Basis Nederlands The alphabet het alfabet Pronunciation de

Basis Nederlands • The alphabet (het alfabet) • Pronunciation (de uitspraak) • Spelling (de spelling) 25 -9 -2020 1

The alphabet: the Dutch alphabet has 26 letters. a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x ij* z *The letters i and j form one letter, called "lange ij". Do not confuse the letter y, which is called "Griekse ij"or Ï-Grec" or "Ypsilon". It is usually not mentioned in the Dutch alphabet. In the dictionary you will find words starting with the letter ij under the I. 25 -9 -2020 2

An easy way to remember the correct pronunciation of the alphabet is to divide the letters into 4 groups. Group 1 These letters rhyme. They end with an [a] sound, like in Dutch [kat] Group 2 These letters end with an [ee] sound like in Dutch [nee]. Group 3 These letters are pronounced as in British-English Group 4 These letters are pronounced like in French. a b f i h c l q k d m r e n u g o x j s p z t v w The [ij] is pronounced as the ij in dijk. 25 -9 -2020 3

General: There is a strong relation between spelling and pronunciation. A long or a short vowel can make a semantic difference. vowel in Dutch spelling example (voorbeeld) translation Remarks (Opmerkingen) ie (long) ziek dief sick thief like Eng. seek but shorter similar to Engl. thief i (short) dik thick similar sounds in Engl. and Dutch ee (long) steen stone similar to Engl. main e (short) pen similar sounds in Engl. and Dutch p has no aspiration in Dutch oe boek boer book farmer in Dutch more liprounding than in Engl. oo (long) boot boat More liprounding in Dutch In Dutch it is a long vowel and no diphthong like in Eng. o (short) pot similar to Engl. sound but different because: • no aspirated p • t in Dutch is dental (tongue touches the front teeth. aa (long) staan maan stand moon lips wider spread than the short a. a (short) man dat man hat short a pronounced further back in the mouth than long aa uu (long) vuur minuut fire minute resembles French uu in minute tongue in same position as ie but with liprounding. u (short) put well tongue position similar to Dutch short a, but more liprounding. eu neus nose similar to French deux. tongue position like long ee, but strong lip rounding. 25 -9 -2020 4

Schwa: An example in English is the vowel sound in the second syllable of the word sofa, or the first syllable in about. neutral vowel u also called schwa. behalve mogelijk twintig except possible twenty the schwa in Dutch has several spellings Diphthongs: two different vowel in a single syllable, e. g boy and nose in English. ei trein dijk nylon train dike e like in Dutch pen + I like in zit. Note that ei, ij and y are three spellings for the same sound. ou au koud gauw cold soon a like in Engl. man + Engl. w. Note that ou and au are two spellings for the same sound. ui ui huis onion house Dutch eu + Engl. y like in loyal. Say it faster and you will end up with more or less the right sound. oei moeite trouble Dutch oe like in boek + Engl. y like in loyal. ooi mooi beautiful Dutch oo like in boot + Engl. y like in loyal. aai haai shark Dutch long aa like in maan + Engl. y like in loyal. ieuw new Dutch ie like in niet + the Dutch dental w. The character u is not heard. eeuw lion Dutch long ee like in steen + the Dutch dental w. The character u is not heard. Uw Uw your Note the difference in sound between nieuw and uw. 25 -9 -2020 5

Consonants p pet heb cap have t tien ten k kat cat b been bone d dit had this had f feit fact s saai dull sj sjaal meisje scarf girl sounds like sh like in Engl. show. ch acht eight guttural sound. ch machine sounds like sh like in Engl. show. This sound occurs only in words borrowed from French. 25 -9 -2020 p, t and k in Dutch are pronounced without aspiration, i. e. no breath or puff after these consonants. b at the end of a word is pronounced voiceless, like a p. d at the end of a word is pronounce voiceless, like a t. 6

tj katje kitten pronounced as one sound ressembling Engl. ch like in chat. g geel yellow In the west and north of the Netherlands similar to the guttural ch. In the south, east and in Flanders softer. logies lodging Similar to s in Engl. measure. Occurs in loanwords from French. schip s + guttural ch praktisch practical sch at the end of a word sounds like a single s. v veel much In the south and in Flanders pronounced voiced, in other parts like a f. z zon sun In the west, esp. in Amsterdam, pronounced voiceless close to a s. l laat late r rook smoke m maar but n niet not ng tong springen tongue jump pronounce as one sound, similar to Engl. singer. Never as two separate consonants. j ja yes like the y in yes. w waar where in most parts pronounced not as in Engl. but the lower lip making contact with the upper front teeth. sch 25 -9 -2020 various types of sounds: guttural, uvular, rolling, tongue-tip thrill or hardly pronounced. 7

Assimilation: two or more consecutive consonants (except l, m, n, r) must be pronounced either voiced or voiceless. translation pronounced as written hoofden heads [hoovde] ijsbeer polar bear [ijzbeer] opvouwen to fold up [opfouwen] ik heb veel. . I have many. . . [ik / 'k hep feel] zij had zeker. . she certainly had. . [zij hat seker] uitbreiden to extend [uidbreide] uitzetten to switch off [uitsette] het is veel it is a lot [tisfeel] spelled Stress: the main stress, emphasis, in Dutch is generally on the first syllable of a word. Prefixes and suffixes containing the unstressed vowel e are not stressed. geloven believe [gelófe] vertalen translate [fertále] to fold up [ópfouwen] maar: opvouwen 25 -9 -2020 8

Spelling: Dutch spelling reflects the pronunciation. Dutch distinguishes between long and short vowels. • e. g. bom (bomb), short [o] and boom (tree), long [oo] • in Dutch there are open syllables and closed syllables e. g. tafel (table) consists of two syllables: ta, open syllable ending with a vowel and fel, closed syllable ending with a consonant. ta is pronounced with a long [aa]. The plural of nouns singular plural pak (carton) mes (knife) pakken messen sing. + -en, but in order to keep the short vowel in the singular you have to double the consonant in the plural. raam (window) been (leg) boot (boat) ramen benen boten sing. + -en. Now you have double [aa] in spelling. You want to keep the long vowel from the singular. But there is no need for the pronunciation to write double aa, so you drop one a. brief (letter) brieven f v sing. + -en. Long vowel before een f. roos (rose) rozen s z sing. + -en. Long vowel before een z. 25 -9 -2020 9