h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

For all who speak Dutch, or are slowly learning it.
Please remember to post an English translation of your post, or else it may be .

The Language Thing

is goed, kan ik best.
(ok, I can do that)

uuuh, iets in het bijzonder waar ik over zal schrijven?
(arrr.. anything special I'll write about?)

Hello. Ik kan om het even welk Nederlands spreken niet maar ik ben
enthousiast te leren. Waar u allen levend in Nederland?

****

Hello. I can not speak any Dutch but am eager to learn. Where do you all live in the Netherlands?


Yes okay I used a translator for that so it's probably completely wrong. I'm sure some kind person will correct me though

Katkat

(* you shouldn't have explained about the translator.. I would have been terribly impressed *)
Maar ik had ook correcties gegeven.
(But I had also corrections given)
(But I would also have made some corrections)

Hello is in Dutch.. Hallo.
"om het even welk" is in English "no matter what" or "no matter which". It is probably best used in advanced Dutch.
The English expression "can not speak any Dutch" would probably be best translated as
"Ik spreek geen Nederlands"
(I speak no Dutch)
(I do not speak Dutch)
Note that the "do speak" is translated by "spreken"

"ik ben enthousiast" is perfecty understandable
(I am enthousiastic)
"ik ben enthousiast te leren" brings in -I think- a tiny complexity in Dutch: this requires a totally meaningless word halfway in the phrase:
"ik ben enthousiast om te leren" or (go for perfection "ik ben enthousiast om Nederlands te leren"
Confusion: in some phrases the "om" should be translated as "around". This is not the case in this phrase; here it is just .. well meaningless?.

Every days spoken language/colloquial Dutch would be
"ik wil graag (Nederlands) leren"
(I want very much to learn Dutch)
(I am eager to learn Dutch)

right.. now confusion hits hard. Living in the Netherlands

"Leven" in Dutch is more the process of being alive.
Living in (a city) is in Dutch "wonen".
Note the also the word "U" which is the polite form to address complete strangers, elders or seniors.
We have
I ik
you jij (U)
he/she hij/zij
we wij
you jullie (U)
they zij

and for "wonen"
ik woon
jij woont
hij woont
wij wonen
jullie wonen
zij wonen
yes... note the "oo" vs "o"... we'll have lots of fun with that. For the time being: it doesn't make any difference in pronounciation.

The correct question now is:
"Waar wonen jullie in Nederland"?
(where live you in Nederland)
(where do you live in the Netherlands)
Note Dutch does not really have constructions as "do you live" in questions. The order of the words changes:
"hij woont (in A.)" - hij lives (in Amsterdam)
"woont hij (in A.)?" - does he live (in Amsterdam)?

Ik woon in een klein dorp in Oost-Nederland, dichtbij de Duitse grens.
(I live in a small village in east Netherland, near by the German border)
(I live in a small village in the east of the Netherlands, close to the German border)

En ik woon in Alphen aan den Rijn
And I live in Alphen a/d Rijn

| For starting | very short sentences | are | the best.
| predicative | object | predicate | direct object

| Korte zinnen | zijn | het best | om mee te beginnen.
| object | predicate | direct object | predicative
| onderwerp | werkwoord | lijdend voorwerp | lijdende werkwoords vorm

Correct me if I am wrong in the naming. Just this is like what I learned as being grammar.
Corrigeer me als ik het verkeerd doe. Dit is zoals ik grammatica geleerd heb.

Ik woon in Frankfurt an den Main(?)

I live in Frankfurt/Main

Kan verstaan nederlands avers net spreken

I can understand Dutch, but can't speak it.

impressive!

the "avers net" suggests Flemish influences beyond my capabilities. Sounds authentic, is it??

Regular Dutch would be
"Ik kan Nederlands verstaan, maar (het) niet spreken" -note optional "het"-
(I can Dutch understand, but not speak)
(I can understand Dutch, but I can not speak it)

It's influenced by low German - I'll have to get used to the fact, that the word order is like in German, and unlike in English

Hallo

Ik moet nu gaan maar ik wil steeds terugkomen.

shazz

Maak het goed ??

Take care

*pokes Shazz*

You need an English translation! So we don't get shut down by the italics.

Jammer!!!

(Bother!!!)

Ik moet nu gaan maar ik wil steeds terugkomen.

(I have to go but I'll be straight back)

shazz

I think that with speaking one should also focus on the pronounciation of words, and that grammar and stuff should be in the writing thread...

Well you see the speaking thread was meant for general conversation, topical discussion etc...in dutch. In the same way as the other departments use theirs. For example, the German lot (i know I keep using them but they're the most active) are talking about Christmas markets.

I think there is only so much one can say on pronunciation, so perhaps you could do a lesson on it in the teaching thread and use this one for normal conversation? As a place where you don't correct anything but just get used to using the words etc?

Well, perhaps you're right, just concider most of us haven't read the entire backlog.
Ok, je zal wel gelijk hebben, alleen verwacht niet dat we de hele achterstallige post gelezen hebben.

Maak het goed ??
Do yourself right (?)

Take care
\__1_Houd je haaks. (official spelling)
\__2_Houw je haaks. (pronounciation)
\__3_Pas goed op jezelf. (take care with yourself)
\__4_Neem voorzorg. (little topic drift, still acceptable translation)

/--1-Ik moet nu gaan maar ik zal nog vaker langskomen.
/--2-Ik moet nu gaan maar ik ben binnenkort terug.
I have to go but I'll be straight back

And if you don't mind I'll insert some alternative translations on the way. Just giving some alternatives my ears won't recognise as _not_ being Dutch."

ok, goed punt! (point well made, literally: good point)

boekenlegger

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Bladwijzer


It's a bit quiet down here, how about a radioplay?
Or like we say in Dutch *een hoorspel*

http://www.hoorspelweb.nl/Series/Htglh.htm

I'm not going to translate it back, you'll know the words . Unfortunately the site is only available during the nightly hours.

Hi guys, anyone still here?

yes .. yes, I am still here

(* ja.. ja, ik ben nog hier *)