Learn where Dutch is spoken
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| Michael: Where is Dutch spoken? |
| Atie: And how many varieties of Dutch are there? |
| Michael: At DutchPod101.com, we hear this question often. Imagine the following situation: Emma Engels is meeting another college student, Inge Iedema, for the first time. On hearing Emma speak Dutch, Inge asks, |
| "Where did you learn Dutch?" |
| Inge Iedema: Waar heb je Nederlands geleerd? |
| Dialogue |
| Inge Iedema: Waar heb je Nederlands geleerd? |
| Emma Engels: In België. |
| Michael: Once more with the English translation. |
| Inge Iedema: Waar heb je Nederlands geleerd? |
| Michael: "Where did you learn Dutch?" |
| Emma Engels: In België. |
| Michael: "In Belgium." |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Michael: In the conversation, Inge asks the question, "Where did you learn Dutch?" |
| Atie: Waar heb je Nederlands geleerd? |
| Michael: to which Emma responds, "In Belgium." |
| Atie: In België. |
| Michael: Were you surprised to learn that Emma learned Dutch in a country other than the Netherlands? |
| Believe it or not, Dutch is spoken by nearly 30 million people worldwide as either a first or a second language. Specifically, Dutch is spoken by the majority of people in the Netherlands and more than half of the people in Belgium and Suriname. |
| Michael: The form of Dutch spoken in Belgium, |
| Atie: in België, |
| Michael: is called Flemish. In particular, this is the form of Dutch spoken in the northern region of Belgium known as Flanders. |
| Michael: Additionally, one of the official languages of South Africa, |
| Atie: Afrikaans, |
| Michael: derives 90-95% of its vocabulary from the Dutch language. |
| Michael: It is said that Dutch straddles itself almost equally between German and English in terms of word etymology and sentence structure, meaning the language learning process is a bit easier for native speakers of either language. |
| Michael: So, the next time you're trying to immerse yourself in Dutch culture, remember that it's spoken all over the world. Even if you will not be hopping on an international flight any time soon, you can still practice your language skills by consuming media such as music, movies, podcasts, and news from the various Dutch-speaking countries across the globe. |
| Practice Section |
| Michael: Let's review the sample conversation: Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud, and then listen carefully as the native speaker models the correct answer. Repeat after her, with the focus on your pronunciation. Are you ready? |
| How do you say, "Where did you learn Dutch?" |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Atie: Waar heb je Nederlands geleerd? |
| Michael: Did you get it right? Listen again and repeat. Remember to focus on your pronunciation. |
| Atie: Waar heb je Nederlands geleerd? |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Atie: Waar heb je Nederlands geleerd? |
| Michael: Let's move on to the second sentence. How do you say, "In Belgium"? |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Atie: In België. |
| Michael: Did you get it right this time? Listen again and repeat. |
| Atie: In België. |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Atie: In België. |
| Cultural Insight/Expansion |
| Michael: Did you know that Flemish, |
| Atie: Vlaams, |
| Michael: is not an official language? |
| Michael: This means that Flemish people officially speak Dutch, or |
| Atie: Nederlands. |
| Michael: Despite this, there are, indeed, some differences. Let's look at some examples of different words used to mean the same thing. If a Dutch speaker would like to meet with someone in the morning, they would use the word |
| Atie: ochtend, |
| Michael: which translates, in English, as "morning." |
| Michael: In the same situation, a Flemish speaker, however, would use the word |
| Atie: voormiddag, |
| Michael: which directly translates to "before afternoon," but is also used to mean "morning." |
| Michael: Similarly, if a Dutch speaker would like to meet with someone in the afternoon, they would use the word |
| Atie: middag, |
| Michael: which translates as "afternoon." |
| Michael: A Flemish speaker in the same situation would instead use the word |
| Atie: namiddag, |
| Michael: which would translate as "after afternoon," but is, again, simply used to mean "afternoon." |
| This is not only confusing for Dutch-language students but for native Dutch speakers as well. As you continue your language journey, you will learn more interesting differences in the meaning of words between Dutch and Flemish. |
Outro |
| Michael: Do you have any more questions? We're here to answer them! |
| Atie: Doei! |
| Michael: See you soon! |
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