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A Dutch speaker. Dutch ( endonym: Nederlands [ˈneːdərlɑnts] ⓘ) is a West Germanic language spoken by about 25 million people as a first language [4] and 5 million as a second language. It is the third most widely spoken Germanic language, after its close relatives English and German.
Learn the basics of Dutch language, such as greetings, money, travel and shopping, with examples and tips for travelers. Find out how to communicate with Dutch people in Amsterdam and other regions of The Netherlands, Belgium and Indonesia.
Apr 3, 2024 · Dutch language, a West Germanic language that is the national language of the Netherlands and, with French and German, one of the three official languages of Belgium. Although speakers of English usually call the language of the Netherlands ‘Dutch’ and that of Belgium ‘Flemish,’ they are actually the same language.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- What is the Dutch language?The Dutch language is a West Germanic language that is the national language of the Netherlands and, with French and German, one of the three offic...
- Where is Dutch spoken?Dutch is the language of most of the Netherlands, of northern Belgium, and of a small part of France along the North Sea. Dutch is also used as the...
- How did the Dutch language develop?The Dutch language derives from Low Franconian, the speech of the Western Franks, which was restructured through contact with speakers of North Sea...
- Standard Dutch
- Dutch in Belgium / Flemish
- A Brief History of Dutch
- Dutch Alphabet
- Sample Text in Standard Dutch
- Sample Videos in Dutch
- Germanic Languages
The official or standard form of Dutch is known as Algemeen Beschaafd Nederlands (ABN), 'General Civilized Dutch'. It is taught in schools and used by authorities in the Netherlands, Flanders (Belgium), Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles. An association known as the Taalunie (Language Union), which was set up by governments of the Netherlands an...
The Dutch dialects spoken in Belgium are collectively known as Flemish (Vlaams). They differ to some extent from the Dutch spoken in the Netherlands in terms of intonation and pronunciation, and there are minor differences in vocabulary, including loanwords from French and English not found in Standard Dutch. [top]
The Dutch language developed from the Lower Franconian (Niederfränkisch) dialect of Low German. The earliest known example of written Old Franconian appears in a 9th century Latin manuscript, the Laws of the Salic Franks, and in translations of the Psalms. Some poetry written in Middle Dutch dating from the 12th and 13th centuries survives. The Dut...
Note
There is also a digraph, IJ ij (lange ij), which was once written Y y, a letter which is now mainly used in foreign loanwords. Y is also known as Griekse ij, i-grec or ypsilon. ij is sometimes written with accents on both parts (íj́).
Alle mensen worden vrij en gelijk in waardigheid en rechten geboren. Zij zijn begiftigd met verstand en geweten, en behoren zich jegens elkander in een geest van broederschap te gedragen. A recording of this text
Information about Dutch | Useful Phrases | Silly Phrases | Colours | Numbers | Time | Family words | Weather words | Tongue twisters | Tower of Babel | Learning materials | My podcast about Dutch| [top]
Afrikaans, Alsatian, Bavarian, Cimbrian, Danish, Dutch, Elfdalian, English, Faroese, Flemish, Frisian (East), Frisian (North), Frisian (Saterland), Frisian (West), German, Gothic, Gottscheerish, Gronings, Hunsrik, Icelandic, Limburgish, Low German, Luxembourgish, Mòcheno, Norn, Norwegian, Old English, Old Norse, Pennsylvania German, Ripuarian, Scot...
Dutch ( Dutch: Nederlands) is a West Germanic language. It comes from the Netherlands and is the country's official language. [3] It is also spoken in the northern half of Belgium (the region called Flanders ), and in the South American country of Suriname.
History of the Dutch language. Dutch is a West Germanic language, that originated from the Old Frankish dialects. Among the words with which Dutch has enriched the English vocabulary are: brandy, coleslaw, cookie, cruiser, dock, easel, freight, landscape, spook, stoop, and yacht. Dutch is noteworthy as the language of an outstanding literature ...
Dutch is a West Germanic language spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language. It is the third most widely spoken Germanic language, after its close relatives English and German. Afrikaans is a separate but mutually intelligible sister language of modern Dutch, and a daughter language of an earlier form of Dutch. It is spoken, to some degree, by at ...
