Dutch phonology

Last updated

Dutch phonology is similar to that of other West Germanic languages, especially Afrikaans 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 area 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 and so it cannot be considered a regional dialect in the Netherlands. Belgian Standard Dutch is used by the vast majority of Flemish journalists and it 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

Obstruents

Sonorants

In many areas the final 'n' of the ending -en (originally /ən/, with a variety of meanings) is pronounced only when a word is being individually stressed; this 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 and not when the word consists of 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 whereas in teken ('ticks') it is dropped because it is part of a plural ending. Such pairs (teken = 'draw'; teken = 'ticks') are therefore not homophones in dialects that drop -n, despite being 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, like 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]. [23]

Example words for consonants

Consonants with example words
PhonemePhonetic IPA Orthography English translation
p [pɛn] pen'pen'
b [bit] biet'beetroot'
t [tɑk] tak'branch'
d [dɑk] dak'roof'
[ɣaːtɕəs] gaatjes, tjilpen'little holes', 'to chirp'
[dʑɛmˈbeː] djembé'djembe'
k [kɑt] kat'cat'
ɡ [ɡoːɫ] goal'goal'
f [fits] fiets'bicycle'
v [vɛif] vijf'five'
s [sɔk] sok'sock'
z [zeip] zeep'soap'
ɕ [ɕaˈmaːn] sjamaan'shaman'
ʑ [ˈʑyːri] jury'jury'
x [ɑxt]
[ɑx̟t]
acht (north)
acht (south)
'eight'
ɣ [ˌsɛrtouɣə(m)ˈbɔs]
[χeːu]
[ɣ̟eːβ̞]
's-Hertogenbosch
geeuw (north)
geeuw (Belgium)
''s-Hertogenbosch'
'yawn'
ɦ [ɦut] hoed'hat'
m [mɛns] mens'human'
n [nɛk] nek'neck'
ŋ [ɛŋ] eng'scary'
l [lɑnt]
[ɡoːɫ]
land
goal
'land'
'goal'
r [rɑt]
[ʀɑt]
[peˈɾu]
[ˈneidəɹˌlɑndəɹs]
[ˈɣeːʀ̥tˈbuːʁʒwa]
rat
rad
Peru
Nederlanders (north)
Geert Bourgeois (Belgium)
'rat'
'wheel'
'Peru'
'Dutchmen'
'Geert Bourgeois'
ʋ [ʋɑŋ]
[β̞ɑŋ]
[bəˈβ̞eːrɪŋ]
wang (north)
wang (Belgium)
bewering (Belgium)
'cheek'
'cheek'
'assertion'
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 further below because Northern Standard Dutch realizes them as diphthongs, but they behave phonologically like the other long monophthongs.

Monophthongs

Native [24] [25] [26]
  Front Central Back
unrounded rounded
laxtenselaxtenselaxtense
Close ɪ i ʏ y u
Mid ɛ øː ə ɔ
Open ɑ
Non-native [25] [27] [28]
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 close to the canonical value of the IPA symbol ɪ. [51] [39] The Standard Belgian realization has also been described as close-mid [ ɪ̞ ]. [52] In regional Standard Dutch, the realization 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. [53] [54]
  • /i,iː/ are close front [i, ], close to cardinal [ i ]. [35] [51] [52]
  • The majority of sources consider /ʏ/ to be close-mid central [ ɵ ], [52] [55] [56] yet Beverley Collins and Inger Mees consider it to be close-mid front [ ʏ̞ ]. [39] 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 to the Dutch sound, much more similar than the canonical values of ʏ and œ (the sound represented by ʉ was not a part of the study). [55] 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. [53] [54]
  • /y,yː/ have been variously described as close front [y, ], [52] [57] near-close front [, y˕ː] [35] and, in Northern Standard Dutch, near-close central [ʉ̞, ʉ̞ː]. [51]
  • /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. [51] [52] [58]

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 ]. [35]

/i,y,u/ are frequently longer in Belgian Standard Dutch and most Belgian accents than in Northern Standard Dutch in which the length of these vowels is identical to that of lax vowels. [35]

Regardless of the exact accent, /i,y,u/ are mandatorily lengthened to [, , ] before /r/ in the same word. [27] [35] [51] In Northern Standard Dutch and in Randstad, these 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 Randstad than is usually the case in other regional varieties of Standard Dutch and in Belgian Standard Dutch. [59] 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]. [27] [60]

Mid vowels

  • /ɛ,ɛː/ are open-mid front [ɛ, ɛː]. [51] [61] According to Jo Verhoeven, the Belgian Standard Dutch variants are somewhat raised. [52] Before /n/ and the velarized or pharyngealized 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), this lowering is generalized to most or even all contexts. Conversely, some regional Standard Dutch varieties (e.g. much of Randstad Dutch, especially the Amsterdam dialect as well as the accent of Antwerp) realize the main allophone of /ɛ/ as higher and more central than open-mid front ([ ɛ̝̈ ]). [62]
  • /œː/ is open-mid front [ œː ]. [51] [63]
  • /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 ]). [43] [51]
  • /ɔ/ is open-mid back rounded [ ɔ ]. [51] [52] Collins and Mees (2003) describe it as "very tense", with pharyngealization and strong lip-rounding. [35] There is considerable regional and individual variation in the height of /ɔ/, with allophones being as close as [ ʊ ] in certain words. [64] [65] The closed allophones are especially common in the Randstad area. [35] /ɔː/ is close to /ɔ/ in terms of height and backness.

/ɛ,ɔ/ are typically somewhat lengthened and centralized before /r/ in Northern Standard Dutch and 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/. [66]

The free vowels /eː,øː,oː/ are realized as monophthongs [, øː, ] in Belgian Standard Dutch (Jo Verhoeven describes the Belgian Standard Dutch realization 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 centralized back ([ ö ]), and the starting point of [eɪ] has been described as front [ e ] by Collins and Mees and as centralized 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 [ ]. [51] [52] [67] Many speakers of Randstad Dutch as well as younger speakers of Northern Standard Dutch realize /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. [68] [69] 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 termed Polder Dutch. Therefore, the phonemic contrast between /eː,øː,oː/ and /ɛi,œy,ɔu/ is still strongly maintained, but its phonetic realization is very different from what one can typically hear in traditional Northern Standard Dutch. [70] In Rotterdam and The Hague, the starting point of [oʊ] can be fronted to [ ə ] instead of being lowered to [ ɔ ]. [71]

In Northern Standard Dutch and in Randstad, /eː,øː,oː/ lose their closing glides and are raised and slightly centralized 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. These 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 centralizing 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.)'). [72] [73]

In Northern Standard Dutch, /eː,øː,oː/ are mid-centralized before the pharyngealized allophone of /l/. [74]

Several non-standard dialects have retained the distinction between the so-called "sharp-long" and "soft-long" e and o, a distinction that dates back to early Middle Dutch. The sharp-long varieties originate from the Old Dutch long ē and ō (Proto-Germanic ai and au), while 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 recognized in educational materials, but it is still present in many local varieties, such as Antwerpian, Limburgish, West Flemish and Zeelandic. In these varieties, the sharp-long vowels are often opening diphthongs such as [ɪə,ʊə], while 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 realized so that the former is a back vowel [ ɑ ], whereas 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 ], so it may have the same backness as /aː/. [51] [75] [52]

Other accents may have different realizations:

  • Many accents (Amsterdam, Utrecht, Antwerp) realize this pair with 'inverted' backness, so that /ɑ/ is central [ ä ] (or, in the case of Utrecht, even front [ a ]), whereas /aː/ is closer to cardinal [ ɑː ]. [76]
  • 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 realization, being realized as a fully back and raised open vowel, unrounded [ ɑ̝ ] or rounded [ ɒ̝ ]. [35]
  • In Groningen, /aː/ tends to be particularly front, similar to the quality of the cardinal vowel [ ], whereas in The Hague and in the affected Standard Northern accent, /aː/ may be raised and fronted to [ æː ], particularly before /r/. [77]

Before /r/, /ɑ/ is typically a slight centering diphthong with a centralized first element ([ɐə̆]) in Northern Standard Dutch and in Randstad. [66]

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. 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. [51] [78] [79]

  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]). [87] [88] This article adopts the former analysis.

In Northern Standard Dutch, the second elements of [iu,yu,eːu] can be labiodental [iʋ,yʋ,eːʋ]. This is especially common in intervocalic positions. [63]

In Northern Standard Dutch and regional Netherlands Standard Dutch, the close-mid elements of [eːu,oːi] may be subject to the same kind of diphthongization as /eː,oː/, 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. [89] [90]

[aːi] is realized 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. [89] [91]

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/. [92]

Example words for vowels and diphthongs

Vowels with example words
PhonemePhonetic IPA Orthography English translation
ɪ [kɪp] kip'chicken'
i [bit]
[viːr]
biet
vier
'beetroot'
'four'
[anaˈliːzə] analyse'analysis'
ʏ [ɦʏt] hut'cabin'
y [fyt]
[dyːr]
fuut
duur
'grebe'
'expensive'
[sɛntriˈfyːʒə] centrifuge'centrifuge'
u [ɦut]
[ˈɪnvuːrɪŋ]
hoed
invoering
'hat'
'introduction'
[kruːs] cruise'cruise'
ɛ [bɛt] bed'bed'
ɛː [blɛːr] blèr'yell'
[beɪt]
[beːt]
[ˈlɪːrstɛlɪŋ]
[ˈleːrstɛlɪŋ]
beet (north)
beet (Belgium)
leerstelling (north)
leerstelling (Belgium)
'bit'(past form of to bite)

'dogma'
ə [də] de'the'
œː [ˈœːvrə] oeuvre'oeuvre'
øː [nøʏs]
[nøːs]
[sχʏːr]
[sxøːr]
neus (north)
neus (Belgium)
scheur (north)
scheur (Belgium)
'nose'

'crack'
ɔ [bɔt] bot'bone'
ɔː [ˈrɔːzə] roze'pink'
[boʊt]
[boːt]
[ˈnʊːrtseɪ]
[ˈnoːrtseː]
boot (north)
boot (Belgium)
Noordzee (north)
Noordzee (Belgium)
'boat'

'North Sea'
ɑ [bɑt] bad'bath'
[zaːt] zaad'seed'
ɛi [ɑrχənˈtɛ̞in]
[ɑrɣənˈtɛin]
Argentijn (north)
Argentijn (Belgium)
'Argentine'
œy [ɐyt]
[œy]
uit
ui
'out'
'onion'
ɔu [fʌut]
[fɔut]
fout (north)
fout (Belgium)
'mistake'
ɑi [ɑi] ai'ouch'
ɔi [ɦɔi] hoi'hi'
iu [niu] nieuw'new'
yu [dyu] duw'push'
ui [ɣrui] groei'growth'
eːu [leːu] leeuw'lion'
oːi [moːi] mooi'nice'
aːi [ɦaːi] haai'shark'

Stress

Most native Germanic words (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 later syllable if certain unstressed prefixes are added (particularly in 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 will 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/. [93] [ 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 in compounds 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), in contrast with some dialects of German, which generalised the stop [ɡ], and English, which lost the fricative variety through regular sound changes. Dutch has, however, had 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. [51]

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. [51]

Phonemic transcription

/dəˈnoːrdənʋɪntɛnˈzɔn|ɦɑdənəndɪsˈkʏsioːvərˈvraːx|ˈʋivɑnɦʏnˈtʋeːənˈstɛrkstəʋɑs|tunɛrˈjœystimɑntvoːrˈbɛikʋɑm|diənˈdɪkəˈʋɑrməˈjɑsaːnɦɑt/

Phonetic transcription

[dəˈnʊːrdə(ɱ)ʋɪntɛnˈzɔn|ɦɑdə(n)əndɪsˈkʏsiouvərˈvraːχ|ˈʋivɑnɦʏnˈtʋeiə(n)ˈstɛr(ə)kstəʋɑs|tunərˈjœystimɑntfʊːrˈbɛikʋɑm|diənˈdɪkəˈʋɑrməˈjɑsaːnɦɑt] [98]

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. [99]

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. [99]

Phonemic transcription

/dəˈnoːrdənʋɪntɛnˈzɔn|ˈʋaːrənˈryziaːnətˈmaːkən|ˈoːvərʋiɦətˈstɛrkstəʋɑs|ˈtunərənˈrɛizɪɣərvoːrˈbɛikʋɑmmɛtənˈʋɑrməˈjɑsaːn/

Phonetic transcription

[dəˈnoːrdə(n)wɪntɛnˈzɔn|ˈwaːrə(n)ˈryziaːnətˈmaːkə(n)|ˈoːvərwiɦətˈstɛr(ə)kstəwɑs|ˈtunərənˈrɛizɪɣərvoːrˈbɛiˈkwɑmmɛtənˈwɑrməˈjɑz‿aːn] [99]

See also

Related Research Articles

A diphthong, also known as a gliding vowel, is a combination of two adjacent vowel sounds within the same syllable. Technically, a diphthong is a vowel with two different targets: that is, the tongue moves during the pronunciation of the vowel. In most varieties of English, the phrase "no highway cowboy" has five distinct diphthongs, one in every syllable.

The phonology of Standard German is the standard pronunciation or accent of the German language. It deals with current phonology and phonetics as well as with historical developments thereof as well as the geographical variants and the influence of German dialects.

English phonology is the system of speech sounds used in spoken English. Like many other languages, English has wide variation in pronunciation, both historically and from dialect to dialect. In general, however, the regional dialects of English share a largely similar phonological system. Among other things, most dialects have vowel reduction in unstressed syllables and a complex set of phonological features that distinguish fortis and lenis consonants.

The sound system of Norwegian resembles that of Swedish. There is considerable variation among the dialects, and all pronunciations are considered by official policy to be equally correct – there is no official spoken standard, although it can be said that Eastern Norwegian Bokmål speech has an unofficial spoken standard, called Urban East Norwegian or Standard East Norwegian, loosely based on the speech of the literate classes of the Oslo area. This variant is the most common one taught to foreign students.

Bernese German, like other High Alemannic varieties, has a two-way contrast in plosives and fricatives that is not based on voicing, but on length. The absence of voice in plosives and fricatives is typical for all High German varieties, but many of them have no two-way contrast due to general lenition.

There is significant phonological variation among the various Yiddish dialects. The description that follows is of a modern Standard Yiddish that was devised during the early 20th century and is frequently encountered in pedagogical contexts.

The phonology of Quebec French is more complex than that of Parisian or Continental French. Quebec French has maintained phonemic distinctions between and, and, and, and. The latter phoneme of each pair has disappeared in Parisian French, and only the last distinction has been maintained in Meridional French, yet all of these distinctions persist in Swiss and Belgian French.

Unlike many languages, Icelandic has only very minor dialectal differences in sounds. The language has both monophthongs and diphthongs, and many consonants can be voiced or unvoiced.

Hard and soft G in Dutch refers to a phonetic phenomenon of the pronunciation of the letters ⟨g⟩ and ⟨ch⟩ and also a major isogloss within that language.

This article explains the phonology of Malay and Indonesian based on the pronunciation of Standard Malay, which is the official language of Brunei, Singapore and Malaysia, and Indonesian, which is the official language of Indonesia and a working language in Timor Leste. There are two main standards for Malay pronunciation, the Johor-Riau standard, used in Brunei and Malaysia, and the Baku, used in Indonesia and Singapore.

Afrikaans has a similar phonology to other West Germanic languages, especially Dutch.

This article is about the phonology and phonetics of the West Frisian language.

This article covers the phonology of the Orsmaal-Gussenhoven dialect, a variety of Getelands spoken in Orsmaal-Gussenhoven, a village in the Linter municipality.

Hamont-Achel dialect or Hamont-Achel Limburgish is the city dialect and variant of Limburgish spoken in the Belgian city of Hamont-Achel alongside the Dutch language.

Kerkrade dialect is a Ripuarian dialect spoken in Kerkrade and its surroundings, including Herzogenrath in Germany. It is spoken in all social classes, but the variety spoken by younger people in Kerkrade is somewhat closer to Standard Dutch.

The Hague dialect is a dialect of Dutch mostly spoken in The Hague. It differs from Standard Dutch almost exclusively in pronunciation.

Weert dialect or Weert Limburgish is the city dialect and variant of Limburgish spoken in the Dutch city of Weert alongside Standard Dutch. All of its speakers are bilingual with standard Dutch. There are two varieties of the dialect: rural and urban. The latter is called Stadsweerts in Standard Dutch and Stadswieërts in the city dialect. Van der Looij gives the Dutch name buitenijen for the peripheral dialect.

This article covers the phonology of the Kerkrade dialect, a West Ripuarian language variety spoken in parts of the Kerkrade municipality in the Netherlands and Herzogenrath in Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Getelands</span> Brabantian dialect of Belgium

Getelands or West Getelands is a South Brabantian dialect spoken in the eastern part of Flemish Brabant as well as the western part of Limburg in Belgium. It is a transitional dialect between South Brabantian and West Limburgish.

The phonology of the Maastrichtian dialect, especially with regards to vowels is quite extensive due to the dialect's tonal nature.

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 3 4 Gussenhoven (1999), p. 74.
  7. Verhoeven (2005), pp. 243, 245.
  8. Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 191–192.
  9. Collins & Mees (2003), p. 191.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Collins & Mees (2003), p. 48.
  11. Collins & Mees (2003), p. 190.
  12. 1 2 Collins & Mees (2003), p. 193.
  13. Collins & Mees (2003), p. 171.
  14. 1 2 Collins & Mees (2003), p. 197.
  15. Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 58, 197, 222.
  16. Collins & Mees (2003), p. 209.
  17. Sebregts (2014), pp. 194.
  18. Sebregts (2014), pp. 196–198.
  19. Collins & Mees (2003 :199). Authors do not say where exactly it is used.
  20. Goeman & Van de Velde (2001 :107)
  21. 1 2 Booij (1999), p. 8.
  22. Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 197–198, 201.
  23. Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 204–205.
  24. 1 2 3 Booij (1999), p. 5.
  25. 1 2 Gussenhoven (1999), pp. 75–76.
  26. Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 127–128, 132–133.
  27. 1 2 3 4 5 Booij (1999), p. 6.
  28. 1 2 Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 137–138.
  29. Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 92, 130, 132, 234.
  30. Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 98, 130, 132, 234.
  31. For example by Gussenhoven (1999 :75).
  32. For example by Collins & Mees (2003 :127–128, 132–133).
  33. For example by Booij (1999 :4–5) and Verhoeven (2005 :245).
  34. Booij (1999), pp. 4–6.
  35. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Collins & Mees (2003), p. 132.
  36. Gussenhoven (2007), pp. 337, 339.
  37. van Heuven & Genet (2002).
  38. 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).
  39. 1 2 3 Collins & Mees (2003), p. 128.
  40. Described as close-mid [ ʊ̞ ] by Geert Booij and as mid [ ɔ̽ ] by Beverley Collins and Inger Mees.
  41. Booij (1999), pp. 7, 17.
  42. Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 97–98.
  43. 1 2 Collins & Mees (2003), p. 129.
  44. Gussenhoven (2007), pp. 342, 344.
  45. For example by Booij (1999) and Heemskerk & Zonneveld (2000) as well as the online dictionary woorden.org.
  46. Booij (1999), pp. 6, 16.
  47. 1 2 Collins & Mees (2003), p. 138.
  48. It is listed by only some sources, namely Booij (1999) and Gussenhoven (2007).
  49. Such as Booij (1999) and Gussenhoven (2007).
  50. Gussenhoven (2007), p. 342.
  51. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Gussenhoven (1999), p. 76.
  52. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Verhoeven (2005), p. 245.
  53. 1 2 Collins & Mees (2003), p. 131.
  54. 1 2 Verhoeven (2005), p. 246.
  55. 1 2 van Heuven & Genet (2002), cited in Gussenhoven (2007 :337–338).
  56. 1 2 Rietveld & van Heuven (2009).
  57. Gussenhoven (2007), p. 338.
  58. Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 132–133.
  59. Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 132, 134, 200.
  60. Gussenhoven (2007), pp. 344, 347.
  61. Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 128, 137.
  62. Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 92, 128–129, 131.
  63. 1 2 Collins & Mees (2003), p. 137.
  64. Schouten (1981).
  65. Booij (1999), p. 7.
  66. 1 2 Collins & Mees (2003), p. 130.
  67. Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 108, 110, 133–134.
  68. 1 2 Collins & Mees (2003), p. 135.
  69. Jacobi (2009).
  70. 1 2 3 Stroop (1999).
  71. Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 109–110.
  72. Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 131, 134, 200–201.
  73. Gussenhoven (2007), pp. 339, 347.
  74. Collins & Mees (2003), p. 134.
  75. Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 104, 128, 132–133.
  76. Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 131, 133.
  77. Collins & Mees (2003), p. 133.
  78. Booij (1999), pp. 4, 6.
  79. 1 2 Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 127, 135.
  80. For example by Booij (1999 :4, 6), Verhoeven (2005 :245) and Gussenhoven (2007 :340).
  81. For example by Collins & Mees (2003 :135) and Kooij & van Oostendorp (2003 :28).
  82. For example by Gussenhoven (1999 :76).
  83. Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 135–136.
  84. 1 2 Collins & Mees (2003), p. 136.
  85. Gussenhoven (2007), p. 340.
  86. Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 133, 136.
  87. Booij (1999), pp. 5, 44.
  88. Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 134–137.
  89. 1 2 Booij (1999), p. 44.
  90. Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 112, 136–137.
  91. Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 136–137.
  92. Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 135–137.
  93. Collins & Mees (2003), pp. 237–238.
  94. The current collection at nl.wiktionary
  95. Booij (1999), pp. 27, 28.
  96. Booij (1999), pp. 36.
  97. Booij (1999), pp. 35.
  98. Source: Gussenhoven (1999 :76). Close-mid vowels are transcribed as diphthongs according to the same page.
  99. 1 2 3 Verhoeven (2005), p. 247.

Bibliography

Further reading

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Dutch phonology at Wikimedia Commons