dbl dutch

Double Dutch: Language in the Lowlands: 

Double Dutch: Language in the Lowlands John Nerbonne, Director, Linguistic Research, University of Groningen Curious about the Dutch? 2004

Double Dutch: 

Double Dutch Basic facts History Structure Influence on English Varieties Color Future

Basic Facts about Dutch: 

Basic Facts about Dutch 21 million speakers in The Netherlands and Belgium (Flanders) more in Suriname, Aruba, Indonesia approx. 140,000 in US (1990 census) 48th in list of most widely spoken languages (2000) Afrikaans is related, nearly intelligible (but speakers not the counted in the 21 mill.) “Plattdeutsch” likewise closely related (Low German spoken in Northern Germany) Frisian also related, but less closely First documents ca. 1100 AD

Genealogy of Dutch: 

Genealogy of Dutch

How Do We Know Prehistory?: 

How Do We Know Prehistory?

Influences : 

Influences Statenbijbel (1637) standardization Celtic -- rijk ‘kingdom’, ijzer ‘iron’, klok ‘clock’, ambacht ‘craft’ Latin -- keizer ‘emperor’, straat ‘street’, school ‘school’, poort ‘gateway’, pond ‘pound’, peper ‘pepper’ Frisian -- tjalk ‘small boat’, sjokken ‘trudge’, klunen ‘walk w. skates on land’, kapen ‘capture (as a pirate)’

French Borrowings: 

French Borrowings enquête ‘questionaire’, bureau ‘office’, bureaucratie, administratie, officieel, procedure avontuur ‘adventure’, blazoen ‘coat of arms’, lans ‘lance’, rivier ‘river’, kampioen, ‘champion’ buffet, kasteel ‘castle’, matras ‘mattress’, meubel ‘furniture’, feest ‘feast’, plantsoen ‘plantation’

French Cuisine, Family: 

French Cuisine, Family asperge ‘asparagus’, azijn ‘vinegar’, citroen ‘lemon’, compote ‘stewed fruit’, fazant ‘pheasant’, meloen ‘melon’, prei ‘leek’, rijst ‘rice’, saus ‘sauce’, taart ‘cake’ papa, mama

More Influences: 

More Influences Spanish -- cargo, tornado, commando, orkaan ‘hurricane’ Russian -- doerak ‘fool’, mammoet ‘mammoth’, apparatsjik Japanese -- japon ‘gown’, samoerai, sjogoen, geisha, zen, mikado

Yiddisch: 

Yiddisch smeris ‘cop’, gesjoemel ‘dishonest dealings’, jatten ‘steal’, stiekem ‘secretly’, bajes ‘jail’, gokken ‘gamble’ smoes ‘dodge, excuse’ kapsones ‘insolence, rudeness’ lef ‘guts’, ‘mazzel ‘luck’, gein ‘joke’ mies ‘bad, poor’ tof ‘nice, fine’

Colonial Influences: 

Colonial Influences Sranan -- bo-bo ‘big shot’ Indonesian, Malaysian -- pakkie-an ‘task’, piekeren ‘worry’, pienter ‘smart’, nasi (goreng), bami (goreng), sambal oelek, sate, ketjap, rames

German Influences: 

German Influences Medical: arts, allergie, chromosoom, secreet `secretion’, polikliniek, heilgymnastiek `physical therapy’, homeopathie Psychology: autisme, paranoia, waanzin `madness’, narcisme, gestaltpsychologie General: Nachwuchs `younger generation’, überhaupt, Kater (meaning hangover)

English Influences: 

English Influences Too many modern borrowings to count Technology, politics, pop culture, science “Reborrowings” cruise `pleasure trip on a boat’ gin `genever’made popular in England by William of Orange (taxed French imports)

English Borrowings?: 

English Borrowings? stationcar `station wagon’ jack `jacket’ gráfiti (note stress) cola light `diet coke’ folder `brochure’ beamer `lcd projector’

Double Dutch: 

Double Dutch Basic facts History Structure Influence on English Varieties Color Future

Distinctive Structure: 

Distinctive Structure Sounds Spelling Words Phrases Meanings

Unusual Sounds: 

Unusual Sounds Diphthongs (combined vowels) hij huis hou haai hooi boei leeuw nieuwe schuwe Minimal combinations huis, schuwe, leeuw - involve front rounded vowel like German ‘ue’ or French ‘u’ Complex Combinations? i u a …groeien i e u o a Spanish,Russian

Unusual Sounds: 

Unusual Sounds ‘harde g’ as in Groningen, lage landen ‘Low Lands’, rug ‘back’, acht (8) noiser than German Bach, Russian xopoo combination with ‘s’ used as “test” for foreigners (and spies): Scheveningen

Spelling: 

Spelling Dutsj is essensjullie a Loo Sjurmennik lenkwitsj wis det vunkie letter (det riepleezes Y) plus a serieuslie koel ortografie. regular reforms,last ’95

Unusual Words: 

Unusual Words Can anything be a verb? voetballen, tennissen, bridgen, etc. computeren `do something w. computers’ musiceren `make music’ klussen `do odd jobs’ gebiologeerd `biologized’ (fixated) opsexen `make something sexy’

Can anything be diminutive?: 

Can anything be diminutive? lam/lammetje `lamb/lammykins’ eventjes `shortly’-kins tussendoortje `in the midst of’-kins onder ons-je ‘[a conversation etc.] between you and me’-kins

Unusual Phrase Structure: 

Unusual Phrase Structure “Verb Second” like German vestiges in English Hans gaat morgen naar huis Hans goes tomorrow to home ‘Hans is going home tomorrow’ Morgen gaat H. naar huis Naar huis gaat H. morgen In the forest lived a woodsman. Never have I been so shocked.

Unusual Phrase Structure: 

Unusual Phrase Structure Cross-Serial Dependence Subject-Verb Relations Cross Hans vermoedt dat (H. suspects that) Piet Marie leert zwemmen teach to swim ‘Hans suspects that P. is teaching M. to swim’

Cross-Serial Dependence: 

Cross-Serial Dependence Crossing Relations Iterate Theoretically hard to process Hans vermoedt dat Jantje Piet Marie zag leren zwemmen saw teach swim ‘H. suspects that J. saw P. teach M. to swim.’

Unusual Meanings: 

Unusual Meanings ‘Negative items’ occur only with negation English ‘ever’, ‘any’, ‘budge’, ‘give a hoot’ Dutch has at least 100 of these Groningen research Hoeksema, Zwarts (current rector)

Double Dutch: 

Double Dutch Basic facts History Structure Influence on English Varieties Color Future

Dutch Borrowings in English: 

Dutch Borrowings in English Shipping and naval boom, bow, buoy, commodore, cruise, dock, freight, keel, keelhaul, pump, skipper, sloop, yacht, smuggle Textiles bale, duck (cloth), nap, spool, stripe Art easel, etching, landscape, sketch War beleaguer, holster, freebooter, onslaught

Dutch Borrowings in English: 

Dutch Borrowings in English Food and Drink booze, brandy, coleslaw, cookie, crullers, waffle Other bluff, bully, boss, derrick, dollar, drill, dike, frolic, grime, hunk, kink, runt, scum, slim, snap, spook, stoop

Dutch Accents in English: 

Dutch Accents in English Dutch command of English is excellent--generally Dutch [dyt] (like French u, German ü) “spelling” mispronunciation Bob [bp], God [gt], dog [dk] language [lk.ft] [l.g]

‘Dutch’ in English: 

‘Dutch’ in English ‘double Dutch’ - nonsense ‘in Dutch with her’ - in trouble with ‘Dutch treat’, ‘go Dutch’ - split costs (no treat) ‘dutchman’ - cover-up for construction error ‘Dutch courage’ - from alcohol ‘Dutch bargain’ - deal made w. alcohol ‘Dutch uncle’ - someone with unwanted advice ‘Dutch disease’ - politics of consensus (W.Laqueur) also ‘Dutch oven’, ‘Dutch doors’ -- but mostly negative

Double Dutch: 

Double Dutch Basic facts History Structure Influence on English Varieties Color Future

Dutch Dialects: 

Dutch Dialects Experts distinguish 3-5 main areas, approx. 30 areas in total (in only 40K km2) Frisian recognized as “minority language” Lower Saxon, Limburgs recognized as “regional languages” Lay interest enormous clubs, songs, web sites, publications

Dutch Dialect Areas: 

Dutch Dialect Areas

How different are dialects from each other?: 

How different are dialects from each other? Standard Dutch Groningen Zeeland Frisia Flanders Twente Ons oude huis is afgebrand Our old house [is] burned down

Dialect Differences: 

Dialect Differences oude / ouwe / olle huis / hus (ü) / hoes afgebrand / afbraat / outband / afabraat

How different are dialects from each other?: 

How different are dialects from each other? Standard Dutch Groningen Zeeland Frisia Flanders Twente De pastoor heeft goede wijn The minister has good wine

Dialect Differences: 

Dialect Differences wijn / win xoede / xoeje / xoje / xoeoe / hoede / goede / beste heeft / het / ai / hat

Other major differences: 

Other major differences final n ‘lopen’ standard lope, Groningen lop’m hard/soft g ‘laag’, ‘Goede’ how much “noise” in the g/ch aspirated (English-like) vs. unaspirated (French-like) p,t,k phaard, paard

Dialects vs. Standard Dutch: 

Dialects vs. Standard Dutch

Dialect Continuum?: 

Dialect Continuum?

Double Dutch: 

Double Dutch Basic facts History Structure Influence on English Varieties Color Future

Color: 

Color Interest in Language Coinages with cultural speculation Humor Obscenity? Idioms, Proverbs

Interest in Language: 

Interest in Language Onze Taal - private foundation for language issues Taalunie - government organization for questions of standards, technology Algemeen Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal - 45K pages! World’s largest Dictionary. Six regular language columns in newspapers

Interest in Language: 

Interest in Language Foreign languages 5 in college-prep. schools (gymnasia) Excellent facility with English (even TV) Foreigners trying to learn Dutch find it difficult to find Dutch who are willing (they all want to practice English) but Dutch are critical of foreign residents “who don’t take the trouble to learn Dutch”

Culture & Coinage: 

Culture & Coinage vergadercultuur - ‘meetings culture’ alle neuzen dezelfde kant op - ‘all noses in the same direction’ -- the goal of decision makers is consensus gedoogbeleid - ‘policy of tolerance’, esp. w.r.t. soft drugs & sex, sometimes also w.r.t. zoning & safety maaiveld ‘mowing field’ - whatever pokes out above the rest is cut back derogatory terms for show-offs, braggarts, etc - kapsones; kakkineus, elitair of dik doen; opscheppen; naast je schoenen lopen; spatjes hebben; jezelf op de borst kloppen

Culture and Coinage: 

Culture and Coinage inspanningsverplichting - ‘responsibility to try’ verworven rechten - ‘acquired rights’ planologie - ‘urban planning’ onthutst, verontwaardigd, verbijsterd, ontgoocheld - lots of words covering indignation wildplassen ‘urination outside usual facilities’

Humor: 

Humor About the Dutch - miserly How to break up a demonstration? Pass a collection plate. Why are Dutch nostrils so big? --The air is free. What’s a Dutchman do if he wins the lottery? --Recounts the money. In fact the Dutch donate generously

Dutch Humor: 

Dutch Humor Strong “maaiveld” streak -- humor that cuts big shots down to size “Gonzo” elements, free fantasy Youp van ‘t Hek on Maxima even makes fun of the royal family (uncommon target)

Everyone loves Cruijff: 

Everyone loves Cruijff "Italianen kennen niet van je winnen, maar je ken wel van ze verliezen.” (Italians can’t beat you, but you can lose to them.) “Als je wilt scoren, moet je schieten” (If you want to score, you have to shoot) “Ieder nadeel heeft z’n voordeel” (Every disadvantage has its advantage)

Obscenity: 

Obscenity lots of cursing, obscenity obscenities focus on genital rather anal area less sensitive no “forbidden words” for radio, TV cursing - wishing disease krijg de tering/kanker/tyfus/pokken/stuipen/beroerte! `get TB/cancer/typhoid/smallpox/convulsions/stroke’ Bond tegen het Vloeken ‘Anti-Cursing League’ campaigns in train stations religious focus

Idioms and Proverbs: 

Idioms and Proverbs Appreciated in speech and prose Idioms often based on water and shipping Water Dat zet geen zoden aan de dijk That sets no sod on the dike That doesn’t help. oude koeien uit het sloot halen old cows out of the trench haul Bring up painful memories van de wal in de sloot from the bank into the trench out of the frying pan, into the fire

Idioms and Proverbs: 

Idioms and Proverbs Idioms based on shipping, fishing tussen wal en schip vallen between shore and ship fall fall between the cracks de beste stuurlui staan aan de wal the best helmsmen stand ashore Talk is cheap Achter het net vissen behind the net fish go through the motions with little chance of success

Proverbs: 

Proverbs Pieter Brueghel the Younger (1564-1638) created a painting dedicated to Proverbs Copied his father’s work Many other versions -- popular topic

Dutch -- The Future: 

Dutch -- The Future Unrest about influence of English Minister of Education Ritzen proposed that universities switch to English (1993) Lots of English in everyday Dutch Ik heb alle hits gedownload van de web I downloaded all the hits from the web English “more attractive” in experiments, but not more reliable, knowledgeable Will Dutch survive? --Unquestionably. Giftshop Marianne / Cadeauwinkel Marianne

A Bit of Gronings: 

A Bit of Gronings Groningers known for laconic understatement Het kon minder -- high praise unlike Eng. ‘It could have been worse’ My wish: when you summarize your stay here, you’ll want to say “Het kon minder” ‘It could have been less’