Hoe zeg je... / how do you say......

[Sandi]

Well, this is the language exchange thread.

I'm ashamed to say I can only claim to be reasonably proficient in one language, but I think it would be fun and interesting to learn others. Where possible, it would be nice if some pronounciation guidance could be included in the translations.

Let's start with something really basic. I walk into a room and see a person I don't know. I hold out my right hand and say, "Hi, I'm Sandi, I don't believe we've met."

What would be the correct action and words in this situation?

[Hans]

Originally Posted by Sandi

Well, this is the language exchange thread.

I'm ashamed to say I can only claim to be reasonably proficient in one language, but I think it would be fun and interesting to learn others. Where possible, it would be nice if some pronounciation guidance could be included in the translations.

Let's start with something really basic. I walk into a room and see a person I don't know. I hold out my right hand and say, "Hi, I'm Sandi, I don't believe we've met."

What would be the correct action and words in this situation?

Sandi, the sentence you gave is rather formal in the sense that the Dutch are very informal and you won't hear them say "I don't believe we've met yet" soon. That said, let's start with greeting, as that would be what you start with if you walk into a group you never met (breaking the ice).

Almost always we differentiate our greetings according time of day, so much even that it can result in rather ridiculous / joking situations around noon when someone says good afternoon while it is still morning all of two minutes...

Anyway, you come into the room and say:

Gooduh môrgun - Good morning; remember G will always be a hard, throathy G (like existing in Arabic and Welsh) which you will have to practice after hearing as regular English speaker do not ever use this sound

Gooduh middawgh - Good afternoon

Gooduh ah-vônt - Good evening

You then could carry on with something informal/general like "How is everybody doing": hu gaaht hat? (using aa as long a sound here as I don't know the phonetic alphabet)

When you do want to approach someone one-on-one and you are in a formal setting you might be able to use your suggestion: ick guh-leauv neet dat wuh (or wy) alkaahr nog neet ontmoot habbuhn

informally you would just say something like "Do I know you? I am ...": Ken ick u (u not as oo sound but short/high, sounding like ue; which is formal and used in conversation with unknown and older people) or juh? (je=juh used informally to same age group people and younger persons) Ick ben ...

Which concludes our lesson for today
Dutch abroad will be thrilled if you know the greetings and will pronouce them then properly, especially if you get the hard G right No kidding, this is true.

[Sandi]

Thanks, Hans! Where I live, people would be more likely to walk in and say "hi, y'all" or "hey, y'all" to a group. The sentence I put forward was more for formal or business situations.

As for the "g" sound, they have something very similar in Korean and I don't think I ever did get it right, but I'll keep trying!

[edith]

Gooduh ah-vont Han's!
How do you say "How do you say...... please?" ?

I will try the greetings at work-we get alot of Dutch people!

[Hans]

How do you say...
start your sentence with: hoo zag yuh (with g being throaty g of course)
then say your english bit
then say the equivalent of "in Dutch" = in hat Naiduhrlâhnts

Please in Dutch is a sort of contraction of: "if you please": alstublieft, pronounced as: âhls-tuu-bleeft (u = a long open u sound like in sue)

[edith]

Hoo zag yuh thank you in hat Naiduhrlants alstublieft?

[Hans]

formal: dank u wel: dânk ue well

informal: dank je wel: dânk juh well, or even shorter dânkjuh.

A variation to be used universally (like thanks): bedankt! = buhdânkt!
say it in a positive way because saying "bedankt" in any other way would mean sarcasm, meaning the exact opposite (easy language, is it?)

[Myt]

I understood about half of that Hans.

[Hans]

Probabyl the part that was in English?

[Myt]

no. I did year 7 German and some parts of the language are similar.

[Kesal]

I understand some of it because my fiance speaks flemish...his pronunciation is a little different than what you describe, Hans - which is to be expected, of course
I can generally make out written Dutch as it isn't all that different to English if you sound it out in your head...probably helps that I know a little simple German.
I didn't know until quite recently that my mother (who was adopted as a baby) is actually half Dutch, so it's made me even more interested in learning the language.

[Hans]

It definitely helps to know (some) German! Dutch and German are indeed much alike. And if you know either of the languages you'll probably be able to follow some parts of Norwegian, Danish and maybe even Swedish too.

Wow, Kesal, your mum half Dutch? Goodness, is she young enough to have a parent who emigrated after WorldWar 2?

Myt, what's "year 7 German"?

[Myt]

In Year 7 (at school) We must do a certain amount of hours (I've forgotten the exact emount) of LOTE-that's Language Other Than English. My school chooses to teach German.

[ghyle]

Hans, how do you say "woodle oodle oodle, I like my merry poodle" in Dutch?

[Hans]

Woedel, oedel, oedel, ik hou van m'n vrolijke poedel

You don't catch me that way, I'm a licensed Oz-Dutch translator!

[ghyle]

Thanks, mate. I shall quote that line to a mate, and ask him to recite it to his Dutch relatives, as a greeting.

Unless you can tall me what "get thee in my behind, Satan" is in Dutch.

[Hans]

Uhm, the way you say it the changed nature of the saying would not rest within the propriety norms of this board, my dear poet

And anyway, that saying does have Dutch equivalents but as such doesn't exist in Dutch language.

[Myt]

*laughs*

[ghyle]

But could it be said, in Dutch, since thee is simply you?

[Hans]

Oh, yes. We have our equivalent of that. Like the current German we used to have cases and all sorts of archaic language use. We did away with all that; well, most of but still have the opportunity to use the old stuff since, because is is an inherent part of a living language, you can do away with it.

Like the Germans still have in "sie" en "Sie" we have "je" and "U", while the archaic form of "U" (which can be used as "thee" and indeed is used in older Dutch formal text) is "Gij" (pronounced with a hard, throaty G and with the ij being the Dutch second y sound unique to us but close to the y in dyke).

Many young people won't know squat about all this but as a historian and genealogist I read many an old text, varying from 20th century to 13th century and occasionally even older ones. So I must say I know quite a bit more than average without being a linguist.

[Myt]

I think I understand

[ghyle]

I'm curious, Hans, is it the formal (as in English) that has survived, or the familiar (as in Swedish)?

[Hans]

The familiar Ghyle, we hardly ever use the formal style nowadays but some remnants remain, used in special and very special occasions and traditional settings. As I said, we did away with all the cases which make German, an easy language in itself, so hard to learn well.

[ghyle]

Interesting, Hans. What, may I ask, are some of the remnants in which the formal is retained?