Dutch is the official language in the Netherlands. It is also spoken in the northern half of Belgium and in the South American country of Suriname. There are mainly two Dutch dialects. These are very similar and are spoken in the same language areas where standard Dutch is spoken. One very prominent variant is Flemish.
Dutch originated in the Netherlands.
The earliest documents in Dutch are from the 12th century.
An English speaker needs about 600 hours to learn Dutch.
Some Dutch words have also been adapted and incorporated into English. For example, waffles come from the Dutch word wafel and coleslaw from koolsla. If you need content writing in Dutch, you might need a professional to help you out!
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Hebban olla vogala nestas hagunnan hinase hic anda thu, wat unbidan we nu?, is the first evidence of a written Dutch text ever found. It comes from a medieval love song and means “All the birds are already nesting, except for me and you. What are we waiting for?”
In 1804, the first official Dutch spelling guide was written.
The Dutch language was influenced by the French language for a long period of time.
Dutch is most closely related to the West Germanic branch of the Germanic languages, which includes languages such as German, English, and the Scandinavian languages.
Although Dutch shares many words with English, there are also many words that are not similar, and some that are "false friends," which can cause confusion.
Dutch has some unique sounds that can be difficult to master for non-native speakers, including the guttural "g" and the Dutch "ui" sound.
The Dutch language has a history dating back to the early Middle Ages, when it was spoken in the region that is now the Netherlands and Belgium. The earliest known examples of written Dutch date back to the 6th century AD, but it was not until the 12th and 13th centuries that Dutch began to be used in official documents and literature.
Dutch can be a moderately difficult language to learn for English speakers. In particular, Dutch spelling can be challenging, as some words are spelled differently than they are pronounced, and there are some spelling rules that are unique to Dutch.