Topics to cover if you’re teaching yourself Dutch<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\nGrammar<\/h2>\n\n\n\nSimplified language<\/h3>\n\n\n\n I won\u2019t say that Dutch grammar is simple or straight-forward. However I do find that it can be more simplified than English in some cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In English you can either say, \u201cI study\u201d or \u201cI am studying\u201d. Whereas in Dutch you don\u2019t have to make this distinction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In English you would say \u201cI have been living in the Netherlands for 2 years\u201d. Whereas in Dutch you say \u201cik woon twee jaar in Nederland\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Directly translated \u2014 I\u2019m living two years in the Netherlands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s simpler in the sense that it\u2019s in the present tense, and you can skip the word \u201cfor\u201d (in \u201cfor 2 years\u201d) when you say it in Dutch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With so many other unfamiliar and complex grammar structures in Dutch compared to English, I can imagine that these simplifying<\/em> structures are appreciated by the average English speaker.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWord order <\/h3>\n\n\n\n I think many English speakers who learn Dutch (myself included) find the word order to be completely strange and unnatural.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s not so bad with simple sentences but once you get into longer, more complicated sentences, it starts to get crazy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n
Take for example this English sentence:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I didn\u2019t want to bake the cookies because it was too warm today.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
In Dutch it would be:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ik wilde de koekjes niet bakken omdat het te warm was vandaag.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
But to directly translate it back to English in the Dutch order you end up with:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I wanted the cookies not to bake because it too warm was today.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\ud83e\udd2f<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Imagine trying to say this sentence in the right order spontaneously!?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s clear to see that the word order can differ quite a lot from English. And I think this is probably one of the last things you get the hang of as an English speaker because it takes so much speaking practice to be able to do it correctly in natural speech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
De vs. Het<\/h3>\n\n\n\n In Dutch there are two different ways to say \u201cthe\u201d. Both words mean exactly the same thing but knowing which one belongs to any given noun is more or less a matter of memorization. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most people who grew up speaking Dutch will usually be able to tell you if a noun is a \u201cde\u201d word or a \u201chet\u201d word, but they won\u2019t be able to explain why. In fact there are hardly any rules for how this is determined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nouns don\u2019t have a grammatical gender in English so as an English speaker this can seem like a huge challenge and source of frustration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Namely, because as you get further into the grammar rules you\u2019ll find that whether a noun is a de- or het-word can actually impact the spelling and pronunciation of the words around it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My advice?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Actually this was the advice of my Dutch teacher in my very first course\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
90% of the time \u201cde\u201d is correct so when in doubt, go with \u201cde\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dutch proficiency with English<\/h2>\n\n\n\n Many Dutch speakers, especially in large cities, speak English well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This can be a blessing or a curse depending on your ambition to learn the language.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nIf you\u2019re newer to the language and a Dutch person notices you might be struggling, they might switch to English to help you out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This will not happen everywhere you go, but do expect it in the larger cities which attract more tourism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Understandably, this can be discouraging if you\u2019re doing your best and don\u2019t have native Dutch speakers in your circle to practice with on a regular basis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Continue the conversation in Dutch if you\u2019re comfortable and capable of it. Otherwise it can be stressful for both parties when it doesn\u2019t have to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But if you\u2019re a beginner and still learning the ropes, I would suggest finding dedicated speaking partners (potentially even paying for this on a service like italki<\/a>) to practice your Dutch until you get to a comfortable speaking level.<\/p>\n\n\n\nOnce I became conversational in Dutch and started telling my coworkers and boyfriend\u2019s family they could speak to me in Dutch, they stopped switching to English. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It helps when you can comprehend the language reasonably well and don\u2019t need them to constantly repeat themselves or speak extra slow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In summary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n Overall, I don\u2019t think knowing English will necessarily help you understand Dutch as a complete beginner \u2014 especially when it comes to spoken Dutch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You will probably recognize some words in written Dutch at first, but you will need to learn the grammar to make any sense of the the word order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As an English speaker there are definitely advantages when it comes to vocabulary due to all the overlap and repeatable patterns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the end of the day, anyone can learn Dutch with enough dedication and practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n
Leave a comment and let me know what your experience was like learning Dutch from English or your native language!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
How much Dutch can English speakers understand? I break down the similarities and differences I\u2019ve come across in the process of learning Dutch.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":705,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,8,22],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n
What is it like to learn Dutch as an English speaker? - DIY DUTCH \ud83c\uddf3\ud83c\uddf1<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n