, peal, blare
Klink, waldhoorns, klink
Ring, French horns, ring
Blaas zo krachtig en prachtig mooi
Blow powerfully and so very beautifully
Waldhoorns schallen helder en luid
French horns ringing clear and loud
Klink, waldhoorns