Ncruz Pentaglot Senior Member United States Joined 5535 days ago 31 posts - 56 votes Speaks: Spanish, English*, Dutch, Portuguese, Afrikaans Studies: French, German, Italian, Russian, Norwegian, Japanese, Scottish Gaelic
| Message 33 of 509 01 December 2009 at 6:41am | IP Logged |
Do native English speakers, as whole, have good Dutch accents as long as they make an effort? Since the two languages are so similar are English speakers among the best non-native speakers of Dutch, just as the Dutch are with English? I am planning on moving to Belgium, will I as a native speaker of English ever be able to attain a native sounding accent? If a native accent is unattainable, are English accents easily comprehensible in Dutch, or do they trigger an automatic transfer of the conversation to English?
Thank You Very Much-
Nick Cruz
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Vinbelgium Bilingual Tetraglot Groupie Belgium Joined 5821 days ago 61 posts - 73 votes Speaks: Dutch*, Flemish*, English, French Studies: Spanish, Russian
| Message 34 of 509 01 December 2009 at 10:29am | IP Logged |
It is important to know that the Dutch language incorporated a lot of English words, especially in the
Netherlands. All English sounds are present in Dutch, but not all Dutch sounds are present in English.Not
because the Dutch are good English speakers, the English are good Durch speakers. It will be hard to
master a native accent, but of course not unattainable. Where are planning to move in Belgium? I think it
will be easy if you are immersed. Lately I spoke with a Spanish girl living in Antwerpen, and her accent was
very good. I did not know she
was Spanish till she told me!
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Aquila Triglot Senior Member Netherlands Joined 5478 days ago 104 posts - 128 votes Speaks: Dutch*, English, German Studies: French
| Message 35 of 509 01 December 2009 at 3:47pm | IP Logged |
Ncruz wrote:
Do native English speakers, as whole, have good Dutch accents as long as they make an effort? Since the two languages are so similar are English speakers among the best non-native speakers of Dutch, just as the Dutch are with English? I am planning on moving to Belgium, will I as a native speaker of English ever be able to attain a native sounding accent? If a native accent is unattainable, are English accents easily comprehensible in Dutch, or do they trigger an automatic transfer of the conversation to English? |
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The most English/Americans who live in the Netherlands have an accent. But a little accent is not directly bad. It can be even charming sometimes. It is possible to acquire a native accent as an adult, but I think it's not easy because you have to focus a lot on pronunciation.
When you try to speak in Dutch but your level is insufficient, much people will talk back in English. Just try to spreak everytime you have the opportunity. Your Dutch will be better and better each time.
Besides, I think it's easier for English speakers to acquire the Flemish accent, because you don't have the strong "g".
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Volte Tetraglot Senior Member Switzerland Joined 6436 days ago 4474 posts - 6726 votes Speaks: English*, Esperanto, German, Italian Studies: French, Finnish, Mandarin, Japanese
| Message 36 of 509 01 December 2009 at 6:00pm | IP Logged |
Aquila wrote:
Ncruz wrote:
Do native English speakers, as whole, have good Dutch accents as long as they make an effort? Since the two languages are so similar are English speakers among the best non-native speakers of Dutch, just as the Dutch are with English? I am planning on moving to Belgium, will I as a native speaker of English ever be able to attain a native sounding accent? If a native accent is unattainable, are English accents easily comprehensible in Dutch, or do they trigger an automatic transfer of the conversation to English? |
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The most English/Americans who live in the Netherlands have an accent. But a little accent is not directly bad. It can be even charming sometimes. It is possible to acquire a native accent as an adult, but I think it's not easy because you have to focus a lot on pronunciation.
When you try to speak in Dutch but your level is insufficient, much people will talk back in English. Just try to spreak everytime you have the opportunity. Your Dutch will be better and better each time.
Besides, I think it's easier for English speakers to acquire the Flemish accent, because you don't have the strong "g". |
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I've found the Dutch accent very difficult to acquire - the strong 'g' is one of the easier parts I needed to learn.
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Iolanthe Diglot Senior Member Netherlands Joined 5638 days ago 410 posts - 482 votes Speaks: English*, DutchC1 Studies: Turkish, French
| Message 37 of 509 04 December 2009 at 5:16pm | IP Logged |
FAQ-NL: What's the Dutch for 'play fighting'?
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tommus Senior Member CanadaRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5863 days ago 979 posts - 1688 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Dutch, French, Esperanto, German, Spanish
| Message 38 of 509 13 December 2009 at 2:27pm | IP Logged |
FAQ-NL: Is 'nog één iemand' correct?
I came across this sentence in a Dutch newspaper:
"Van de gewonden verkeert nog één iemand in kritieke toestand."
I would translate that literally as:
"Of the wounded finds still one someone in critical condition."
A better translation would be"
"Among the wounded, there is still one person in critical condition."
So I am inclined to think that "één iemand" means "one person" but I have never seen it before and it looks a bit unusual to an anglophone. I checked it in Google and it seems to be used quite a bit. It would seem in this sentence that either "één" or "iemand" could have been used alone.
Questions" Is "één iemand" a common expression in Dutch to mean "one person"? Would it also be correct to use only "één" or "iemand" in that sentence?
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Vinbelgium Bilingual Tetraglot Groupie Belgium Joined 5821 days ago 61 posts - 73 votes Speaks: Dutch*, Flemish*, English, French Studies: Spanish, Russian
| Message 39 of 509 13 December 2009 at 3:10pm | IP Logged |
tommus wrote:
FAQ-NL: Is 'nog één iemand' correct?
Questions" Is "één iemand" a common expression in Dutch to mean "one person"? Would it also be correct to use only "één" or "iemand" in that sentence?
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Yes, it is correct. It is especially used to stress that there's just one (wounded) person left.
'Is er nog iemand?' = 'Anyone's still there?'
(In this case we don't say 'één iemand', because we don't know how many people are still there.)
'Er was nog één iemand.' = 'There was still one person.'
'Er was nog maar één iemand.' = 'There was only one person (left).'
'Er was niemand meer.' = 'Nobody was there anymore.'
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carlonove Senior Member United States Joined 5983 days ago 145 posts - 253 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Italian
| Message 40 of 509 13 December 2009 at 9:23pm | IP Logged |
FAQ-NL: Am I wrong, or is "het" meaning "it" sometimes pronounced as "net" when it follows an -e?
I both read and heard the phrase "legde het op zijn knie" and it sounds a lot like "ledge net op zijn knie" spoken quickly. I think I've heard the het->net phenomenon other times when it's preceeded by verbs with the -de ending. Thanks,
--carlonove
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