Dutch phonology

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Dutch phonology is similar to that of other West Germanic languages, especially Afrikaans, Low Saxon, and West Frisian.

Contents

Standard Dutch has two main de facto pronunciation standards: Northern and Belgian. Northern Standard Dutch is the most prestigious accent in the Netherlands. It is associated with high status, education and wealth. Although its speakers seem to be concentrated mainly in the densely populated Randstad in the provinces of North Holland, South Holland, and Utrecht, it is often impossible to tell where in the country its speakers were born or raised. Therefore, it cannot be considered a regional dialect in the Netherlands. Belgian Standard Dutch is used by the vast majority of Flemish journalists and is sometimes called VRT-Nederlands ("VRT Dutch"; formerly BRT-Nederlands "BRT Dutch"), after VRT, the national public broadcaster for the Flemish Region. [1] [2]

Consonants

The following table shows the consonant phonemes of Dutch:

Labial Alveolar (Alveolo-)
palatal
Dorsal Glottal
Plosive voiceless p t ( ) k
voiced b d ( )( ɡ )
Fricative voiceless f s ( ɕ ) x
voiced v z ( ʑ ) ɣ ɦ
Nasal m n ( ɲ ) ŋ
Approximant ʋ l j
Rhotic r

Apart from /r/, all alveolar consonants are laminal [3] [4] and may be realised as denti-alveolar in Belgium.

Obstruents

Sonorants

In many areas, the final 'n' of the ending -en (originally /ən/, with a variety of meanings) is pronounced only if a word is being individually stressed, which makes -en words homophonous with otherwise-identical forms ending in -e alone. The -n is dropped both word-finally and, in compound words, word-internally. This pronunciation can be morphologically sensitive and serve to distinguish words since the -n is dropped only when it is part of the distinct ending -en, not when it is in a word that has an indivisible stem that happens to end in -en. Thus, the teken of ik teken ('I draw') always retains its -n because it is part of an indivisible stem, but teken ('ticks') drops it since it is part of a plural ending. Such pairs (teken = 'draw'; teken = 'ticks'),despite being written identically, are therefore not homophones in dialects that drop -n although they are written identically.

Final -n is retained in the North East (Low Saxon) and the South West (East and West Flemish), where it is the schwa that disappears instead. This creates a syllabic [n] or (after velars) syllabic [ŋ] sounds: laten[ˈlaːtn̩]; maken[ˈmaːkŋ̍]. Some Low Saxon dialects that have uvular pronunciations of /ɣ/ and /x/ (or one of them) also have a syllabic uvular nasal, as in lagen and/or lachen[ˈlaːχɴ̩]

Final devoicing and assimilation

Dutch devoices all obstruents at the ends of words, which is partly reflected in the spelling. The voiced "z" in plural huizen[ˈɦœy̑zə(n)] becomes huis[ɦœy̑s] ('house') in singular. Also, duiven[ˈdœy̑və(n)] becomes duif[dœy̑f] ('dove'). The other cases are always written with the voiced consonant, but a devoiced one is actually pronounced: the "d" in plural baarden[ˈbaːrdə(n)] is retained in singular spelling baard ('beard'), but the pronunciation of the latter is [baːrt], and plural ribben[ˈrɪbə(n)] has singular rib ('rib'), pronounced [rɪp].

Because of assimilation, the initial /vzɣ/ of the next word is often also devoiced: het vee ('the cattle') is [(ɦ)ətfeː]. The opposite may be true for other consonants: ik ben ('I am') [ɪɡbɛn]. [25]

Example words for consonants

Consonants with example words
Voiceless obstruentsVoiced obstruents
PhonemeAllophonic IPA Orthography TranslationPhonemeAllophonic IPA Orthography Translation
p /pɑt/ pad'path'b /bɑt/ bad'bath'
t /tɑk/ tak'branch'd /dɑk/ dak'roof'
[tɕa] tja'hmm well' [dʑɛmˈbeɪ] djembé'djembe'
k /koːl/ kool'cabbage'ɡ /ɡoːl/ goal'goal'
f /fɛit/ feit'fact'v /vɛif/ vijf'five'
s [s̺ɔk]
[sɔk]
sok (north)
sok (south)
'sock'z [z̺eɪp...]
[zeːp]
zeep (north)
zeep (south)
'soap'
ɕ [ɕaːɫs] sjaals'scarves'ʑ [ˈʑyːri] jury'jury'
x [ɑχt]
[ax̟t]
acht (north)
acht (south)
'eight'ɣ [ˈvlɑɣ̊ən]
[χeːu]
[ɣ̟eːβ̞]
vlaggen
geeuw (north)
geeuw (Belgium)
'vlags'
'yawn'
ɦ /ɦut/ hoed'hat'
Sonorants
PhonemeAllophonic IPA Orthography Translation
m /mɛns/ mens'person'
n /nɛk/ nek'neck'
ŋ /ɛŋ/ eng'scary'
l /lɑnt/
[ɡoːɫ]
land
goal
'land'
'goal'
r [rat]
[ʀɑt]
[peˈɾu]
[ˈneɪdəɹˌlɑndəɹs]
[ˈɣeːʀ̥tˈbuːʁʒwa]
rat
rad
Peru
Nederlanders (north)
Geert Bourgeois (Belgium)
'rat'
'wheel'
'Peru'
'Dutchmen'
'Geert Bourgeois'
ʋ [ʋɑŋ]
[β̞aŋ]
[tʋeɪ]
[tβ̞eː]
wang (north)
wang (Belgium)
twee (north)
twee (Belgium)
'cheek'
'two'
j /jɑs/ jas'coat'

Vowels

Dutch has an extensive vowel inventory consisting of thirteen plain vowels and at least three diphthongs. Vowels can be grouped as front unrounded, front rounded, central and back. They are also traditionally distinguished by length or tenseness. The vowels /eː,øː,oː/ are included in one of the diphthong charts below because Northern Standard Dutch realises them as diphthongs, but they behave phonologically like the other long monophthongs.

Monophthongs

Native [26] [27] [28]
  Front Central Back
unrounded rounded
laxtenselaxtenselaxtense
Close ɪ i ʏ y u
Mid ɛ øː ə ɔ
Open ɑ
Non-native [27] [29] [30]
Front Back
unrounded rounded
oralnasaloralnasaloralnasal
Close
Mid ɛː ɛ̃ː ( œː )( œ̃ː ) ɔː ɔ̃ː
Open ɑ̃ː
Monophthongs of Northern Standard Dutch, from Gussenhoven (1999:76) Dutch monophthongs chart.svg
Monophthongs of Northern Standard Dutch, from Gussenhoven (1999 :76)
Monophthongs of Belgian Standard Dutch, from Verhoeven (2005:245). The schwa /@/ is not shown. Belgian Dutch monophthongs chart.svg
Monophthongs of Belgian Standard Dutch, from Verhoeven (2005 :245). The schwa /ə/ is not shown.
Dutch allophones of unrounded monophthongs, from Collins & Mees (2003:92, 130, 132, 134). Black vowels occur before /r/
in Northern Standard Dutch and Randstad Dutch, and the red vowel occurs before the dark /l/. Dutch allophones of unrounded monophthongs.svg
Dutch allophones of unrounded monophthongs, from Collins & Mees (2003 :92, 130, 132, 134). Black vowels occur before /r/ in Northern Standard Dutch and Randstad Dutch, and the red vowel occurs before the dark /l/.
Dutch allophones of rounded monophthongs, from Collins & Mees (2003:98, 130, 132, 134). Black vowels occur before /r/
in Northern Standard Dutch and Randstad Dutch, and the blue vowel occurs before /NG/. Dutch allophones of rounded monophthongs.svg
Dutch allophones of rounded monophthongs, from Collins & Mees (2003 :98, 130, 132, 134). Black vowels occur before /r/ in Northern Standard Dutch and Randstad Dutch, and the blue vowel occurs before /ŋ/.

The following sections describe the phonetic quality of Dutch monophthongs in detail.

Close vowels

  • /ɪ/ is near the canonical value of the IPA symbol ɪ. [53] [41] The Standard Belgian realisation has also been described as close-mid [ ɪ̞ ]. [54] In regional Standard Dutch, the realisation may be different: for example, in Antwerp it is closer, more like [ i ], whereas in places like Dordrecht, Nijmegen, West and East Flanders the vowel is typically more open than the Standard Dutch counterpart, more like [ ë ]. Affected speakers of Northern Standard Dutch may also use this vowel. [55] [56]
  • /i,iː/ are close front [i, ], close to cardinal [ i ]. [37] [53] [54]
  • The majority of sources consider /ʏ/ to be close-mid central [ ɵ ], [54] [57] [58] yet Beverley Collins and Inger Mees consider it to be close-mid front [ ʏ̞ ]. [41] The study conducted by Vincent van Heuven and Roos Genet has shown that native speakers consider the canonical IPA value of the symbol ɵ to be the most similar one to the Dutch sound, much more than the canonical values of ʏ and œ (the sound represented by ʉ was not a part of the study). [57] In regional Standard Dutch /ʏ/ may be raised to near-close [ ɵ̝ ], for example in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague. In Antwerp, the vowel may be as high as /y/ and the two vowels may differ in nothing but length. A more open vowel of the [ ɵ̞ ]-type is found in southern accents (e.g. in Bruges) and in affected Northern Standard Dutch. [55] [56]
  • /y,yː/ have been variously described as close front [y, ], [54] [59] near-close front [, y˕ː] [37] and, in Northern Standard Dutch, near-close central [ʉ̞, ʉ̞ː]. [53]
  • /u,uː/ are close back [u, ] in Northern Standard Dutch and close near-back [, u̟ː] in Belgian Standard Dutch and some varieties of regional Standard Dutch spoken in Antwerp and Flemish Brabant. [53] [54] [60]

Word-final /i,y,u/ are raised and end in a voiceless vowel: [ii̥,yẙ,uu̥]. The voiceless vowel in the first sequence may sound almost like a palatal fricative [ ç ], [37] e.g. drie ('three'), "q" , toe ('till adv.').

/i,y,u/ are frequently longer in Belgian Standard Dutch and most Belgian accents than in Northern Standard Dutch in which the length of those vowels is identical to that of lax vowels. [37]

Regardless of the exact accent, /i,y,u/ are always lengthened to [, , ] before /r/ in the same word. [29] [37] [53] In Northern Standard Dutch and in the Randstad, they are laxed to [i̽ː,y˕ː,u̽ː] and often have a schwa-like off-glide ([i̽ə,y˕ə,u̽ə]). This means that before /r/, /i,y,u/ are less strongly differentiated from /eː,øː,oː/ in Northern Standard Dutch and in the Randstad than is usually the case in other regional varieties of Standard Dutch and in Belgian Standard Dutch. [61] There is one exception to the lengthening rule: when /r/ is followed by a consonant different than /t/ and /s/, /i,y,u/ remain short. Examples of that are words such as wierp[ʋirp], Duisburg [ˈdyzbur(ə)k] (alternatively: [ˈdœyzbʏr(ə)x], with a lax vowel) and stierf[stirf]. The rule is also suppressed syllable-finally in certain compounds: compare roux-room[ˈruroːm] with roerroom[ˈruːr(r)oːm] and Ruhr-Ohm[ˈruːroːm]. [29] [62]

Mid vowels

  • /ɛ,ɛː/ are open-mid front [ɛ, ɛː]. [53] [63] According to Jo Verhoeven, the Belgian Standard Dutch variants are somewhat raised. [54] Before /n/ and the velarised or pharyngealised allophone of /l/, /ɛ/ is typically lowered to [ æ ]. In some regional Standard Dutch (e.g. in Dordrecht, Ghent, Bruges and more generally in Zeeland, North Brabant and Limburg), the lowering is generalised to most or even all contexts. Conversely, some regional Standard Dutch varieties (such as much Randstad Dutch, especially the Amsterdam dialect, as well as the Antwerp accent) realise the main allophone of /ɛ/ as higher and more central than open-mid front ([ ɛ̝̈ ]). [64]
  • /œː/ is open-mid front [ œː ]. [53] [65]
  • /ə/ has two allophones, with the main one being mid central unrounded [ ə ]. The allophone used in word-final positions resembles the main allophone of /ʏ/ as it is closer, more front and more rounded ([ ø̜ ]). [45] [53]
  • /ɔ/ is open-mid back rounded [ ɔ ]. [53] [54] Collins and Mees (2003) describe it as "very tense", with pharyngealisation and strong lip-rounding. [37] There is considerable regional and individual variation in the height of /ɔ/, with allophones being as close as [ ʊ ] in certain words. [66] [67] The closed allophones are especially common in the Randstad. [37] /ɔː/ is near /ɔ/ in terms of height and backness.

/ɛ,ɔ/ are typically somewhat lengthened and centralised before /r/ in Northern Standard Dutch and in the Randstad, usually with a slight schwa-like offglide: [ɛ̈ə̆,ɔ̈ə̆]. In addition, /ɔ/ in this position is somewhat less rounded ([ɔ̜̈ə̆]) than the main allophone of /ɔ/, [68] e.g. schor [sʷχɔ̜̈ə̯ʀ̥] ('hoarse'), ster [stɛ̈ə̆r̠] ('star')

The free vowels /eː,øː,oː/ are realised as monophthongs [, øː, ] in Belgian Standard Dutch (Jo Verhoeven describes the Belgian Standard Dutch realisation of /øː/ as mid-central [ ɵ̞ː ]) and in many regional accents. In Northern Standard Dutch, narrow closing diphthongs [eɪ,øʏ,oʊ] are used. The starting point of [oʊ] is centralised back ([ ö ]), and the starting point of [eɪ] has been described as front [ e ] by Collins and Mees and as centralised front [ ë ] by Gussenhoven. The monophthongal counterparts of [eɪ,oʊ] are peripheral; the former is almost as front as cardinal [ ], whereas the latter is almost as back as cardinal [ ]. [53] [54] [69] Many speakers of Randstad Dutch and younger speakers of Northern Standard Dutch realise /eː,øː,oː/ as rather wide diphthongs of the [ɛɪ,œʏ,ɔʊ] type, which may be mistaken for the phonemic diphthongs /ɛi,œy,ɔu/ by speakers of other accents. [70] [71] The use of [ɛɪ,œʏ,ɔʊ] for /eː,øː,oː/ goes hand in hand with the lowering the first elements of /ɛi,œy,ɔu/ to [aɪ,aʏ,aʊ], a phenomenon called Polder Dutch . Therefore, the phonemic contrast between /eː,øː,oː/ and /ɛi,œy,ɔu/ is still strongly maintained, but its phonetic realisation is very different from what can be typically heard in traditional Northern Standard Dutch. [72] In Rotterdam and The Hague, the starting point of [oʊ] can be fronted to [ ə ], instead of being lowered to [ ɔ ]. [73]

In Northern Standard Dutch and in the Randstad, /eː,øː,oː/ lose their closing glides and are raised and slightly centralised to [ɪː, ʏː, ʊː] (often with a schwa-like off-glide [ɪə,ʏə,ʊə]) before /r/ in the same word. The first two allophones strongly resemble the lax monophthongs /ɪ,ʏ/. Dutch children frequently misspell the word weer ('again') as wir. Those sounds may also occur in regional varieties of Standard Dutch and in Belgian Standard Dutch, but they are more typically the same as the main allophones of /eː,øː,oː/ (that is, [, øː, ]). An exception to the centralising rule are syllable-final /eː,øː,oː/ in compounds such as zeereis [ˈzeɪˌrɛis] ('sea voyage'), milieuramp [mɪlˈjøʏˌrɑmp] ('environmental disaster') and bureauredactrice[byˈroʊredɑkˌtrisə] ('desk editor (f.)'). [74] [75]

In Northern Standard Dutch, /eː,øː,oː/ are mid-centralised before the pharyngealised allophone of /l/. [76]

Several non-standard dialects have retained the distinction between the so-called "sharp-long" and "soft-long" e and o, which dates back to early Middle Dutch. The sharp-long varieties originate from the Old Dutch long ē and ō (Proto-Germanic ai and au), and the soft-long varieties arose from short i/e and u/o that were lengthened in open syllables in early Middle Dutch. The distinction is not considered to be a part of Standard Dutch and is not recognised in educational materials, but it still occurs in many local varieties, such as Antwerpian, Limburgish, West Flemish and Zeelandic. In those varieties, the sharp-long vowels are often opening diphthongs such as [ɪə,ʊə], and the soft-long vowels are either plain monophthongs [, ] or slightly closing [eɪ,oʊ].

Open vowels

In Northern Standard Dutch and some other accents, /ɑ,aː/ are realised and so the former is a back vowel [ ɑ ], and the latter is central [ äː ] or front [ ]. In Belgian Standard Dutch /aː/ is also central or front, but /ɑ/ may be central [ ä ], instead of back [ ɑ ], and so may have the same backness as /aː/. [53] [77] [54]

Other accents may have different realisations:

  • Many accents (Amsterdam, Utrecht, Antwerp) realise the pair with 'inverted' backness and so /ɑ/ is central [ ä ] (or, in the case of Utrecht, even front [ a ]), and /aː/ is closer to cardinal [ ɑː ]. [78]
  • Outside the Randstad, fronting of /ɑ/ to central [ ä ] is very common. On the other hand, in Rotterdam and Leiden, the short /ɑ/ sounds even darker than the Standard Northern realisation by being realised as a fully back and raised open vowel, unrounded [ ɑ̝ ] or rounded [ ɒ̝ ]. [37]
  • In Groningen, /aː/ tends to be particularly front and similar to the quality of the cardinal vowel [ ], but in The Hague and the affected Standard Northern accent, /aː/ may be raised and fronted to [ æː ], particularly before /r/. [79]

Before /r/, /ɑ/ is typically a slight centering diphthong with a centralised first element ([ɐə̆]) in Northern Standard Dutch and in the Randstad, [68] e.g. nar [nɐə̆ʀ] ('fool').

Diphthongs

Diphthongs of Northern Standard Dutch, from Gussenhoven (1999:76) Dutch diphthong chart.svg
Diphthongs of Northern Standard Dutch, from Gussenhoven (1999 :76)
Diphthongs of Belgian Standard Dutch, from Verhoeven (2005:245) Belgian Dutch diphthongs chart.svg
Diphthongs of Belgian Standard Dutch, from Verhoeven (2005 :245)
Dutch tense backing diphthongs, from Collins & Mees (2003:137) Dutch tense backing diphthongs on a vowel chart.svg
Dutch tense backing diphthongs, from Collins & Mees (2003 :137)
Dutch tense fronting diphthongs, from Collins & Mees (2003:137) Dutch tense fronting diphthongs on a vowel chart.svg
Dutch tense fronting diphthongs, from Collins & Mees (2003 :137)

Dutch also has several diphthongs, but only three of them are unquestionably phonemic.[ which? ] All three of them end in a non-syllabic close vowel [i̯,y̑,u̯] (henceforth written [i,y,u] for simplicity), but they may begin with a variety of other vowels. [53] [80] [81]

  Front Back
unrounded rounded
frontingbackingfrontingbacking
Close iu̯ yu̯ ui̯
Mid ɛi̯ eːu̯ œy̯ ɔi̯ oːi̯ ɔu̯
Open ɑi̯ aːi̯

While [eɪ,øʏ,oʊ] occur only in Northern Standard Dutch and regional Netherlands Standard Dutch, all varieties of Standard Dutch have phonetic diphthongs [iu,yu,ui,eːu,ɔi,oːi,ɑi,aːi]. Phonemically, they are considered to be sequences of /iʋ,yʋ,uj,eːʋ,ɔj,oːj,ɑj,aːj/ by Geert Booij and as monosyllabic sequences /iu,yu,ui,eːu,oːi,aːi/ by Beverley Collins and Inger Mees (they do not comment on [ɔi] and [ɑi]). [89] [90] This article adopts the former analysis.

In Northern Standard Dutch, the second elements of [iu,yu,eːu] may be labiodental [iʋ,yʋ,eːʋ], which is especially common in intervocalic positions. [65]

In Northern Standard Dutch and regional Netherlands Standard Dutch, the close-mid elements of [eːu,oːi] may be subject to the same kind of diphthongisation as /eː,oː/ and so they may be actually triphthongs with two closing elements [eɪu,oʊi] ([eːu] can instead be [eɪʋ], a closing diphthong followed by [ʋ]). In Rotterdam, [oːi] can be phonetically [əʊi], with a central starting point. [91] [92]

[aːi] is realised with more prominence on the first element, according to Booij, and with equal prominence on both elements, according to Collins and Mees. Other diphthongs have more prominence on the first element. [91] [93]

The endpoints of these diphthongs tend to be slightly more central ([ï,ü]) than cardinal [i,u]. They tend to be higher than the endpoints of the phonemic diphthongs /ɛi,œy,ɔu/. [94]

Samplewords for vowels and diphthongs

Stressed vowels
Short monophthongsTraditional longPre-/r#/
PhonemePhonetic IPA Orthography TranslationPhonemeAllophonic IPA Orthography TranslationAllophonic IPA Orthography Translation
High [a]
Close [b]
i /bit/ biet'beetroot' [c] /aːnaːˈliːzə/ analyse'analysis' [biə̯r]
[viːə̆r]
bier (north)
vier (Belgium)
'beer'
'four'
y /byt/ buut '(I) play hide
and seek'
[c] /sɛntriˈfyːʒə/ centrifuge'centrifuge' [byə̯ʀ]
[v̥yːə̆ʀ]
buur (north)
vuur
'neighbour'
'fire'
u /but/ boet'expiate' [c] /kruːs/ cruise'cruise' [buːʀ]
[buə̯ʀt]
boer
boert (north)
'farmer' (boer)
'jest'
Mid [d]
ɪ /bɪt/ bit'bit/
mouthguard'
[beɪt]
[beːt]
beet (north)
beet (Belgium)
'bit'
(from bite)
[ˈleə̯ʀˌstɛlɪŋ]
[ˈleːːrˌstɛlɪŋ]
[mɪə̯ʀ]
leerstelling (north)
leerstelling (Belgium)
meer (north)
'dogma'

'more'
ʏ /sxʏt/ schut'screen'
(wall)
øː [sχøʏt]
[sxøːt]
scheut (north)
scheut (Belgium)
'(off)shoot' [sχøə̯ʀ]
[sxøːːr]
[slʏə̯ʀ]
scheur (north)
scheur (Belgium)
sleur (north)
'crack'

'mechanical rounitne'
[e] [boʊt]
[boːt]
boot (north)
boot (Belgium)
'boat' [ˈnʊːʀtˌseɪ]
[ˈnoːːrtˌseː]
[oə̯r]
Noordzee (north)
Noordzee (Belgium)
oor (north)
'North Sea'

'ear'
Open
Rounded
œː [c] /ˈœːvrə/ oeuvre'oeuvre'*/œːr/>/øːr/ [f]
ɔ /bɔt/ bot'bone' [sχɔə̆ʀ] schor'hoarse'
ɔː [c] /ˈrɔːzə/ roze'pink'*/ɔːr/>/oːr/ [f]
Undrounded
ɛ /bɛt/ bed'bed' [stɛə̆r] ster'star'
ɛː [g] /ˈblɛːrə(n)/ blèren'to bleat' (crying) [blɛə̯ʀ] blèr'(I) bleat'
ɑ [sχɑt] schat (north)'treasure' ɑː [c] /kɑːst/ cast'(actor's) cast' [knɑə̆ʀ] knar'geezer'
[bat] bad (Belgium)'bath' /sxaːts/ schaats'skate' [sχaə̯ʀ]
[sxaːːr]
schaar (north)
schaar (Belgium)
'shear(s)'
  1. Before /r#/, high vowels do not contrast length/ tenseness.
  2. Belgian Dutch has no particular distinction bewteen short and long /i,y/ -outside prosodic phaenomena-. In Brabantian, such a split exist for /u/ but is entirely different from the exposed one and lacks proper studying.[ citation needed ]
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Appears only in loanwords.
  4. Before /r#/, the rough quality of either the checked or the free vowel of the mid pairs can occur.
  5. This space has historically been occupied by the close short ó which has generally merged with open short ò since but the former left traces in the quasi-allophone the latter has before nasals or near some labials. [95]
    Examples words could be : bron [bʀʊ̃n] 'source', pot [pɔ̽t] , op [ɔ̽p] 'up/ onto'. cf. above section on [ʊ̞~ɔ̽].
  6. 1 2 Before /r#/, long open rounded vowels do not occur. As such, they are borrowed as mid. Examples of this process include: chauffeur [ʃoʊˈføə̯r] , conquistador [ˌkʊ̃ntkʋɪstɑˈdoə̯ʀ]
    from (older stages of) French [ʃofœːʁ] and Spanish [kõŋkistaˈðɔɾ] .
  7. Mostly appears in French loans such as militair [miliˈtɛə̯ʀ] . blèren being the sole native exception.
Schwa
PhonemePhonetic IPA Orthography Translation
ə /də/
/(ɦ)ət/
(stressed)
het
'the'
Traditional diphthongs
PhonemeAllophonic IPA Orthography Translation
ɛi [ˌɑʀχɛnˈtɛ̞in]
[ˌarɣɛnˈtɛin]
Argentijn (north)
Argentijn (Belgium)
'Argentine'
œy [ɐʏt]
[œʏ]
uit (north)
ui (Belgium)
'out'
'onion'
ɔu [fʌ̞ut]
[fɔut]
fout (north)
fout (Belgium)
'mistake'
iu /niu/ nieuw'new'
yu /dyu/ duw'push'
ui /ɣrui/ groei'growth'
ɑi /ɑi/ ai'ouch'
aːi /ɦaːi/ haai'shark'
ɔi /ɦɔi/ hoi'hi'
oːi /moːi/ mooi'nice'
eːu /leːu/ leeuw'lion'

Stress

Most native Germanic words, which are the bulk of the core vocabulary, are stressed on the root syllable, which is usually the first syllable of the word. Germanic words may also be stressed on the second or a later syllable if certain unstressed prefixes are added, particularly for verbs. Non-root stress is common in loanwords, which are generally borrowed with the stress placement unchanged. Secondary stress may also be present in polysyllabic words. Certain prefixes and suffixes receive secondary stress: /ˌvoːrˈkoːmən/, /ˈʋeːrˌloːs/. The stressed syllable of a word receives secondary stress within a compound word: /ˈbɔmˌmɛldɪŋ/, /ˈɑlkoːɦɔlpɛrsɛnˌtaːzjə/.

The vast majority of compound nouns are stressed on the first element: appeltaart/ˈɑpəlˌtaːrt/, luidspreker/ˈlœytˌspreːkər/. [96] [ Please elaborate on exceptions ] The word boeren generally takes secondary stress in compounds: boerenkool/ˌburənˈkoːl/, boerenland/ˌburənˈlɑnt/. Some compounds formed from two words are stressed on the second element: stadhuis/ˌstɑtˈɦœys/, rijksdaalder/ˌrɛi̯ksˈdaːldər/. In some cases, the secondary stress in a compound shifts to preserve a trochaic pattern: eiland/ˈɛi̯ˌlɑnt/, but schateiland/ˈsxɑt.ɛi̯ˌlɑnt/. Compounds formed from two compound words tend to follow the same rules, but for compound words formed of more than two words, the stress is irregular.

Phonotactics

Historic sound changes

Dutch, with the exception of the Limburg dialects, did not participate in the second Germanic consonant shift:

Dutch has also preserved the fricative variety of Proto-Germanic */ɡ/ as /ɣ/ (devoiced to /x/ in the north) unlike some dialects of German, which have generalised the stop [ɡ], and English, which has lost the fricative variety through regular sound changes.

However, Dutch has undergone a fortition of /θ/ to /d/ like High (and Low) German:

Dutch also underwent a few changes of its own:

Sample

The sample text is a reading of the first sentence of The North Wind and the Sun .

Northern Standard Dutch

The phonetic transcription illustrates a Western Netherlandic, educated, middle-generation speech and a careful colloquial style. [53]

Orthographic version

De noordenwind en de zon hadden een discussie over de vraag wie van hun tweeën de sterkste was, toen er juist iemand voorbijkwam die een dikke, warme jas aanhad. [53]

Phonemic transcription

/dəˈnoːrdənʋɪntɛnˈzɔn|ɦɑdənəndɪsˈkʏsioːvərˈvraːx|ˈʋivɑnɦʏnˈtʋeːənˈstɛrkstəʋɑs|tunɛrˈjœystimɑntvoːrˈbɛikʋɑm|diənˈdɪkəˈʋɑrməˈjɑsaːnɦɑt/

Phonetic transcription

[dəˈnʊːrdə(ɱ)ʋɪntɛnˈzɔn|ɦɑdə(n)əndɪsˈkʏsiouvərˈvraːχ|ˈʋivɑnɦʏnˈtʋeiə(n)ˈstɛr(ə)kstəʋɑs|tunərˈjœystimɑntfʊːrˈbɛikʋɑm|diənˈdɪkəˈʋɑrməˈjɑsaːnɦɑt] [101]

Belgian Standard Dutch

The phonetic transcription illustrates the speech of a highly educated 45-year-old male who speaks Belgian Dutch with a very slight regional Limburg accent. [102]

Orthographic version

De noordenwind en de zon waren ruzie aan het maken over wie het sterkste was toen er een reiziger voorbij kwam met een warme jas aan. [102]

Phonemic transcription

/dəˈnoːrdənʋɪntɛnˈzɔn|ˈʋaːrənˈryziaːnətˈmaːkən|ˈoːvərʋiɦətˈstɛrkstəʋɑs|ˈtunərənˈrɛizɪɣərvoːrˈbɛikʋɑmmɛtənˈʋɑrməˈjɑsaːn/

Phonetic transcription

[dəˈnoːrdə(n)wɪntɛnˈzɔn|ˈwaːrə(n)ˈryziaːnətˈmaːkə(n)|ˈoːvərwiɦətˈstɛr(ə)kstəwɑs|ˈtunərənˈrɛizɪɣərvoːrˈbɛiˈkwɑmmɛtənˈwɑrməˈjɑz‿aːn] [102]

See also

References

  1. Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 4–5.
  2. "VRT-Nederlands". ANW (Algemeen Nederlands Woordenboek) (in Dutch). Retrieved 25 March 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Gussenhoven (1999), p. 75.
  4. Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 189–202.
  5. Collins & Mees (2003), p. 205.
  6. 1 2 Collins & Mees (2003), p. 193.
  7. Collins & Mees (2003), p. 171.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Gussenhoven (1999), p. 74.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Collins & Mees (2003), p. 48.
  10. Collins & Mees (2003), p. 190.
  11. 1 2 Collins & Mees (2003), p. 191.
  12. Verhoeven (2005), pp. 243, 245.
  13. Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 191–192.
  14. 1 2 Booij (1999), p. 8.
  15. Collins & Mees (2003), p. 198.
  16. Collins & Mees (2003), p. 199.
  17. 1 2 Collins & Mees (2003), p. 197.
  18. Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 58, 197, 222.
  19. Collins & Mees (2003 :199).
  20. Collins & Mees (2003), p. 209.
  21. Sebregts (2014), pp. 194.
  22. Sebregts (2014), pp. 196–198.
  23. Goeman & Van de Velde (2001 :107)
  24. Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 197–198, 201.
  25. Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 204–205.
  26. 1 2 3 Booij (1999), p. 5.
  27. 1 2 Gussenhoven (1999), pp. 75–76.
  28. Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 127–128, 132–133.
  29. 1 2 3 4 5 Booij (1999), p. 6.
  30. 1 2 Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 137–138.
  31. Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 92, 130, 132, 234.
  32. Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 98, 130, 132, 234.
  33. For example by Gussenhoven (1999 :75).
  34. For example by Collins & Mees (2003 :127–128, 132–133).
  35. For example by Booij (1999 :4–5) and Verhoeven (2005 :245).
  36. Booij (1999), pp. 4–6.
  37. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Collins & Mees (2003), p. 132.
  38. Gussenhoven (2007), pp. 337, 339.
  39. van Heuven & Genet (2002).
  40. Sources that use ʏ include Booij (1999 :4–5), Gussenhoven (1999 :75–76) and Verhoeven (2005 :245). The online dictionary woorden.org also uses that symbol. Sources that use ɵ include van Reenen & Elias (1998) and Rietveld & van Heuven (2009). The traditional transcription of œ is also used in certain modern sources, for example by Kooij & van Oostendorp (2003 :27).
  41. 1 2 3 Collins & Mees (2003), p. 128.
  42. Described as close-mid [ ʊ̞ ] by Geert Booij and as mid [ ɔ̽ ] by Beverley Collins and Inger Mees.
  43. Booij (1999), pp. 7, 17.
  44. Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 97–98.
  45. 1 2 Collins & Mees (2003), p. 129.
  46. Gussenhoven (2007), pp. 342, 344.
  47. For example by Booij (1999) and Heemskerk & Zonneveld (2000) as well as the online dictionary woorden.org.
  48. Booij (1999), pp. 6, 16.
  49. 1 2 Collins & Mees (2003), p. 138.
  50. It is listed by only some sources: Booij (1999) and Gussenhoven (2007).
  51. Such as Booij (1999) and Gussenhoven (2007).
  52. Gussenhoven (2007), p. 342.
  53. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Gussenhoven (1999), p. 76.
  54. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Verhoeven (2005), p. 245.
  55. 1 2 Collins & Mees (2003), p. 131.
  56. 1 2 Verhoeven (2005), p. 246.
  57. 1 2 van Heuven & Genet (2002), cited in Gussenhoven (2007 :337–338).
  58. 1 2 Rietveld & van Heuven (2009).
  59. Gussenhoven (2007), p. 338.
  60. Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 132–133.
  61. Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 132, 134, 200.
  62. Gussenhoven (2007), pp. 344, 347.
  63. Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 128, 137.
  64. Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 92, 128–129, 131.
  65. 1 2 Collins & Mees (2003), p. 137.
  66. Schouten (1981).
  67. Booij (1999), p. 7.
  68. 1 2 Collins & Mees (2003), p. 130.
  69. Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 108, 110, 133–134.
  70. 1 2 Collins & Mees (2003), p. 135.
  71. Jacobi (2009).
  72. 1 2 3 Stroop (1999).
  73. Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 109–110.
  74. Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 131, 134, 200–201.
  75. Gussenhoven (2007), pp. 339, 347.
  76. Collins & Mees (2003), p. 134.
  77. Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 104, 128, 132–133.
  78. Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 131, 133.
  79. Collins & Mees (2003), p. 133.
  80. Booij (1999), pp. 4, 6.
  81. 1 2 Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 127, 135.
  82. For example by Booij (1999 :4, 6), Verhoeven (2005 :245) and Gussenhoven (2007 :340).
  83. For example by Collins & Mees (2003 :135) and Kooij & van Oostendorp (2003 :28).
  84. For example by Gussenhoven (1999 :76).
  85. Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 135–136.
  86. 1 2 Collins & Mees (2003), p. 136.
  87. Gussenhoven (2007), p. 340.
  88. Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 133, 136.
  89. Booij (1999), pp. 5, 44.
  90. Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 134–137.
  91. 1 2 Booij (1999), p. 44.
  92. Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 112, 136–137.
  93. Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 136–137.
  94. Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 135–137.
  95. Donaldson, Bruce (1983). "17. Historical phonology". Dutch. A linguistic history of Holland and Belgium. Leiden: Uitgeverij Martinus Nijhoff. pp. 135–6. ISBN   90-247-9166-9.
  96. Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 237–238.
  97. The current collection at nl.wiktionary
  98. Booij (1999), pp. 27, 28.
  99. Booij (1999), pp. 36.
  100. Booij (1999), pp. 35.
  101. Source: Gussenhoven (1999 :76). Close-mid vowels are transcribed as diphthongs according to the same page.
  102. 1 2 3 Verhoeven (2005), p. 247.

Bibliography

Further reading

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