Dutch Language Blog

Using Online Newspapers to Improve Your Dutch

Posted on 08. Nov, 2011 by heather in Culture, Dutch Language

Photo Credit: lusi

Have you been looking for a way to improve your Dutch? Maybe you were looking for a way to increase your vocabulary, or to improve your comprehension skills or you just wanted some real-world examples of Dutch in use. Well, perhaps online newspapers/news sites are something for you.

Not only do online newspapers/new sites provide you with an almost endless supply of material to practise your Dutch on, they also keep you up-to-date on what is going on in the Netherlands and Belgium.

Here’s a selection of four online newspapers/news sites to help get you started.

Nu.nl – Founded in 1999, Nu.nl (nu = now) is one of the most visited news sites in the Netherlands. You’ll find a regular dose of current news, economy (economie), sport, health (gezondheid), culture and media (cultuur en media). You can also get the weather (weer) and traffic (verkeer). Nu.nl is really good at isolating current events on their homepage, for example there is currently a section for news relating to the situation in Greece (Griekenland). Don’t miss the NUfoto and NUtvgids either.
AD.nl – AD.nl is the web component of the popular newspaper, the Algemeen Dagblad. Here you’ll find a daily dose of news as well as puzzles, videos and even your horoscope (horoscoop).
De Telegraaf – Based in Amsterdam, this online element of the national newspaper contains many sensational and sports related stories. Don’t miss the comics (strips) and travel (reizen) sections.
De Standard Online – De Standard Online is a combination of an online news portal for the Belgium newspaper, De Standaard and a news portal where you can view domestic, foreign, culture, media, economy, sports, fashion, food and drink, film and travel stories. You will need a paid subscription to access the portal but there is plenty available in the free portion to keep you busy for quite some time.

Where Else to Look

If you are interested in finding more newspapers in Dutch, why not check out the website, Paperboy. Filling in a few search boxes and clicking search will bring up a whole list of newspapers from Belgium and the Netherlands that are available online. You’ll even be provided with click through links and information on which language the newspaper is written in.

What Dutch language online newspapers and news sites do you follow? Have you recently read an interesting news story online? Tell us about it in the comments or over on the Transparent Language Facebook page.

Ik Hou van Holland – I Love Holland

Posted on 27. Oct, 2011 by heather in Culture, Dutch Language, Dutch Vocabulary

Ik hou van Holland (I love Holland) – whenever I hear or see that phrase it makes me think of the Dutch game show with the same name. The show, hosted by Linda de Mol, is on the tv channel RTL4 and tests “famous” Dutch people on their knowledge of the Netherlands.

Two teams, lead by two captains (currently Jeroen van Koningsbrugge and Guus Meeuwis) try to win as many points as possible by, amongst other things, answering questions about Dutch culture…

…and guessing well known Dutchmen and Dutchwomen…

…and trying to figure out who is telling the truth about the definition of unusual Dutch words…

You don’t see it in the above clips but when the show begins a version of the song “Ik hou van Holland” by Heintje is used, which sounds like this:

In case you have a great desire to sing along with the intense passion, I have included the words for you below. If, on the other hand, you are looking for different ways to profess your love or just a crush on someone, then have a look at this previous post on Transparent Language – Words of Love: How to Say I Love You in Dutch.

Ik Hou van Holland

Ik hou van Holland, landje aan de Zuiderzee
Een stukje Holland draag ik in m’n hart steeds mee
Daar waar die molens draaien in hun forse kracht
En waar de bollen bloeien in hun schoonste pracht
Ik hou van Holland, met je bossen en je hei
Jouw blonde duinen in een bonte rij
Op heel dees grote aard, al ben ‘k van huis en haard
Is het kleine Holland mij ‘t meeste waard

Holland, met je koetjes en je weiden
Ik mag jou zo gaarne leiden
Met je molens aan de vliet
Holland, al trek ik naar vreemde stranden
En doorkruis ik alle landen
Jou vergeten doe ik niet

Ik hou van Holland, landje aan de Zuiderzee
Een stukje Holland draag ik in m’n hart steeds mee
Daar waar die molens draaien in hun forse kracht
En waar de bollen bloeien in hun schoonste pracht
Ik hou van Holland, met je bossen en je hei
Jouw blonde duinen in een bonte rij
Op heel dees grote aard, al ben ‘k van huis en haard
Is het kleine Holland mij ‘t meeste waard

*Lyrics from www.nomorelyrics.net

How to Pronounce Diphthongs and Vowel Combinations in Dutch

Posted on 26. Oct, 2011 by heather in Dutch Language, Dutch Vocabulary

That's one way to remember how to pronounce "ei"

If you want to make yourself understood in a foreign language or really sound like a native speaker, then spending some time practising pronunciation is going to be a key factor for you. In Dutch many of the sounds are quite similar to their English counterparts, although not all, and it is in the diphthongs and vowel combinations that some people really start to get stuck.

To help you out, I have compiled a list of different descriptions on how to pronounce the different diphthongs and vowel combinations you find in Dutch. Some of the descriptions do seem more like training for the mouth Olympics but this is by no means an exhaustive list, so if none of the descriptions works for you, there are plenty more to be found.

Diphthong/Vowel Combination	Pronunciation	Example
oe	-like oo in tooth -as in book but with your lips more rounded	boek (book), hoek (corner), hoe (how)
eu	-like ay in day but with rounded lips -like eu in French feu -try making the vowel sound in dirt while rounding/pouting your lips tightly	neus (nose), deur (door), leunen (to lean)
ei/ij	-similar to y in my or by but starting with e as in get -a quick combination of eh+ee -between the English vowel sounds in fate and fight -in between the English vowel sounds in night and late	schrijven (to write), tijd (time), mei (May)
ui	-a quick combination of short a followed by rounded uu (like ee in meet but with rounded lips) -English vowel sound as in house while tightly pursing your lips and pressing your tongue down	huis (house), uit (out), tuin (garden)
uw	-a combination of rounded uu followed by a slight w sound -combination of uu and oe	uw (your), duwen (to push), ruw (rough)
ou	-similar to ou in loud or cloud -similar to ow in now -vowel sound as in shout but start by rounding your lips more with your mouth wide open	koud (cold), oud (old), hout (wood)
aai	-long aa (similar to a in had or sat) followed bi i -combo of aa and ie (as in cheat)	saai (dull), baai (bay), naaien (to sew)
eeuw	-long ee (similar to ay in day but clipped), followed by short u or w -combination of ee and oe	eeuw (century), sneeuw (snow), schreeuwen (to shout)
ooi	-long oo (similar to o in wrote or oa in boat but clipped), followed by short i -similar to oy in toy -combination of oo and ie	mooi (beautiful), ooit (ever), nooit (never)
oei	-combination of oe and ie -long oe followed by short i	boei (buoy), loeien (to moo), koeien (cows)
ieuw	-long ie followed by short u or w -combination of ie and oe	nieuw (new), kieuw (gill), opnieuw (once again)

How do you remember some of the different sounds in Dutch? Share your tips, tricks and hints in the Facebook group.