[The Face of Dutch]

Lesson 1

Listen to Dutch - Vowels Explained (1) - Learn A Few Words - 'Holland' and 'The Netherlands'

[a ship on a river]
Just listen to the sounds of Dutch - don't worry about a thing - much will be explained in the course of the lessons.

Henk Marsman: Herinnering aan Holland (Remembering Holland) (1936)
click to hear
Denkend aan Holland zie ik brede rivieren traag door oneindig laagland gaan,
When I think of Holland I see wide rivers flow slowly in boundless lowlands,
click to hear
Rijen ondenkbaar ijle populieren als hoge pluimen aan de einder staan;
Rows of improbably thin poplars stand like high plumes at the horizon;
click to hear
En in de geweldige ruimte verzonken de boerderijen verspreid door het land,
And lost in the enormous space farms dotting the land,
click to hear
Boomgroepen, dorpen, geknotte torens, kerken en olmen in een groots verband,
Clumps of trees, villages, truncated towers, churches and elm trees in a grand union,
click to hear
De lucht hangt er laag en de zon wordt er langzaam in grijze veelkleurige dampen gesmoord,
The sky is low and slowly the sun is smothered in a multicolored grey haze,
click to hear
En in alle gewesten wordt de stem van het water met zijn eeuwige rampen gevreesd en gehoord.
And in all parts the voice of the sea is heard and feared, spelling disaster eternally.
click to hear
(The complete poem)
Is it too fast? Hear some Slow Dutch.

Vowels (1)

Klinkers click to hear ('vowels'): a, e, i, o, u - singular: klinker click to hear
Medeklinkers click to hear ('consonants'): b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, w, x, y, z - singular: medeklinker click to hear

Most of the consonants in Dutch sound very similar to English consonants; the few exceptions will be dealt with in a later lesson. >>
Dutch vowels not always represent the same sounds as in English; for instance, English HANK sounds like Dutch HENK click to hear (a boys' name), English CASEY like Dutch KEESSIE click to hear (a boys' nickname) and English HOOT like Dutch HOED click to hear (hat).
Dutch vowels come in two varieties, called 'short' or 'long,' though it's actually more a difference in tone. A double vowel is always long; a single vowel can be long or short - the not very difficult rule will be explained in lesson 3. >>
Today's lesson is just about getting to know some of the vowel sounds of Dutch - listen to how I say it and try to say it yourself: record how you say it and compare with how I say it, or better, listen and speak together with a friend, rate each other's efforts (isn't that a nice way to spend time?)
I am a native speaker of Dutch, not of English: my understanding of English sounds is not perfect. Listen to how I say the Dutch words - the explanations of 'like X in Y' are less important, just hints to help you.

A-short click to hear al as man vak click to hear - lat tal pad click to hear (the tone of A in STAR but shorter - hear Dutch star click to hear ('inflexible'))
A-long click to hear aal aas maan vaak click to hear - laat la taal paden click to hear (like A in CHICAGO - hear Dutch Kaag click to hear (a village))
E-short click to hear er en bed les click to hear - bed tel ren ben her- click to hear (like E in TEST - hear Dutch test click to hear ('test'))
E-long click to hear eer een beet lees click to hear - deel leed been veel click to hear (like A in MALE - hear Dutch meel click to hear ('flour'))
E-voiceless click to hear de te ze me click to hear (UH, like A in ALIVE) (schwa - more about it later)
I-short click to hear is bit lik kip click to hear - ik pit lid pillen click to hear (like I in DIM)
I-long click to hear (often written as IE) Ier kien die spier click to hear - 2 - stier piek hiel vlies click to hear (like EE in SEE)
O-short click to hear rok lot ton click to hear - kok bon hor rot click to hear (the tone of A in HALL but shorter - hear Dutch hol click to hear ('lair'))
O-long click to hear rook loot toon click to hear - kook boon hoor rood click to hear (like O in GO)
U-short click to hear fut zucht turf stuk click to hear - dun put mug lukken click to hear (sounds the same as 'voiceless E') (UH, like A in ALIVE)
U-long click to hear
duur fuut unie fusie click to hear - 2 (maybe somewhat like EW in DEW)
There is no sound in English similar to Dutch 'long U,' but is is found in French, like in cru or dur and in German, like in hügel and muesli.

Words

[knife]
mes click to hear		 [fork]
vork click to hear		 [spoon]
lepel click to hear		 [table]
tafel click to hear
[plate]
bord click to hear		 [cup]
kopje click to hear		 [glass]
glas click to hear
[a bottle of water]
een flesje water click to hear		 [a cup of tea]
een kopje thee click to hear		 [a mug of milk]
een beker melk click to hear		 [a glass of orange juice]
een glas sinaasappelsap click to hear - 2
[a cup of coffee]
een kopje koffie click to hear		 [a spooonful of sugar over a glass]
suiker click to hear		 [a bowl of whipped cream, with whisk and spoon]
slagroom click to hear - 2 		[a spoonful of whipped cream about to be added to a cup of coffee]
slagroom op de koffie click to hear - 2
The UI of suiker will be explained in the next lesson.
'Cream' for coffee is called melk click to hear ('milk'); otherwise, 'cream' is room click to hear.

'Holland' and 'The Netherlands'

In English, the common name for my country is 'Holland,' but when speaking Dutch, most people say Nederland click to hear. Generally, Dutch Holland click to hear means the Western part of the country, North of the rivers delta, at the sea, the present provinces of North and South Holland - see map. In the other parts of the country the people may say that's where the rulers live, and the poet may use it for the imagined country. So when speaking Dutch avoid saying 'Holland'. It's a bit like some people say 'England' when they mean Great Britain, the United Kingdom.
Some Dutchmen are not happy with the English usage of 'Holland' and would prefer the somewhat official 'The Netherlands.'

Thank you Billy Eric and Daniel Baskin for feedback that improved this page.

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