Full text |
xxx Language. HOLLAND.
Teutonic origin, it has admitted a considerable number of Romanic
words to the rights of citizenship: thus, kantoor (comptoir), kwar-
tier (quartier), katoen (coton), kastrol (casserole), rekwest (requéte),
gids (guide), ete. Words of foreign origin, however, have been
imported from motives of convenience or fashion, rather than abso-
lute necessity. The language is remarkably rich and full of vital
energy, and words of purely native growth are to be found in almost
every branch of science and art. The following lines from a popular
ballad will serve as a specimen: —
Wij leven vrij, wij leven blij | (Literal translation: ‘We live free,
Op Neérlands dierbren grond, | we live blithe, on Netherlands’ dear
Ontworsteld aan de slavernij, ground; delivered from slavery, we
Zijn wij door eendracht groot en vri are through concord great and free;
Hier duldt de grond geen dwinglandij | here the land suffers no tyranny,
Waar vrijheid eeuwen stond. | where freedom has subsisted for
(Brandt.) | ages’.)
The pronunciation of Dutch somewhat resembles that of Ger-
man, but is more guttural, and therefore more difficult for the
English student. The vowels a, e, 7, 0, w are pronounced as in
French, and are lengthened , but not altered in sound, by being
doubled (thus oo = 0); ei and jj, or y, are like the vowel sound in
the French pays; aw and ow like ow in now, but broader (aw-o0) ;
ew like the French eu; oe like the English oo or the German u;
ui has a sound fluctuating between oi and ow (as in now). All the
consonants are pronounced as in English, except g and ch, which
have a guttural sound like the ch in the Scottish word loch; w, which
is pronounced like v; j like the English y or ee; and v like f.
The definite article is de for the masculine and feminine, and
het for the neuter; genitive des, der, des, or van den, van de, van
het; dative den, der, het, or aan den, aan de, aan het; plural for
all genders de, der, den, de. In popular language the genitive and
dative forms with ‘van’ and ‘aan’ are universally used.
The declension resembles the German. The plural of substantives
is formed by the addition of s or of en (dative plural always en).
The pronouns are ik, 1; mij, me, to me; wij, we; ons, us, to us;
gij, thou, you; wu, thee, to thee, you, to you; hij, he; hem, him, to
him; het, it; ij, she; haar, her, to her; sij, they; hun, to them;
hen, them. Mijn, mijne, my; uw, wwe, thy, your; sijn, sijne, his;
haar, hare, her; onze, ons, our; hun, hunne, their. Wie, who
(interrog.); wat, what; hoe, how ; wanneer, when. Die, who (re-
lative); dat, which.
Cardinal numbers: een, twee, drie, vier, vijf, zes, zeven, acht,
negen, tien, elf, twaalf, dertien, veertien, vijftien, zestien, zeven-
tien, achttien, negentien, twintig, een en twintig, etc., dertig,
veertig, vijftig, zestig, zeventig, tachtig, negentig, honderd,
duizend. Ordinal numbers: de eerste, de tweede, de derde, de
vierde, de achtste (Sth), etc., de twintigste, de tachtigste (80th), etc.
Partitive numbers: een half, een derde, een vierde, etc. ; |