Is it hard compared to English?
Is anybody learning it?
Is anybody learning it?
Dutch
I just picked up "Essential Dutch Grammar" a relatively thin book that focuses mostly on grammar (obviously).
Dutch seems pretty easy, especially compared to German or even the Romance languages for that matter... It's like, 2/3 of the way from English to German...
I haven't had a chance to get to it, but my impression is that it is quite easy.
Dutch seems pretty easy, especially compared to German or even the Romance languages for that matter... It's like, 2/3 of the way from English to German...
I haven't had a chance to get to it, but my impression is that it is quite easy.
Dutch isn't important in the world scene. It is merely spoken in Netherlands and Flanders.
Afrikaans, a derivative of it is now a seprate language. In Surinam the native languages there are Hindi, Sranan Tongo, and Javanese although Dutch is the official language and used in business and education. The same case in Netherlands Antilles where Papiamento and English are the native languages whiel Dutch has the same status as that in Surinam.
Afrikaans, a derivative of it is now a seprate language. In Surinam the native languages there are Hindi, Sranan Tongo, and Javanese although Dutch is the official language and used in business and education. The same case in Netherlands Antilles where Papiamento and English are the native languages whiel Dutch has the same status as that in Surinam.
Who cares if it's important in the international scene? If you like the language, and can afford the time to learn it, then go for it!
I am a native English speaker, and I learned German while growing up in Germany.
I also wanted to learn Dutch. I found it very easy--more like English than Hoch Deutsch. It's really easy to see the relation between English and Dutch:
Eng; Dutch; German
already; alreeds; schon
whole; heel; ganz
he; hij; er
you; jij [jou]/u; du/ihr/Sie
how; hoe; wie
each; elk; jede(r)
therefore; daardoor; also
after; achter; nach
Wednesday; Woensdag; Mitwoch
Saturday; Zaterdag; Samstag
[you're] welcome!; welkom!; bitte (shoen)!
train; trein; Zug
work; werk; Arbeit
may [I]?; mag [ik]; darf [ich]
thus; dus; so
sick; ziek; krank
little; luttel; klein
busy; bezig; beschaeftig
gather; [ver]gaderen; sammeln
meet; [ont]moeten; treffen
tell; tellen; [er]zaehlen
shadow; schaduw; Schatten
week; week; Woche
wring; wringen; ringen
since; sinds; seit
I also wanted to learn Dutch. I found it very easy--more like English than Hoch Deutsch. It's really easy to see the relation between English and Dutch:
Eng; Dutch; German
already; alreeds; schon
whole; heel; ganz
he; hij; er
you; jij [jou]/u; du/ihr/Sie
how; hoe; wie
each; elk; jede(r)
therefore; daardoor; also
after; achter; nach
Wednesday; Woensdag; Mitwoch
Saturday; Zaterdag; Samstag
[you're] welcome!; welkom!; bitte (shoen)!
train; trein; Zug
work; werk; Arbeit
may [I]?; mag [ik]; darf [ich]
thus; dus; so
sick; ziek; krank
little; luttel; klein
busy; bezig; beschaeftig
gather; [ver]gaderen; sammeln
meet; [ont]moeten; treffen
tell; tellen; [er]zaehlen
shadow; schaduw; Schatten
week; week; Woche
wring; wringen; ringen
since; sinds; seit
I am a dutch native speaker. I think it' eassier learning English as Dutch native speaker than the other way round; most grammatical things are similar; the word order may vary.
In the previous list the words "luttel" and "alreeds" do exist, but are not common "alreeds" is old-fashioned. "luttel" means very little and is rather colloquial the normal word for small is "klein" or "weinig" as in a bit.
"vergaderen" is "have a meeting" and "tellen" means " to count"- the correct dutch for "erzählen" is "vertellen".
Also names of months and days are not written with capitals in Dutch.(maandag, woensdag, januari)
In any case it would easier learning German or Dutch than a Romance language.
In the previous list the words "luttel" and "alreeds" do exist, but are not common "alreeds" is old-fashioned. "luttel" means very little and is rather colloquial the normal word for small is "klein" or "weinig" as in a bit.
"vergaderen" is "have a meeting" and "tellen" means " to count"- the correct dutch for "erzählen" is "vertellen".
Also names of months and days are not written with capitals in Dutch.(maandag, woensdag, januari)
In any case it would easier learning German or Dutch than a Romance language.