Pronunciation, episode 1: het alfabet
=====================================
EN: Welcome to season two: pronunciation. Episode one: the Dutch alphabet. Twenty-six letters, same as English, but most of them sound different in Dutch. We'll start with the ABC song - same tune as in English - then walk through each letter the way Dutch kids learn them: 'Aa van appel', 'Bee van boek' - 'A as in apple, B as in book'.
EN: If you know Spanish, your vowels are already mostly in the right place: clean, pure, no English drift toward a diphthong - that's two vowel sounds glued together.
EN: First, the song. Dutch kids learn the letter names with this rhyme.
NL: Aa. Bee. Cee. Dee. Ee. Ef. Gee.
NL: Haa. Ie. Jee. Kaa. El. Em. En. Oo. Pee.
NL: Kuu. Er. Es. Tee. Uu. Vee.
NL: Wee. Iks. Ij. en Zet.
NL: Nu ken ik het ABC. Zing je nog een keer met mij mee?
EN: That last line means: now I know the ABC, will you sing it once more with me. Now letter by letter, kids'-ABC-book style - each one a common Dutch word.
NL: Aa van appel.
EN: A is for appel - apple. Pronounced 'aah', long and open like Spanish 'casa'.
NL: Bee van boek.
EN: B is for boek - book. Pronounced 'bay'.
NL: Cee van cola.
EN: C is for cola - cola. Pronounced 'say'. C mostly turns up in loanwords.
NL: Dee van deur.
EN: D is for deur - door. Pronounced 'day'.
NL: Ee van eend.
EN: E is for eend - duck. Pronounced 'ay', like the English letter A.
NL: Ef van fiets.
EN: F is for fiets - bike. Pronounced 'ef'.
NL: Gee van goed.
EN: G is for goed - good. Pronounced 'chay' - and this is the famous hard Dutch G. Not the English G. It's a throaty scrape from the back of the mouth, like clearing your throat.
NL: Haa van huis.
EN: H is for huis - house. Pronounced 'haa'.
NL: Ie van ijsje.
EN: I is for ijsje - ice cream. The letter name is 'ee', like the Spanish 'i' in 'sí'.
NL: Jee van ja.
EN: J is for ja - yes. Pronounced 'yay'. It's a Y-sound in Dutch, not the English J.
NL: Kaa van kaas.
EN: K is for kaas - cheese. Pronounced 'kaa'.
NL: El van lekker.
EN: L is for lekker - delicious, the most-used adjective in the language. Letter name: 'el'.
NL: Em van moeder.
EN: M is for moeder - mother. Pronounced 'em'.
NL: En van nee.
EN: N is for nee - no. Pronounced 'en'.
NL: Oo van oma.
EN: O is for oma - grandma. Pronounced 'oh', like the Spanish 'o' in 'todo' - pure, no drift.
NL: Pee van paard.
EN: P is for paard - horse. Pronounced 'pay'.
NL: Kuu van quiz.
EN: Q is for quiz - quiz. Pronounced 'kuu'. Rare in Dutch, mostly loanwords.
NL: Er van rood.
EN: R is for rood - red. The letter name is 'er'. Dutch R is either rolled with the tip of the tongue, like Spanish 'rojo', or made in the throat, like French. Either is acceptable; speakers vary by region.
NL: Es van soep.
EN: S is for soep - soup. Pronounced 'es'.
NL: Tee van tas.
EN: T is for tas - bag. Pronounced 'tay'.
NL: Uu van uur.
EN: U is for uur - hour. Pronounced like the French 'u' or German 'ü'. Round your lips like you're saying 'oo', but say 'ee'. No close English equivalent.
NL: Vee van vader.
EN: V is for vader - father. Pronounced 'vay'.
NL: Wee van water.
EN: W is for water - water. Pronounced 'way'. The Dutch W is softer than English W, almost like a V with rounded lips.
NL: Iks van taxi.
EN: X is for taxi - taxi. Pronounced 'iks'. Rare in Dutch outside loanwords.
NL: Ij van yoghurt.
EN: Y is for yoghurt - yogurt. Pronounced 'ij' - the same sound as the digraph 'i j', which we'll cover in its own episode. Also called 'Griekse y' or Greek Y.
NL: Zet van zon.
EN: Z is for zon - sun. Pronounced 'zet'.
EN: Three letters need a closer look.
EN: First, G. The Dutch hard G - especially in the Randstad around Amsterdam - is throaty and scrapey. In the south, around Limburg and Flanders, the G is softer. Aim for the harder version. Try:
NL: Goedemorgen.
EN: Good morning.
EN: Second, R. You can roll it on the tongue like in Spanish, or make it in the throat like in French. Listen to native speakers around you and copy whichever you hear most. In Amsterdam you'll hear both.
EN: Third, IJ. Dutch treats this two-letter combo as one letter. It even has its own slot in older Dutch dictionaries. It sounds like the English word 'eye', but tighter, closer to the front of the mouth. We'll drill it in episode four.
EN: Today's Brueghel proverb.
NL: Boter aan de galg smeren.
NL: Boter aan de galg smeren.
EN: Literally: to smear butter on the gallows. Meaning: wasted effort, doing something pointless. Example:
NL: Hem nog eens uitleggen waarom hij vroeg op moet is boter aan de galg smeren.
EN: Explaining yet again why he needs to get up early is wasted effort.
NL: Prettige dag verder!