What are Interesting Language Facts About the Dutch Language?

1. WHAT ARE INTERESTING LANGUAGE FACTS ABOUT THE DUTCH LANGUAGE www.universal-translation-services.com info@universal-translation-services.com

2. Many debates go into the topic of diversity. Some people will tell you that bringing different cultures together is not a good idea. They think that people shouldn’t settle down in different countries and try to merge their culture with the local customs. Such people think that diversity in culture will lead to the death of some customs. But in truth, cultures evolve all the time, with or without outside influence. So, it is very likely that a custom may stop being important to its people after a few years for no reason at all. It is futile to blame people for influencing a culture. If anything, it is the culture of the immigrants that is at risk when they move to a different country. They are the ones who have to adjust in a new society. Only a few countries in the world understand the value of diversity. They know that when people of different cultures come together, they make something beautiful, and not destroy the existing systems. It is also worth mentioning that immigrants work pretty hard at their jobs because they have to prove themselves and as a result help the economy of the country where they are staying. The countries that understand how important immigrants are a few. But there are many places on earth that proves that people of different nationalities can co-exist peacefully. www.universal-translation-services.com info@universal-translation-services.com

3. There are various countries that have a heterogenous population and still, they keep achieving countless success on the international front. Such countries understand that their strength is the diversity in their population, instead of thinking of it as a weakness. There are also cities in various countries that are home to people of various nationalities. That happens when a city is full of job opportunities and attracts young people from all over the world. People belonging to over 200 different nationalities live in Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. It is important to note that the Netherlands was fourth on the World Happiness Report of 2013. So, diversity has not taken away anything from this European state. www.universal-translation-services.com info@universal-translation-services.com

4. The Dutch Language: Not many speakers of the tongue know this, but Dutch is a very close relative of English. With 24 million native speakers, it is the third most spoken Germanic Language. It enjoys official status in the Netherlands and Belgium, being one of the three official languages in the latter. It also shares a close bond with German. Dutch’s similarity with English and German may not be obvious to an inexperienced person but a linguist can easily see the close connection between the three. Dutch vocabulary also shares similarities with the Scandinavian tongues. But despite being close to so many languages, Dutch is not mutually intelligible with any of them. Linguists believe that English, Dutch, and German share a common ancestor with the Scandinavian tongues, but no definite information is available about those origins. However, the similar features of these tongues do prove the theory of a common ancestor. www.universal-translation-services.com info@universal-translation-services.com

5. What Are Interesting Language Facts about Dutch? • Dutch is not an easy language to learn. There are way too many complex rules of this tongue that makes it hard for the students to comprehend it. Learning it completely is a feat that only the motivated ones can accomplish because many give up along the way. But for an English speaker, the task might be a little easier due to the close relationship between the two. Here are a few facts that prove the strangeness of Dutch: • Similar Words: • English has taken a lot of words from its cousin. So, if you are learning Dutch, you will see plenty of words that are already a part of your vocabulary. The spellings will be a bit different in both tongues but the pronunciation and meaning will be the same. For instance, a banana is called ‘banaan’ and an apple is called ‘appel’ in Dutch. The spelling differences don’t matter much because you can look at the word and guess the meaning easily. www.universal-translation-services.com info@universal-translation-services.com

6. Regulated: • Like Spanish, Dutch is also a regulated language, which means it can’t go through changes every other day. The Dutch Language Union takes upon itself the task of promoting and standardizing the tongue. They also promote their culture around the world. Spellings and meanings of Dutch words are also regulated by the union. This has made it easier for the speakers of this language to avoid any confusions. • Compound Words: • Probably the scariest aspect of this tongue is its ability to make compound words. The people of the Netherlands can make words as long as they want all thanks to the option of matching them together. Although the longest Dutch word in the dictionary has 35 letters, there are words related to bureaucracy that are longer than that. Obviously, such long words are also not easy to pronounce and can confuse a student of the language a lot. www.universal-translation-services.com info@universal-translation-services.com

7. Consonants: • Another scary part of Dutch is its love of consonants. There are words in the tongue with consonant clusters that can be pretty difficult to pronounce. Some non-native speakers take months to get around to these words. This aspect will be more surprising for English speakers who are not used to saying words made up solely of consonants. • Dutch is a very unique Germanic tongue which also has a daughter language in the form of Afrikaans. The two are mutually intelligible. So, there is no reason why you shouldn’t learn this unique language. www.universal-translation-services.com info@universal-translation-services.com

8. Our Main Office: Universal Translation Services, 20801 Biscayne Blvd, 33180 Aventura, Miami, USA Phone: 1-844-wetranslate Fax: 1-212-933-9849 www.universal-translation-services.com info@universal-translation-services.com