Ik wil Nederlands leren!*

This weekend’s Dutch language lesson could potentially be our last one – we will have completed Dutch Beginners’ Two, but there is no guarantee that Dutch Beginners’ Three will be taught, unless enough people sign up. I’ve really enjoyed learning the language, and finding the similarities and differences between Dutch and German and English.

Last time we were at M’s parents it was fun to ask for kruidenthee (herbal tea) instead of gewone thee (regular tea), which led on to a discussion about koffie verkeerd (lit. “wrong coffee”, a latte) and all sorts of other topics. I love the myriad ways languages describe things – and I love how things sometimes seem strange and then become so natural, as you learn more. I’m the sort of person who likes to ponder the Dutch concept gezellig (1. enjoyable, pleasant, sociable, companionable 2. pleasant, comfortable, cosy) and compare it with the German gemütlich (comfortable, pleasant, cosy) and who wonders why the word mooi now seems, well, so apt in so many situations. (Our new New Routledge Dutch Dictionary defines mooi as 1. beautiful 2. good-looking, handsome, pretty 3. lovely, beautiful 4. smart 5. good, excellent 6. good, fine, nice, handsome 7. good, nice.) The initial g sound in Dutch, best described as a voiced ch (as in loch, not as in chat), is no longer completely weird to me – although I’m still at the point where I sometimes stumble over it – as is the case with all the vowel sounds that don’t exist in English. I also love the challenge of becoming fluent in a language. I’d love to get to the point where I can have a simple conversation with my in-laws and other extended family – I’ll have to keep working on it.

It has been challenging learning Dutch because it is definitely a less-known language and it can be a bit difficult to get reference and other materials for it. For German, for instance, there is a lot of material available in the bookshops. And finding classes can be challenging too. I wish it were possible to visit a Dutch-speaking community without having to fly thousands of kilometres. If you were a learner of Cantonese, for example, you could immerse yourself in the sounds just by going to yum cha on a Sunday morning in Perth’s Chinatown, as Daisann McLane has managed to do in New York City (originally via her blog).

*I want to learn Dutch!