Dutch of the Day

Dutch is a funny language. Written down, it’s like German – though don’t tell a Dutchman that – with the grammar thrown overboard. A German speaker who puts his or her mind to it can read 70% of the newspaper without ever bothering to learn the language. When spoken, it’s a different story. For one thing, you drop all the final ‘n’s – at least here in Amsterdam – and spit out all the ‘g’s and ‘sch’s roughly like the gutteral ‘ch’ in the Scottish word ‘loch’. The result is a language that sounds like you’re permanently swearing. The sentence ‘Ga gewoon je gang, schat’ – ‘just do your own thing, love’ – is virtually unpronounceable for a foreigner. So is ‘Scheveningen’, the place name used to test out unsuspecting new arrivals. It’s a very down-to-earth, both-feet-on-the-sea-bottom sort of language. Unromantic, to say the least. Your ‘schat’ – your sweetheart – may love you to bits but when he/she whispers ‘ik hou van jou’ (‘I love you’) gently in your ear, you might be left wondering what love has to do with a cow. To English ears, the fleeting murmur ‘Cow fan yow’ just doesn’t have the same sweet ring as ‘love you’ or ‘je t’aime’.