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Traditions: Death and a funeral Posted by Transparent Language on Dec 10, 2008
Today’s topic is: Dutch traditions… I’ll probably get back to this topic in the future, depending on what kind of interesting stuff I can find about Dutch traditions…Also, feel free to make suggestions! If I would ask someone: what’s the first thing that comes to your mind when I mention the name: Holland? Some of…
Battle of Genders Posted by Transparent Language on Dec 8, 2008
Today I would like to tell you something about the Dutch genders. Unlike what you may have read somewhere else, there are still feminine and masculine genders in the Dutch language. Even though the use of genders is fading and has been fading for several ages, there are still words that are only masculine or…
The Stairs of Equation Posted by Transparent Language on Nov 17, 2008
I’m not sure if the title is a known concept in the English language. It’s a literal translation of: De trappen der vergelijking = literal: The Stairs of Equation = Comparative and Superlative Adjectives. Every Dutch adjective can take three forms to convey the amount of strength of the word. We…
Deze, die, dit, dat Posted by Transparent Language on Nov 10, 2008
As I was browsing – again- on the internet, I noticed a little problem some people have with the Dutch language. I’m talking about the pronouns dit/deze and die/dat. I think in English both pair of pronouns would be this/that. Of course, in Dutch we have common gender words and neuter gender words that’s why…
Love and Marriage Posted by Transparent Language on Nov 5, 2008
I am a romantic at heart. When watching television; tv shows, movies, soap operas… my one guilty pleasure is swooning over romantic marriage proposals. From the carefully planned dinners with the ring in a piece of ice cream, to the spontaneous proposals in the spur of the moment, with nothing but a piece of string…
Dutch Consonants Posted by Transparent Language on Nov 2, 2008
In Dutch we have about twenty consonants. These consonants are categorized by way of articulation in five different ‘sound’ groups. I’m not sure if there are official English translation for each of the sound groups, so I’ll just give you the Dutch term and I’ll try to describe the sounds as best as I can…
Weather in the Netherlands Posted by Transparent Language on Oct 27, 2008
The climate is changing. You hear about this every day. It’s a thought of concern, also – maybe even especially – for the Dutch people, who’ve been living with the dangers of the sea for as long as one can remember. We’ve confined the waters with dykes. Sometimes successfully, sometimes the waters fought back. In…