The Dutch language belongs to the Germanic group of languages of the Indo-European language family. Following strictly to the theory of linguistics, the Dutch is just a common dialect, and what is being taught in courses is called the Netherlandish. In each province of the Netherlands throughout the country people speak their own version of the common language which is far different from the others primarily in phonetics. In addition to it there is the Belgian, Flemish and Dutch in Suriname.
Dutch language belongs to the Germanic group of languages of the Indo-European language family. Following strictly to the theory of linguistics, the Dutch is just a common dialect, and what is being taught in courses is called the Netherlandish. In each province of the Netherlands throughout the country people speak their own version of the common language which is far different from the others primarily in phonetics. In addition to it there is the Belgian, Flemish and Dutch in Suriname. Do not forget about Afrikaans that is an isolated language of Dutch colonialists in South Africa. The last three languages differ from classical one in vocabulary and pronunciation. As for Afrikaans it has even different grammar. Thus the Dutch is a set of dialects, pronunciations, and borrowings primarily from English and French.
The Dutch have been also aware of that that is why they are keen to study foreign languages rather than expand their own. This explains why the language is spoken only within the Netherlands and Belgium which were mighty naval and colonial powers. It is interesting also that the complete spelling rules for the Dutch were elaborated only in the XIX century. Despite the apparent "disregard" for the native language, the Dutch are very happy if foreigners can speak at least a couple of sentences in broken Dutch.
Dutch writing system is based on the Latin alphabet. Grammatically the language itself is close to the German. This means that you will encounter numerous articles and rules of the location of separated affixes in the sentence. Formation of the numerals is alike German; instead of "thirty-six," the Dutch say "six and thirty". And, of course, one will have to learn conjugations of strong, weak, and modal verbs, which are characteristic for a number of Germanic languages. Fortunately, unlike German in Dutch there is no cases ( those who already speak German may think why not learn Dutch also). Though Dutch language has an incredible number of dialects (only in Flanders there are about two thousand and a half, and those who already speak German may think may be better not to ...) Of course, only one official dialect - Algemeen Nederlands is used in education, mass media etc.
For those who would like to learn the basics of the language there are websites such as http://www.dutch-lesson.nl/ and others. But if you just need a couple of phrases, here they go:
 |
| Netherlands |
Dutch language belongs to the Germanic group of languages of the Indo-European language family. Following strictly to the theory of linguistics, the Dutch is just a common dialect, and what is being taught in courses is called the Netherlandish. In each province of the Netherlands throughout the country people speak their own version of the common language which is far different from the others primarily in phonetics. In addition to it there is the Belgian, Flemish and Dutch in Suriname. Do not forget about Afrikaans that is an isolated language of Dutch colonialists in South Africa. The last three languages differ from classical one in vocabulary and pronunciation. As for Afrikaans it has even different grammar. Thus the Dutch is a set of dialects, pronunciations, and borrowings primarily from English and French.
The Dutch have been also aware of that that is why they are keen to study foreign languages rather than expand their own. This explains why the language is spoken only within the Netherlands and Belgium which were mighty naval and colonial powers. It is interesting also that the complete spelling rules for the Dutch were elaborated only in the XIX century. Despite the apparent "disregard" for the native language, the Dutch are very happy if foreigners can speak at least a couple of sentences in broken Dutch.
Dutch writing system is based on the Latin alphabet. Grammatically the language itself is close to the German. This means that you will encounter numerous articles and rules of the location of separated affixes in the sentence. Formation of the numerals is alike German; instead of "thirty-six," the Dutch say "six and thirty". And, of course, one will have to learn conjugations of strong, weak, and modal verbs, which are characteristic for a number of Germanic languages. Fortunately, unlike German in Dutch there is no cases ( those who already speak German may think why not learn Dutch also). Though Dutch language has an incredible number of dialects (only in Flanders there are about two thousand and a half, and those who already speak German may think may be better not to ...) Of course, only one official dialect - Algemeen Nederlands is used in education, mass media etc.
For those who would like to learn the basics of the language there are websites such as http://www.dutch-lesson.nl/ and others. But if you just need a couple of phrases, here they go:
Hello | Hallo |
Good evening | Goedenavond |
Good night | Goedenacht |
See you soon | Gauw tot ziens |
Yes | Ja |
No | Nee |
It depends on… | Dat hangt er van af |
I don’t know | Ik weet het niet |
I don’t think so | Ik denk het niet |
I think, yes | Ik denk het |
I think so | Dat denk ik |
It doesn’t matter | Het doet er niet toe |
I don’t mind | Het kan me niet schelen |
Of course | Natuurlijk / Zeker |
True | Waar |
With pleasure | Met plezier |
Where? | Waar? |
Why? | Waarom? |
What? | Wat? |
Who? | Wie? |
How? | Hoe? |
How much? | Hoeveel? |
Is there? | Is/Zijn er? |
Here you are | Alstublieft |
Thank you (very much) | Dank je/u (zeer) |
Excuse me | Neem me niet kwalijk |
Excuse me, but… | Het spijt me, maar… |
Shame on you | Dat is jammer |
May I… | Mag ik… ? |
Congratulations! | Gefeliciteerd! |
Happy birthday! | Fijne Verjaardag |
Marry Christmass! | Prettige kerstdagen! |
Happy New Year! | Gelukkig NieuwJaar! |
Merry Easter! | Zalige paasdagen! |
Good luck! | Veel geluk |
Bon appétit! | Smakelijk eten |
Bon voyage! | Goede reis! |
Enjoy your stay! | Prettige vakantie! |
Take care! | Doe voorzichtig! |
Good day! | Een goede dag verder! |
