Archive for April, 2009
Dutch Monsters/Creatures Posted by Transparent Language on Apr 30, 2009
Children everywhere in the world are told scary stories about mythological creatures as a warning to behave. Dutch children are no exception. Here are some evil and some not quite so evil supernatural beings that exist in Dutch folklore: (Boeman) is the Bogeyman of the Netherlands. According to Dutch lore, a man dressed in black…
Queen’s Day Posted by Transparent Language on Apr 29, 2009
Koninginnedag is Queen’s Day in the Netherlands. It’s a national holiday and celebrated towards the end of April. It’s a day of Saamhorigheid or national unity and pride. One this day the people of the Netherlands are proud of being Dutch and are proud of having the Dutch royal family represent them. The key event…
Queen Beatrix Posted by Transparent Language on Apr 28, 2009
If you’ve ever stopped by the Netherlands, you’ve probably heard about “the Queen” at least in passing. America is one of those countries without royalty, but in Europe and in the Netherlands, the royal family is still alive and kicking. Queen Beatrix’s full name is Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard. She was born in January 31st 1938…
Basic Dutch Phrases Posted by Transparent Language on Apr 27, 2009
(Goedemorgen) – good morning (Goedemiddag) – good day (Goedenavond) – good evening (Goedenacht) – good night (Tot ziens) – good bye (Alstublieft/Alsjeblieft) – please (formal and informal) (Dank u wel/Dank je wel) – Thank you (formal and informal) (Hartelijk bedankt) – Thank you very much (Graag gedaan) – You’re welcome (Ja/Nee) – Yes/No (Hoe gaat…
Dutch Alphabet Posted by Transparent Language on Apr 26, 2009
You’ll need to know the names of Dutch letters so that when you ask the spelling of certain word you’ll know how to write the word. a – called ah in Dutch b – bay c – say d – day e – ay f – eff g – khay h – hah i –…
More Dutch Consonants Posted by Transparent Language on Apr 25, 2009
The following consonants are pronounced similar to English except for a few exceptions: b – when b occurs at the end of a word it is pronounced as a p. Example: (web) web c – when the c is before i or e, it’s pronounced like the English s. (ceremonie) ceremony. Otherwise it sounds like…
Dutch Consonants Posted by Transparent Language on Apr 24, 2009
Here are the Dutch consonants that have the same pronunciation in English: m – (man) man n – (niet) not s – (samen) together q – (quiz) quiz x – (extra) extra Here the consonants that are very similar to the English consonants, but are pronounced a lot softer in Dutch than in English: h…