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The Dutch Language

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    #92
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭ [Deleted User]


    ohnonotgmail wrote: »
    Peig.

    It's funny how those 4 letters can have such an impact when you read them unexpectedly. Dreary, depressing, wet blanket that is Peig. Total boner shrinker.


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    #93
    ohnonotgmail
    Registered Users Posts: 40,187 ✭✭✭✭ohnonotgmail


    Deleted User wrote: »
    It's funny how those 4 letters can have such an impact when you read them unexpectedly. Dreary, depressing, wet blanket that is Peig. Total boner shrinker.

    the first word that springs to mind when I see that word is "misery". the misery of her life and the misery of being forced to read about it.


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    #94
    Tony EH
    Registered Users Posts: 18,958 ✭✭✭✭Tony EH


    ohnonotgmail wrote: »
    the first word that springs to mind when I see that word is "misery". the misery of her life and the misery of being forced to read about it.

    It does make for a much better read later in life. Why they subjected schoolkids to that I'll never know. Most kids just aren't able to process that kind of stuff fully.

    I remember the teacher reading a part where one of Peig's children fell off a cliff and was swept away never to be seen again. They had a funeral for him and weighted the coffin with some potatoes. The coffin fell...of course...and broke open and the spuds came pouring out.

    The class erupted in laughter.


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    #95
    Capt'n Midnight
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 90,820 Mod ✭✭✭✭Capt'n Midnight


    Tony EH wrote: »
    Frankly, it's a thing we can be thankful to the English for. :pac: Because if Irish was our first language, we'd still be a backwater.
    If Irish was our first language we'd speak fluent English to all the tourists.

    Except the English.


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    #96
    spring lane jack
    Closed Accounts Posts: 163 ✭✭spring lane jack


    PTH2009 wrote: »
    Would Dutch people be Germanic ?

    Germans, Swiss and Austrians are very similar and can be hard to disguise

    Yes Even the national anthem mentions they are of german blood.


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    #97
    spring lane jack
    Closed Accounts Posts: 163 ✭✭spring lane jack


    Tony EH wrote: »
    Relaxed drug laws, their red light district, the people come across as more smug to other Dutch folk. There's a different air about the place that other Dutch people I've met tend not to like.

    It's rather like the French and their view of Paris/Parisians.

    With regards to Amsterdam, a lot of the Dutch don't actually like the relaxed drugs laws, etc. Even those in Amsterdam itself. They feel it attracts the "wrong" element.

    I've found the Dutch to be actually quite conservative and not the free for all's that they are usually characterised as. This was especially the case outside of Amsterdam. The people I met in Venlo thought Amsterdamers were "dom".

    All the cities have coffeshops and most have red light zones. Even cities with no RLZ have privehuizen to visit.


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    #98
    _Godot_
    Registered Users Posts: 877 ✭✭✭_Godot_


    Das Reich wrote: »
    Even people from ex English colonies such as India or Nigeria that proudly says they were teached

    I'm nitpicking here but the word is 'taught', sorry. :)

    I always wanted to learn a language like Dutch, but I've been lazy.


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    #99
    ILoveYourVibes
    Registered Users Posts: 15,176 ✭✭✭✭ILoveYourVibes


    SharpshooterTom wrote: »
    Am I right in thinking its the closest major language to English? Numbers 1-20 look remarkably similar!


    Always been a bit of a debate of whether English should be regarded as a Germanic or a Romance language. I mean it is officially regarded within the Germanic family but the Norman invasion changed so much of the vocabulary it feels quite distant from those languages. I don't think people find German any easier to learn than French or Spanish.

    Dutch and freisian are the closest to english.

    English and it's relationship with romance and germanic languages is complex.

    At first glance you might think English has nothing in common with German.

    Ich trinke Wasser though should be very easy for you to understand.

    Also the grammar is somewhat similar the verbs change in a similar way.

    ‘drink’ to ‘drank’ to ‘drunk’
    ‘trinkt’, to ‘trank’ to ‘getrunken’

    You can probably understand Ich Habe, Wo is das?

    Sentence structure though and word order has changed.

    But some older sayings still have germanic sentence structure.

    Neither a borrower nor a lender be. The way the be is at the end is an example of germanic sentence structure in English.

    Ich bin noch nicht fertig. I am not yet ready. It sounds a little archaic in english but the structure is still acceptable. You can put the words in entirely the same order in english.



    IF you know certain rules you can see even more similarities.

    FF F and PF change in german into english often to a p ..reif becomes ripe pfeife becomes pipe pfennig /penny helfen/help

    Z ts and ss change to t katze/cat , wasser /water

    Ch and ck mostly change to k Buch /Book

    Sch often changes to sh ..scharf /sharp


    Z changes to soft c ..zirkus/circus

    D or t changes to TH


    B in german will often become f in english ..weib /wife ..sieben /seven

    While they are not close to anything like being mutually intelligible they are similar. But I am not sure these similarities make it easier for english speakers to learn.

    On the difference between spanish and english etc. Well the grammar is VERY different. A lot of words to do with science or archaic speech can be similar though. But if you were to take them from spanish and put them into a similar use in english you would sound weird and visa versa as there can be a nuanced difference.

    For instance Disgusto means to be worried ...whereas disgust in english has a different nuance to it. Dormitorio is just and ordinary bedroom but i dormitory in english is a dormitory. Also even when the words ARE the same ...like suficiente vrs suficient ..you would sound weird saying Tengo suficiente agua in egnlish ..i have sufficient water ..but its ok in spanish ....it would be BETTER to say tengo bastante agua. bastante sounds nothing like enough though. Also its more like a good amount in spanish. But you say enough in english( hard to explain). But i think people will understand me when i say that to say 'I have sufficient orange juice' at the breakfast table would be odd.

    Having said that I would say spanish or french would be easier for english speakers to learn. As they still do have a lot of vocab in common.

    Spanish whilst it has cases really doesn't adhere to a case system same with french.

    Of course german uses the Der Die Das system which a lot of people find hard.


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    #100
    ILoveYourVibes
    Registered Users Posts: 15,176 ✭✭✭✭ILoveYourVibes


    I actually took German in secondary school and I won a prize in it. Although I have no idea why.

    I don't think i have ever spoken to someone in German once in my entire life!

    All we did was writing really no speaking. Well I did the oral etc. But that is like 20 mins.


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    #101
    Asdfgh2020
    Registered Users Posts: 1,418 ✭✭✭Asdfgh2020


    snowstorm445 wrote: »
    Bit of a bizarre thing to say, plenty of countries including the Dutch, Nordics, Germans, Austrians etc, speak English well along with their local language and are very prosperous and developed. We'd likely be even more familiar with English given our connections to Britain. It is possible to be bilingual in this day and age.

    What is it about using Irish that makes so many Irish people still, to this day, associate it with backwardness and poverty?[

    It’s because they are ‘cultural degenerates’, with massive chips 🟠on their shoulders.....a love everything British, language, soaps, magazines, newspapers, football clubs, music, food etc but can get easily offended If some American or main land European makes an assumption that they might be British


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    #102
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 3,801 ✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    Asdfgh2020 wrote: »
    snowstorm445 wrote: »
    Bit of a bizarre thing to say, plenty of countries including the Dutch, Nordics, Germans, Austrians etc, speak English well along with their local language and are very prosperous and developed. We'd likely be even more familiar with English given our connections to Britain. It is possible to be bilingual in this day and age.

    What is it about using Irish that makes so many Irish people still, to this day, associate it with backwardness and poverty?[/QUOTE]

    It’s because they are ‘cultural degenerates’, with massive chips 🟠on their shoulders.....a love everything British, language, soaps, magazines, newspapers, football clubs, music, food etc but can get easily offended If some American or main land European makes an assumption that they might be British


    Bad at quotes as well.


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    #103
    Asdfgh2020
    Registered Users Posts: 1,418 ✭✭✭Asdfgh2020


    [Deleted User] wrote: »
    Bad at quotes as well.

    ?????


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