Flemish language vs Dutch

Guest   Fri Apr 21, 2006 9:41 pm GMT
if you study Dutch, then you should know that there is only 1 standard.
Ed   Sat Apr 22, 2006 12:27 am GMT
I have heard it said that Afrikaans is more similar to some Dutch dialects spoken in Belgium than those spoken in Holland. For example the 'tweeklanke' double vowels such as ee sounds which are pronounced with a slight seperation are more similar to Belgian than Dutch pronunciation. This may be superficial though.

I study with a Dutch woman, and she is able to understand most of my Afrikaans phrases. I have more trouble with her Dutch as it has a lot of strange verb inflection that has been lost from Afrikaans. Afrikaans has also levelled the Dutch strong verbs and remodelled them on a weak pattern. For example 'he has sung' is 'hy het gesing' rather than the ancestral Dutch 'hij heeft gezongen'.

Compare the Afrikaans and Dutch forms of the verb 'to be'.

English:

I am
you are
he is
we are
you are (plural)
they are

Dutch:

ik ben
jij bent
hij is
wij zijn
jullie zijn
zij zijn

Afrikaans:

ek is
jy is
hy is
ons is
julle is
hulle is

And 'to work'

English:

I work
you work
he works
we work
you work (plural)
they work

Dutch:

ik werk
jij werkt
hij werkt
wij werken
jullie werken
zij werken

Afrikaans:

ek werk
jy werk
hy werk
ons werk
julle werk
hulle werk
Flemish is much nicer   Sun Apr 23, 2006 6:28 pm GMT
than Hollands(ch); with a "zachte g" that sounds no stronger that standard German, but their vowels are a bit shorter.
Ed   Tue Apr 25, 2006 1:18 pm GMT
What is a "zachte g", what does it sound like? I'm presuming the Dutch zachte has become the Afrikaans sagte (soft) as z has become s and ch has become g. 'G' is almost always IPA /x/ though in a very few words it can be as in English 'get'.