Talk:Dutch/Cover/Archive

Archived Jcwf (discuss • contribs) 03:56, 20 May 2015 (UTC) Since Dutch is so similar to German I started copying some German articles. Some parts might need some more treatment. For instance, I'm not sure if Dutch grammar is more complex than English. At least, I think it's simpler than German grammar. Guaka 23:24, 4 Jan 2004 (UTC)

Whether some grammar is more "complex" than another is a very debatable thing altogether, and the average linguist would be careful about such statements lest the discussion swerve into philosophical matters. 131.215.167.114 05:13, 11 May 2005 (UTC)


 * I agree with 131.. The 'similarity' with German is often more of a hindrance than a help for non-native speakers in learning Dutch.

Belgium
i changed Belgium into Flanders, because Dutch is only spoken in Flanders, the northern part of Belgium. (Tom Akkermans)


 * And i changed it back to Belgium, because (1) Dutch is the official language of the whole of Belgium, not only of Flanders-part. Also, (2) saying "Flanders" excludes other Dutch speaking parts such as Belgium Limburg. (3) There is a nationalist right-wing movement in Flanders with the accompanying explicit POV trying to use 'culture', 'ethnicity' and 'language' as demarcation and dividing lines. Let's stick to the Wikipedia's NPOV here too. 145.97.204.116 21:25, 19 November 2005 (UTC)


 * It would be well advised to read the Wikipedia entry on The Netherlands and Belgium to try and gather some facts about the language. While there are dialects of Dutch, and different names for dialects, there is a lot in common. Just that different dialects pronounce some things differently than others. I think just calling it Dutch and then mentioning the differences later might be the best way to do this book. Leave politics out of it, and focus on the language or at least the written part of the language. Mention the different ways to pronounce it later. Just my sugestion, you don't have to follow it. --Orion Blastar 19:34, 24 December 2005 (UTC)


 * Eh, Orion, you are talking about my mothertongue and my country of origin (NL), OK? And yes there are considerable differences between dialects that have a much more venerable age than the standard language that is comparatively young. And yes I have seen allophones learn standard Dutch and be totally lost when people slipped into their real mothertongue: their local dialect. In fact some of the dialects of the northeast still cause me trouble and I have lived there for over a decade. 152.1.193.141 16:35, 23 January 2006 (UTC)


 * No offense meant. I am trying to learn German and Dutch, but I am too poor to afford college courses or books. My family is from Europe, and my grandfather used to speak German and Dutch. He died before he could teach me at a young age. I have a brother-in-law from Belguim, which it would be interesting to speak with him in his native tongue. I am trying to learn what I can, and I admit I don't know very much. I guess I am trying to say to stay with the basics of Dutch first, and then teach the different dialects later. That if I wanted to learn politics, I'd be reading a Wikibook on Dutch politics, rather than one on the Dutch language. I think it is better to learn the language first and then learn poltics, etc. I could be wrong though. Orion Blastar 21:33, 19 April 2006 (UTC)