Dutch/Lesson Flemish

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The Dutch you learn in this book is standard Dutch, i.e. Dutch as spoken in the Netherlands. But what about the Dutch spoken in Belgium/Flanders? Is it the same?

[edit] Introduction

Flemish is spoken in the parts of the light-blue and orange regions (1, 22, 23). It contains Westvlaams (1), Oostvlaams (23) and Brabants (22). 21 is North Brabants and 24 is Limburgish.

[edit] What is Flemish?

Flemish (Vlaams) is the Dutch language as spoken in Flanders and parts of the Netherlands. It is a special case- not a language and not a dialect. It has no official status or anything comparable. Wikipedia says that Flemish is the term for a limited group of non-standardised dialects.

This lesson is about Flemish, i.e. the differences between Dutch as spoken in the Netherlands and in Flanders (Belgium).

[edit] Why should I read or learn this?

To learn Dutch, this lesson is not required. If you e.g. want to go to Flanders, Flemish people have certainly no problem understanding the standard Dutch you learn. Still, if you want to understand them, it is a good idea to read this page.

[edit] Where is it used?

As you read above, it is a group of dialects spoken in Flanders. Flemish is spreektaal, this means it is not commonly used as written language, but as spoken language.

Flemish is even used on TV programs and in schools (by teachers). In short, people using standard Dutch in informal situations seems strange to most people.

[edit] Differences

[edit] Personal pronoun

The second-person singular jij/je is rarely spoken in Flanders. Instead you'd hear gij/ge (in standard Dutch this is archaic and only used in religious contexts).

[edit] Consequences in verb forms

The form gij always needs a t at the end of the following verb form (persoonsvorm). In regular verbs, this does not have any consequences, but irregular verbs become either regular or even more irregular:

• zijn (to be): "jij bent" (you are, singular) → "gij zijt"
  • Maybe you think: "Bent" ends on -t, isn't it? You will hear "gij bent" too, but less. For some speakers "gij zijt" is a bit too dialectical.
• zijn (to be): "jij was" (you were, singular) → "gij waart"
• zullen (will, shall): "jij zult" or "jij zal" (you will, singular) → "gij zult"
• mogen (to be allowed to): "jij mag" (you're allowed to, singular) → "gij moogt"

If your knowledge of Dutch is good, you may notice that these irregular forms are actually more regular than the normal forms (moogt < mogen (stem = mo[o]g) + t, instead of "mag").

[edit] Inversion

When using inversion in standard Dutch, you don't use the ending "t", i.e. "jij bent" → "ben jij". But when using "gij", the ending "t" has to stay:

• "Zijt gij ...?"
• The "t" can also be replaced by a softer "de"; "Zijde gij ...?"
• In some sentences, without stress on "gij", you can just omit the word i.e. "Zijde ..."
• When using the first form, with the ending "t", you always pronounce that letter. Except the often used form "zijt gij" (or, in general, "gij zijt" can also be just "zij gij" / "gij zij".

[edit] First-person singular

Note that "ik zen" is also used instead of "ik ben".

[edit] Second-person plural

When using the second-person plural form, you can use "gijle" ("jullie" in standard Dutch). This form uses the same verb forms as "gij" (like in German), which is not the case in standard Dutch, so:

You see the difference?

[edit] Objective

In standard Dutch the form u is formal and jij is informal. In Flanders, u is used for both formal and informal. This is not the case in subject, but rather in object.

To understand example sentences, you should know the following:

An example (note that this is a sentence which is very strange, but it shows better what this is about)

• (English) You give it to you
• (Dutch) Jij geeft dit aan jou
• (Flemish) Gij geeft dees aan u

[edit] Other personal pronouns

The form "gijle" influences the other personal pronouns; i.e. you will sometimes hear "wijle" instead of "we"/"wij" (we) and "zijle" instead of "ze"/"zij" ('they). Note that "gijle" uses singular verb forms, while "wijle"/"zijle" uses plural verb forms, but all of them have plural meanings; this phenomenon is also seen in German.

[edit] Diminutives

Dutch has diminutive forms, and in Flemish all those forms can be replaced by one form: -(...)ke. Examples:

• Dutch (English): Dutch diminutive → Flemish diminutive
• boek (book): boekje → boekske
• huis (house): huisje → huizeke

[edit] Mistakes and errors

Surprisingly, there are not only just dialectal forms, but also mistakes and errors which are common in Flanders.

• In the comparative form, the word "dan" (than) is often replaced by "als".
  • (English) I am bigger than you
  • (Dutch) Ik ben groter dan jij
  • (Flemish) Ik ben/zen groter als gij/u
    • Comes from Ik ben zo groot als jij/gij/u (translated I am as big as you are)

• To ask what the name is of someone, you have to use the verb "heten", but in Flanders the verb "noemen" is used. (This is a gallicism.)
  • (English) What is your name?
  • (Dutch) Hoe heet jij? (literally translated from English (correct): Wat is uw naam?)
  • (Flemish) oe noemde gij?
    • Comes from Hoe word jij genoemd? (How are you called?)

[edit] Articles and pronouns

The articles and some pronouns differ from standard Dutch.

Indefinite articles: In Dutch, the difference between gender has no or little influence on these articles. Native speakers cannot distinguish masculine and feminine words. For native speakers in Flanders, they just have to follow this rule/thing to distinguish them:

• Masculine words
  • een auto → nen auto
  • een man → ne man (-n for easier pronunciation)
• Feminine words
  • een vrouw → een vrouw

Demonstrative pronouns: Some examples:

• Masculine words
  • deze auto → dezen auto
  • deze man → deze' man (no pronounced -n, to simplify pronounciation)
  • die auto → dien auto (it can often differ slightly, e.g. "dieën" or "dienen")
  • die man → die' man/dieë' man (no pronounced -n, to simplify pronounciation)
• Feminine words
  • Like in AN: die vrouw, deze vrouw
• Neuter words (dat, dit)
  • dat boek → da boek (word-final letters which are not pronounced)
  • dit boek → dees boek

[edit] Vocabulary

Flemish has a lot of influence from French. See w:nl:Lijst van verschillen tussen het Nederlands in Nederland, Suriname en Vlaanderen for a complete list.

[edit] Pronunciation

Flemish people often do not pronounce word-final letters. Some examples:

• maar (but) → ma
• wat? (what?) → wa?
• niet (not) → nie
• ...

While in the Netherlands the r is being less spoken, in Flemish the h is rarely pronounced:

• mogelijkheid (possibility) → mogelekeid

And of course, like in the whole area of the Dutch language (except the West Flemish and Low Saxon areas), the n' in the suffix -en is rarely articulated:

• This suffix occurs in verbs; werken (to work) → werke
• And also in plural; boeken (books) → boeke

[edit] See also

• Flemish (English Wikipedia)
• Vlaams (Dutch Wikipedia)
• Tussentaal (Dutch Wikipedia)