On Newsstands Now! Asian Geographic Passport No. 31 Issue 2/2014 === Going Dutch This One’s For The Civilians The word “Dutch” has the same origin as Deutsch (German), meaning “those who speak a popular language”. The term originated in the Middle Ages to set apart the language spoken by common people from Latin, the language used for writing. Despite their shared origin, Dutch cannot be considered a variant of German, but rather is a unique Germanic language spoken by some 23 million people. In Dutch, people use the term “Nederlands” to refer to their language. It is derived from the name of the country, Netherlands, which means “low countries”. For many centuries, people in the Netherlands used to speak all kinds of Dutch dialects, including Flemish, Brabantic, Hollandic and Limburgish. Only in the 17th century did a standard version of Dutch develop, the basis of which was the Dutch translation of the Bible. Dutch is the official language of the Netherlands and of Belgium (where French is also an official language). The Dutch never made an effort to spread their language in their former colony, Indonesia, but they did so in the Caribbean, where it is still spoken in Surinam and the Netherlands Antilles. In South Africa, some six million descendants of Dutch colonists speak Afrikaans, a language derived from Dutch. While the grammar and vocabulary of Dutch are similar to German, the pronunciation is quite different. A singular characteristic of Dutch is the guttural pronunciation of the letter “g”, which is pronounced almost as if people are gargling. Learning how to speak Dutch typically gives you a sore throat at the beginning! Text by Jeroen Dewulf Only In Asian Geographic Passport Http://Www.Asiangeo.Com/ - #Asiangeographicpassport #Asian #Geographic #Passport #Travelwithoutborders #Asia #Reflections #Mirror #Taleoftwocities #Jakarta #Amsterdam #language #Netherlands #Dutch #French
Posted on: Wed, 19 Mar 2014 03:00:01 +0000