subject: History Of Dutch Language [print this page] There are about approximately 20 million people in Britain, as well as parts of Netherlands and Belgium, speak the Dutch language. Another name for the Dutch language is the Nederlands or Netherlandic. Many international organizations like the European Union as well as the Union of South American Nations use Dutch as their official language.
The dialect actually started in AD 450-500 and is part of the many West Germanic tribal languages. Many Dutch communities use the language as a novelty, particularly in Pella, Iowa, as well as San Joaquin County, California; both places contain renowned Dutch and Frisian community since the 40s. Places outside Europe like Aruba, Netherlands Antilles and even Surname also use the Dutch language; although it is often considered as a second language and not a primary one. Pennsylvania Dutch is a language actually has more in common with German.
Afrikaans and Creole languages actually originated from the Dutch language, although many of these languages are not extinct. Instead of Dutch, the major language for the city of Brussels is now French; this has changed since the founding of the Kingdom of Belgium in 1830. The Indonesian language has borrowed many words from the Dutch language including everyday words as well as scientific terminology.
Dutch uses the Latin alphabet; moreover, written Dutch is considered to be more formal than spoken Dutch. Another main difference is that the pronunciation of a word can great differ from its written version. Although there is a rich diversity in the local dialects of Netherlands, the official language often overshadows them all. West Flemish is one of the more prominent dialects used in the country; others would include Brabantian and Limburgush. For Anglophones studying Dutch, learning Dutch can become quite tough just like learning any West Germanic language.
Dutch uses formal and informal address which can be interesting for many people. Unlike Spanish and French, the Dutch language doesn't use any masculine or feminine genders in its words. Learning Dutch means you would need to understand "false cognates" since they are quite common when one is learning the language.
I wish the article could help you have a good understanding of the history of Dutch, thus ease your way of learning.
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