Netherlands Two - Text
The subject is a Dutch woman, 30 years old, a dancing teacher at a primary school and studying to become a regular primary school teacher. Education level: Dance Academy Rotterdam, PABO (education for schoolteachers)
She was born and raised in the northern part of the Netherlands, in the province 'Friesland'. She was brought up with the Dutch languages until her fourth birthday. Then her family decided to switch over to Fries, a completely different language. She has lived in Rotterdam now for the last nine years.
She was born and raised in a very small village (60 people) in Friesland. In Friesland people speak a different language that is very much different from Dutch and sometimes resembles English. She lived there until she was 16 years old (moved to Leeuwarden, also in Friesland) and then left to study at the Dance Academy in Rotterdam. She doesn't speak English often and isn't really interested in languages.
Friesland has its own language, completely different from Dutch. People from that province usually have a strong Fries accent when they speak Dutch and are recognized mostly by their nasal and 'twangy' sound. Netherlands 2 tries to avoid sounding Fries and therefore speaks softly.
The language in Friesland has modified her English pronunciation I think. Especially the 's' (both as first and last consonant of a word) and the 't' (at endings of words) are typically Fries, for instance when she says 'vet'.
Typically Dutch pronunciation she uses:
- The 'u' as in 'hurry'. In English or American that's an undefined vowel (schwa), but in Holland it often sounds like the 'i' in 'girl'.
- This also happens in the second syllable of a word like 'fire' or 'higher'. Netherlands 2 does it in the word 'tire'. ('the goose began to.').
- Dutch people are not likely to have the puff of air that goes with the English 'p' ('power'), 'k' ('okay') en 'c' ('copper').
- Usually they don't add voice to a 'b' ('sober') or a 'v' (as in 'love': that almost becomes an thick 'f') or a 'g' ('obliged' would end as 'tsjt').
- The 'l' is always the same, so no difference in light or dark.
- The 'se' as ending of a word, as in 'wise', sounds like an 's' and not like an almost 'z'.
- Because she hardly ever speaks English she doesn't pronounce 'the' as 'thee' before a word that starts with a vowel.
- For the same reason her 's' often goes with a 'j', as in the bio-text: 'primary school' (sjk).
- Furthermore she sometimes has a specific American pronunciation. For instance 'ate' in 'ate a bowl of porridge' or 'bath'.
Recorded October 22, 2005, by Judith Olthuis. Running time: 03:18.
Transcription of Unscripted Speech
I was born and raised in Friesland. I was raised in uh, uh a very small village with uh, like 60 people in Friesland. In Friesland, we uh, speak another language it's very different from Dutch, and uh, it looks sometimes a little bit like English. I lived there 'till my 16th...birthday and then I moved to Rotterdam and there I studied at the Dance Academy. At the moment I'm teaching at a primary school, and I teach dance to little children. I'm also studying...to become a teacher...I don't speak very often English, and I'm not really interested in languages.
Unscripted Speech Transcribed by Faith Harvey 20 March 2008.