Unit 1: The Dutch Sound System

Front rounded vowels

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book I, Lesson 1: The Vowels.

What will happen if you pronounce a vowel with the front tongue position of [ie] but the rounded lips of [oe]? The result is Dutch [uu], a front rounded vowel. Though English has no front rounded vowels, Dutch has a whole series of them: front tongue position + rounded lips = front rounded vowel sound. As for ie oe: i o; as for ɛ ɔ: ei ou ui. The following lists of words and phrases give you a chance to practice the Dutch vowel sounds described above. Listen to each word or phrase as it is spoken on the tape, and then repeat it in the pause which follows immediately afterwards. Pronounce everything with as thick a Dutch accent as possible. The results will probably sound queer to you. At least, they ought to. If they don’t, you are pronouncing English sounds rather than Dutch sounds. From “front unrounded” to “front rounded” to “back rounded”:

The Vowels

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book I, Lesson 1: The Vowels.

Next, from “high” to “low”:

The Vowels

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book I, Lesson 1: The Vowels.

Finally, “short” vs. “long”:

Unstressed [ē]

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book I, Lesson 1: The Vowels.

This vowel sound is always unstressed. In the following practice exercises we shall mark it for you in two ways. First, we shall place a little tick ['] in front of syllables which are stressed (said loud), and in which the [ē] sound therefore cannot occur; secondly, we shall spell the sound with the special letter [ē], even though Dutch spelling generally uses the regular letter e for it. The sound itself is much like a similar unstressed vowel in English, for which we also have no special spelling. Say the following English sentences in a normal, “sloppy” pronunciation, and you will see what we mean: Regular spelling / Normal pronunciation. Examples: what do you know / ‘whaddə yə ‘know; the back of the house / thə ‘back ə thə ‘house; the top of the hill / thə ‘top ə thə ‘hill. Here are some examples of the similar Dutch vowel:

The Vowels

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book I, Lesson 1: The Vowels.

In the western part of the Dutch-Flemish area the spelling -en at the end of a word is also usually pronounced [ē]. Westerners pronounce the final -n only when they are speaking very carefully; only the easterners pronounce it regularly.

The Vowels

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book I, Lesson 1: The Vowels.

The suffixes -lijk and -ig are also pronounced with this special unstressed vowel:

The Vowels

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book I, Lesson 1: The Vowels.

One further use of the unstressed [ē] needs a bit of special explanation. In English we have a number of very frequent words which are pronounced with full vowels when they are stressed, but with [ē] when they are unstressed. Examples (Stressed / Unstressed / Pronunciation): a pear / ‘pear; an apple / ’n ‘apple; you and I / ‘you ən ‘I; give them time / ‘give əm ‘time; you all you want / ‘tall yə ‘want. These unstressed forms with [ə] are a very real part of normal, everyday English. Notice, however, that English has no special way of spelling them, but always uses the spelling which is appropriate for the stressed form. Dutch also has a number of very frequent words which are pronounced with full vowels when they are stressed, but with [ē] when they are unstressed. Some of these words also have a special spelling for the unstressed form, which a writer may use if he wishes.

The Vowels

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book I, Lesson 1: The Vowels.

(A fuller treatment of stressed and unstressed forms will be given later, in the section on stress.) Listen to each of the following phrases as it is said on the tape, and then imitate it in the pause which follows each example, paying special attention to the unstressed [ē]'s.

Special vowels in foreign words

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book I, Lesson 1: The Vowels.

Dutch has three long vowels which it reserves for use in foreign words, mostly words borrowed from French: 1. Long [ɛɛ] is much like the vowel of English fair. 2. Long [ɔɔ] is much like the vowel of English for. 3. Long [œœ] has the front tongue position of [ɛɛ] but the rounded lips of [ɔɔ]. Notice particularly how these vowels differ from the regular vowels most similar to them:

The Vowels

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book I, Lesson 1: The Vowels.

Though the long [œœ] is a very rare sound, the other two foreign vowels are fairly common. Practice them in the following words:

The Semivowels

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book I, Lesson 2: The Semivowels, the Liquids, and the Nasals.

Semivowels are sounds which are like vowels in the way they sound, but like consonants in the way they function, since they do not serve as the center of a syllable as regular vowels do. Dutch has two semivowels, spelled in initial position (at the beginning of a word) as j and w, respectively. The j is exactly like English y in yes, year, etc. Initial Dutch w is similar to both English w and English v, but not identical with either. Probably the best way to imitate it is to put your lower lip against your upper teeth as if you were going to say v, but then try to say w.

The Semivowels, the Liquids, and the Nasals

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book I, Lesson 2: The Semivowels, the Liquids, and the Nasals.

This initial [w-] which you have just heard sounds a bit like English v, because a slight amount of friction is produced as the breath stream flows through the narrow slit between the lower teeth and the upper lip. In medial or final position, however, there is usually no friction at all. Medial [-w-] sounds like English w, and final [-w] sounds like a very quick Dutch [oe]. Similarly, medial [-j-] sounds like English y, and final [-j] sounds like a very quick Dutch [ie]. Dutch [-w-], [-w] occur primarily after the vowels [ie ee uu], and Dutch [-j-], [-j] occur primarily after the vowels [aa oo oe]. Notice how these sounds are handled in the regular Dutch spelling:

The Semivowels, the Liquids, and the Nasals

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book I, Lesson 2: The Semivowels, the Liquids, and the Nasals.

Dutch [j] and [w] also serve in another way, namely as a transition sound between a free vowel and a following unstressed [ē]. (The free vowels are those which can stand at the end of a word: [ie ee aa oo oe uu eu ei ui ou].) When a word stem ending in one of these vowels is followed by unstressed [ē], one of the semivowels is automatically inserted. In all but one case the inserted semivowel is [j]: [ie] + [ē] gives [iejē], [ee] + [ē] gives [eejē], etc.; but after [ou] it is [w]: [ou] + [ē] gives [ouwē]. The regular Dutch spelling, usually so consistent, completely breaks down at this point. Sometimes it indicates the inserted semivowels, in any one of several different ways; but sometimes it does not indicate them at all. Nevertheless, they are there as sounds, even if not always there in spelling. Listen to them in the following examples:

The Semivowels, the Liquids, and the Nasals

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book I, Lesson 2: The Semivowels, the Liquids, and the Nasals.

In western Dutch pronunciation (though not in the regular spelling), medial [-d-] is very commonly dropped after the free vowels; but then a [-j-] or [-w-] is automatically inserted in its place. This produces alternations like the following:

The Semivowels, the Liquids, and the Nasals

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book I, Lesson 2: The Semivowels, the Liquids, and the Nasals.

In the case of a few common verbs the loss of [-d-] has led to the reshaping of other forms as well. The verbs snijden, rijden, houden ‘cut, ride, hold’, for example, behave in everyday pronunciation just as if they had no -d- at all. Notice how the first two rhyme with breien ‘to knit’ and the third with bouwen ‘to build’:

The Liquids

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book I, Lesson 2: The Semivowels, the Liquids, and the Nasals.

Dutch [l] (the consonant “L”) sounds just about like English l, and is therefore not a problem for American learners. Dutch [r] is quite another matter. It is pronounced in either of two different ways, and both of them are different from the usual American r. Most Americans pronounce their r by curling the tongue up toward the roof of the mouth. Sometimes it is the tip of the tongue that is curled back, sometimes it is that part of the tongue which lies a bit behind the tip. Try pronouncing an r, just to see what you do with your tongue. Whatever you do to pronounce an American r, the most important thing to remember is: you should not pronounce a Dutch [r] in this way. Perhaps the commonest type of [r] in Dutch (commonest certainly in the big cities) is what is called a “uvular” [r]. The back of the tongue is raised up close to the back of the roof of the mouth, so far back that it is right next to the uvula, the little droplet of flesh that you can see hanging down in the back of your mouth when you open your mouth wide (“Say ‘ah’!”) and look in a mirror. Perhaps the easiest way to learn the sound is to tip your head back and enjoy a good dry gargle. Try it: [rrrr]. Be sure your tongue tip does not flip up as it does for an American r. Keep it locked behind your lower teeth so that it won’t get in the way of a good uvular [r]. The other type of Dutch [r] is made by flipping the tongue tip quickly against the gum ridge just above the upper teeth. It sounds almost exactly like the very quick t-sound (almost like a d) which most Americans pronounce in such words as city, Betty, fatty. The speaker on the tape uses the uvular [r]. Practice it in the following examples, imitating what you hear just as closely as you can. It should sound “funny” and “queer” to you. If it doesn’t, you’re not saying it right.

The voiceless stops

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book I, Lesson 3: Stops and Fricatives.

Listen closely as you say the p's in English pin and spin. In pin the p is not followed immediately by the vowel sound i. First a bit of air rushes out, sounding almost like an h; only after this does the vowel sound i take over. In spin, on the other hand, there is no such outrush of air before the vowel; the vowel i comes immediately after the p. This outrush of air is called ASPIRATION; and the p of pin is said to be ASPIRATED. We can symbolize it phonetically as [pʰ]: [pʰin]. In contrast, the p of spin is UNASPIRATED: [spin]. You will probably find it hard at first to hear the difference between [pʰ] and [p]. There is good reason for this. English p is automatically aspirated at the beginning of a word, but automatically unaspirated after s; and since the occurrence of [pʰ] vs. [p] is automatically regulated, we as speakers of English have had years of training in ignoring the difference between the two. To help yourself understand the difference between them, hold a lighted match in front of your mouth and say spin (phonetically [spin]) at it several times. The flame may flicker a bit, but that is all. Now say pin (phonetically [pʰin]) at it. If you have held the flame fairly close to your lips, the aspirated [pʰ] of [pʰin] will blow it right out. English has, as we have seen, three voiceless stops, p, t, k; and all three of them are automatically aspirated at the beginning of a word but automatically unaspirated after an s. Try them: aspirated: pin pill tick till kin kill; unaspirated: spin spill stick still skin skill. Unlike English p, t, k, Dutch p t k are NEVER aspirated, no matter where they stand in a word. In the following practice, the first pair of columns contrasts English aspirated [pʰ] with Dutch unaspirated [p]. Listen to the difference, and then imitate the Dutch [p], trying not to aspirate it. Since you may at first tend to confuse it with voiced [b], the second pair of columns contrasts Dutch [b] and Dutch [p]. Listen to the difference, and then imitate each pair of Dutch words, trying again not to aspirate the [p].

Stops and Fricatives

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book I, Lesson 3: Stops and Fricatives.

Now, do the same thing with English [tʰ] and Dutch [t], and with Dutch [d] and [t].

Stops and Fricatives

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book I, Lesson 3: Stops and Fricatives.

Now do the same with English [kʰ] and Dutch [k]. This time we cannot contrast Dutch voiceless [k] with the corresponding voiced stop (English g in go, the sound we shall symbolize as [G]), because no such sound occurs at the beginning of a word in Dutch. We can use the extra practice to show you Dutch [k] before [w] and [n]. Notice this [kn-] in particular; we have nothing like it in English, since the k of English knee, etc., is of course not pronounced.

The fricatives

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book I, Lesson 3: Stops and Fricatives.

Next, we need to consider the Dutch fricatives, of which there are three voiceless-voiced pairs: [f v], [s z], [ch g]. The pair most similar to English is [s z]. Listen to them in the following examples, and imitate them as exactly as you can. Note that the [z] is not quite as strongly voiced as the z sound which you probably pronounce in English.

Stops and Fricatives

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book I, Lesson 3: Stops and Fricatives.

Notice that the last four words in the left-hand column all begin with the sound [s], despite the spelling. Somewhat more different from English are the pair [f v]. In initial position the [v] starts off voiceless but then becomes voiced about halfway through; we can indicate this by writing [ᶠv-]. Otherwise, the two sounds are just like English f and v.

Stops and Fricatives

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book I, Lesson 3: Stops and Fricatives.

(The difference which you have just heard between initial [f-] and initial [ᶠv-] is one which probably all Dutch speakers make when they are speaking carefully. In western Holland, however, a great many speakers in ordinary, relaxed talk pronounce an [f-] in both sets of examples: vier like fier, vouwt like fout, etc.) No matter how they pronounce initial v-, all Dutch speakers keep it distinct from initial w-. Remember the directions for pronouncing w-: you put your lower lip against your upper teeth as if you were going to say an English v-, but then you try to say English w-. Practice the contrast between Dutch v- and w- in the following pairs of words.

Stops and Fricatives

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book I, Lesson 3: Stops and Fricatives.

Totally different from anything we have in English are the voiceless-voiced pair [ch g]. (Note that Dutch g and our phonetic symbol [g] NEVER symbolize the stop sound of English g in good, etc. When we need a symbol for this, we shall write a capital letter: [G] as in good, go, etc.) If you are familiar with the sound spelled ch in Scottish Loch Lomond, or in German ach, Buch, this is just the sound you want for Dutch [ch]. It is similar to English k in lock; but, whereas English k is a stop (made by a closure between the back of the tongue and the roof of the mouth), Dutch [ch] is a fricative (made by forcing air through a narrow slit between the back of the tongue and the roof of the mouth). The voiced counterpart of [ch] is [g]. Here, however, we run into a peculiarity of Dutch pronunciation. Speakers in the south of the Dutch-Flemish area regularly make a difference between [ch] and [g]. But in the north most speakers pronounce initial g- just like ch-, and many also pronounce medial -g- (or -gg-) like -ch-. Listen to the following pairs of words, and try to copy them just as you hear them on the tape.

Stops and Fricatives

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book I, Lesson 3: Stops and Fricatives.

Even in the north, the sound [g] is used in certain positions, however. Speakers who use a [ch] in a present tense form such as wiegen ‘to rock’ will generally use a voiced [g] in the past tense where it occurs immediately before a [d], for example. Listen to and imitate the following:

Stops and Fricatives

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book I, Lesson 3: Stops and Fricatives.

The Dutch are rather proud of their [ch], and cite it as an example of a Dutch sound which foreigners cannot learn to pronounce. They say this in particular of the combination sch- ([s] + [ch]), and always give as an example the place name Scheveningen, a seaside resort outside of The Hague. Show them that you CAN pronounce [s] + [ch], as in the following examples. But note the last three examples, where the spelling shows schr-. Here many Dutch speakers do not pronounce the [ch] at all, but say simply [sr-].

Unvoicing in final position

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book I, Lesson 3: Stops and Fricatives.

The above exercises have given you practice in pronouncing the Dutch stops and fricatives. Now we need to add a few words about the positions in which they occur. First, let us recall that Dutch has the following voiceless-voiced pairs: voiceless [p t k f s ch]; voiced [b d - v z g]. One limitation which Dutch puts on the occurrence of these sounds is that the VOICED ones NEVER OCCUR BEFORE A PAUSE. Where you might expect them to, they are automatically replaced by the corresponding voiceless sound. Listen to the way voiced sounds are replaced by voiceless ones in the following examples, and imitate all the forms so that this replacement becomes as automatic for you as it is for the Dutch.

Voiceless and voiced clusters

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book I, Lesson 4: Clusters.

A second limitation which Dutch places on stops and fricatives concerns cases where two or more of them occur together in a cluster. Regardless of what the spelling shows, all the stops and fricatives in a cluster have to be pronounced either voiceless or voiced; there are no clusters which are partly the one and partly the other. Good examples of these all-voiceless or all-voiced clusters are found in the principal parts of verbs.

Clusters

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book I, Lesson 4: Clusters.

This requirement that clusters have to be all-voiceless or all-voiced even applies to cases where the first sound in the cluster is at the end of one word and the second sound is at the beginning of the next. If a word normally begins with a voiced fricative [v- z- g-], this is automatically unvoiced to [f- s- ch-] when the word preceding it ends in a voiceless sound.

Clusters

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book I, Lesson 4: Clusters.

On the other hand, if a word normally ends in a voiceless sound [-p -t -f -s -ch], this is automatically voiced to [-b -d -v -z -g] when the following word begins with voiced [b-] or [d-]. This voicing even applies to final [-k]: it is voiced to [-G] (like English g in big), and this is the ONLY TIME Dutch ever uses the voiced stop sound [G].

Shortening of double consonants

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book I, Lesson 4: Clusters.

The fact that the Dutch normally “run their words together” produces one more change which we need to mention. In English, if the same consonant comes at the end of one word and also at the beginning of the next, we usually pronounce it as a double consonant. Compare the -s s- of this summer or the -n n- of ten nights. The same thing also happens in compound words: -t t- in cattail, -k k- in bookkeeper. The Dutch do not normally pronounce such long or doubled consonants, but collapse them into a single consonant. At normal speed, tien nachten ‘ten nights’ is ['tie'nachtē]; only in slow, distinct speech do the Dutch say ['tien 'nachtēn], putting a little pause between the two n's. The same collapsing and shortening also takes place along with unvoicing and voicing. For example, in vijf vingers ‘five fingers’ the second v- is of course unvoiced to [f-]. But then the double [-f f-] is shortened to [-f-], and you say ['vei'fingērs]. Similarly, in dat ding ‘that thing’ the -t is of course voiced to [-d]. But then the double [-d d-] is shortened to [-d-] and you say ['da'ding].

Special sounds before [j]

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book I, Lesson 5: Special Sounds.

In English we also “run words together” in ordinary speech, and sometimes strange things happen when we do. For example, if a word ending in a t is run together with one beginning with a y, the result is usually a tch: hit + you gives hitcha (“I hitcha”). Similarly, if a word ending in an s is run together with one beginning in a y, the result is usually a sh: miss + you gives misha (“I misha”). Such pronunciations may not be considered elegant, but they are extremely common and perfectly normal for most of us. Much the same thing happens in Dutch when a [t] or an [s] occurs before a [j], though with two differences. First, the resulting sounds are by no means “sloppy,” but entirely normal and correct; and, secondly, though the sounds are similar to those of English, they are not quite the same. Dutch [tj] and [sj] sound as if you were trying to say both a [t] and a [j], or an [s] and a [j], at the same time. The following practice shows you the alternation between plain [t] and the special [tj], and between plain [s] and the special [sj].

Special Sounds

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book I, Lesson 5: Special Sounds.

The influence of a following [j] not only affects a preceding [t] (as in the examples above), but it even extends to an [n] before the [t] and to the vowel before the [n]. Notice how the pronunciation of the vowel and the [n] differs in the following words, depending on whether or not they are followed by a [j].

Special Sounds

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book I, Lesson 5: Special Sounds.

When a [j] follows an [n] directly, some Dutch speakers use the special [n] sound. Others drop the [n] entirely, but nasalize the preceding vowel:

Loss of final [-t]

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book I, Lesson 5: Special Sounds.

A final [-t] is regularly lost under three conditions. First, the verb ending -t is lost before the pronoun jij, unstressed je. In this case the loss of [-t] is indicated in the regular spelling. But notice the last three pairs of examples, in which a final [-t] is lost even though it is not really the verb ending -t.

Special Sounds

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book I, Lesson 5: Special Sounds.

Secondly, a final [-t] is lost before the diminutive suffix -je in the case of words ending in [-ft], [-st], [-cht]. In this case the regular spelling does NOT indicate that the [-t] is lost.

Special Sounds

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book I, Lesson 5: Special Sounds.

Thirdly, a final [-t] is usually dropped in compound and derived words when the next element begins with a stop or a fricative. Again, the regular spelling does NOT indicate the loss of [-t]. Note also the final example, with loss of [-t] before [m].

Special Sounds

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book I, Lesson 5: Special Sounds.

Inserted [ē] is never indicated in the regular spelling. We write it here with a raised letter, [ᵉ], because it does not HAVE to be inserted, though for many speakers it usually is. It is commonest before voiceless stops and fricatives and [m] (examples 1-10 below), somewhat less common before voiced stops and fricatives (examples 11-14 below).

Sentence stress

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book I, Lesson 6: Stress.

In this final section on the sounds of Dutch we come to a topic which is quite different from the vowels, the consonants, and the combinations of vowels and consonants which we have discussed so far. This topic is what is known technically as STRESS, that is, relative loudness or prominence. Like English, Dutch has two different kinds of stress: one type which goes with whole phrases and sentences, and another which goes with individual words. A sentence such as Jan werkt hier ‘John works here’ can be said in both Dutch and English in any one of three different ways, depending on which one of the three words we wish to place at the center of attention:

Word stress

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book I, Lesson 6: Stress.

If a word has two syllables, one of them is usually stressed more strongly than the other. For example, the word meubel ‘furniture’ is stressed more strongly on the first syllable than on the second, and the word fabriek ‘factory’ is stressed more strongly on the second syllable than on the first. We can indicate this by putting a raised tick in front of the stressed syllable: 'meubel, fa'briek. If we now put these two words together into the compound meubelfabriek ‘furniture factory’, we notice something else. The syllable meu- again has strong stress; the syllables -bel and fa- again have weak stress; but the syllable -briek has a middle degree of stress which lies between the two extremes of strong and weak. If we call the stress on meu- PRIMARY and the stress on -bel and fa- WEAK, we can call the stress on -briek SECONDARY. And we can mark secondary stress by putting a lowered tick in front of the syllable on which it occurs: 'meubelfa,briek. All of this is similar to the way we handle stress in English: 'auto; ga'rage; 'auto ,garage. As in English, the three kinds of word stress are quite independent of sentence stress; all four degrees of stress can occur in the same sentence:

Stress

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book I, Lesson 6: Stress.

A full treatment of Dutch stress cannot be given here, but we can mention a few aspects of it. As in English, most compound words have the stress pattern ['_,_], that is, primary-secondary (examples 1-4 below). But a good many compound words (far more than in English) have the stress pattern [,_'_], that is, secondary-primary (examples 5-8 below).

Stress

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book I, Lesson 6: Stress.

Be on the watch for this second type of stress pattern, since it is a good deal more common in Dutch than in English. Watch out also for pairs like the following, in which the basic word and its derivative have quite different stress patterns:

Stressed and unstressed pronouns

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book I, Lesson 6: Stress.

Both Dutch and English have a whole class of words, the pronouns, which have different shapes depending on whether they are stressed or unstressed. Dutch sometimes shows these differences by spelling them differently; in normal spelling, English almost never does. Compare the following English examples (Stressed / Unstressed): if he• comes / if-ee comes; if you• come / if ya come; give her• the money / give 'er the money; give him• the money / give 'im the money; give them• the money / give 'em the money. Now practice the following Dutch pronouns in stressed and unstressed position. First come the subject forms:

Stress

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book I, Lesson 6: Stress.

The word U [uu] ‘you’ (normal polite form) is pronounced the same in both stressed and unstressed position. Now practice the object forms:

Stress

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book I, Lesson 6: Stress.

Again, the word U [uu] ‘you’ (normal polite form) is pronounced the same in both stressed and unstressed position. Finally, practice the possessive forms:

Stress

DLI Dutch Refresher Course (1961), Book I, Lesson 6: Stress.

Before a neuter noun, nos. 5 and 8 would have ons: in ons huis ‘in our house’. Note finally the following stressed and unstressed forms of some other common words: