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A (Southern) Dutchie By Any Other Name Would Smell As Sweet Posted by tiffany on Sep 23, 2013
In the post A Dutchie By Any Other Name Would Smell As Sweet, we talked about some of the traditions behind Dutch names: where they came from, how they were registered, why there are male and female versions to a variety of Dutch names, and why some Dutch names are so darn long! Reader Irma…
The De vs. Het Dilemma Solved… (Well, Almost) Posted by tiffany on Aug 21, 2013
‘De’ or ‘het’? The lack of hard and fast rules makes this one of life’s great enigmas. Loads of Dutch language learners (myself included) search far and wide for an explanation. Some trick or secret that will eliminate the de vs. het dilemma. The thing is… there isn’t one. This is most likely something…
A Dutchie By Any Other Name Would Smell As Sweet Posted by tiffany on Aug 14, 2013
What’s in a name? When it comes to Dutch names, apparently quite a lot. Take first names, for instance. Seems the Dutch were firm believers in getting their money’s worth out of them. First names would survive in one family for generations. As it turns out, there was an intricate formula that kept them going…
Dutch Words that are Good for Your Health Posted by tiffany on Aug 11, 2013
There’s a saying in Dutch, “gezondheid is de grootste schat.” Health is the greatest treasure. But, sometimes, despite our best efforts, poor health swoops in to rain on our parade. While most Dutch people speak excellent English, it’s always nice to know the lingo. When it comes to your health and well-being, you want to…
Your Guide to Dutch Abbreviations Posted by tiffany on Aug 3, 2013
In last week’s post, we went over afkortingen (abbreviations) for chattaal (chat language) – think BRB, LOL, etc… but in Dutch. In a comment on the post, Peter reminded us that there are many, many afkortingen employed in every-day Dutch language that can sometimes make you feel like you’re trying to crack a secret code…
These Dutch Text Abbreviations Will Have You ROTFLOL Posted by tiffany on Jul 26, 2013
Ours is an age of abbreviations. No matter what we’re doing, we want the short cut. And one of the first places that was reflected was in our communication with one another. Can you imagine a time before LOL and BRB and L8TR and CU? It’s difficult isn’t it? If you’re anything like me, you…
Think Learning Dutch is Hard? It Could Be Worse. You Could Be Learning English! Posted by tiffany on Jul 25, 2013
Have you seen the graphic making the rounds on Facebook? The one about all the reasons why English is hard to learn? It includes things like “the soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert” and “after a number of injections my jaw got number.” Pretty mind blowing, huh? Lots of Dutch language learners…