Archive for 'Culture'
Why Is Dutch Courage Dutch? Posted by Sten on Jan 29, 2018
Dutch courage. A well-known term for anyone that ever did something they never thought they were confident enough or strong enough for after drinking alcohol. How is that related to the Dutch? Last week, we looked at the “Dutch angle”, a film maker’s device for framing a shot, and how it is Dutch. Today, we…
The Gouden Eeuw: A Golden Time for the Dutch Posted by Sten on Jan 28, 2018
The 17th century does not spring to mind for many as a very prosperous and important time for the average person in the 21st century. After all, we now have the internet, electricity, good health care and we can travel all over the world in a matter of days. Despite that, the Dutch refer to…
Let’s Predict The Weather With Weerspreuken! Posted by Sten on Jan 15, 2018
It is January, the start of 2018. It feels like the worst days of winter are behind us, and de lente (spring) is upon us. The weather can only get better, right? Niet zo snel! (Not so fast!) Throughout the centuries, people have come up with hundreds of weerspreuken (weather proverbs), some of which are actually true! Let’s look at the…
4 New Year’s Traditions from the Netherlands Posted by Karoly Molina on Jan 3, 2018
The 2017-2018 New Year’s celebration was my first in the Netherlands, and at home, we made it a point to be as traditional as possible. It was a very nice experience and the following are 4 traditions I learned: 1. “Alvast een fijne jaarwisseling” and “Gelukkig nieuwjaar” These are the two phrases you need to…
Trema’s: ë, ï, ü, ö, ä Posted by Sten on Dec 14, 2017
Dutch is a pretty straightforward language when it comes to letters available. There’s just the simple 26, no special letters such as å or æ. Easy from A to Z! But… There are instances where a trema (diaeresis, the famous Umlaut in German) appears in Dutch. Where and why, though? eu, oe, ui, au, ou First, there are the tweeklanken that you should know…
Curious Words In Dutch 2: Voorkomen Posted by Sten on Dec 11, 2017
There are many strange words in a language. Words that are just not used much, words that are pronounced in a weird way… Just words that have something curious about them! And those are the ones we look at in this series. Today, we look at voorkomen. Previous posts in this series: Curious Words in Dutch…
Chocoladeletters – Letters of Chocolate for Sinterklaas! Posted by Sten on Dec 5, 2017
‘T heerlijk avondje is gekomen (The wonderful evening has come)! It is December 5, the day on which Sinterklaas and his helpers, the Pieten distribute the presents they wrapped for all the Dutch. But there is more than just gifts: A lot of snoepgoed (sweets)! Today, we will look at a particular one: Chocoladeletters (Chocolate letters). Bread Letters Nowadays, these yummy…