Monsoon Season's here!

Today I'm entering a new topic of foreign words and phrases, and specifically, English words that were derived from Dutch. Here are some Dutch spelling rules to start with. By the way, I know I haven't mentioned that remenbering the spelling rules for each language of origin can help you in spelling a particular word:


Dutch Spelling Rules


Note that single 'e' in Dutch is often voiceless: "uh." me ze je te -


Double vowels are always long (linguists say 'free.') Note: There is no double 'i' in Dutch; it's always written as 'ie.' raad - reed - [ried] - rood - Ruud vaar - veer - [vier] - voor - vuur Note: Dutch vowels are even longer when followed by an 'r' -


A single vowel at the end of a word or syllable is always (pronounced) long. Linguists call this a 'free' vowel. Exception: Single 'e' at the end of a word is always 'voiceless': "uh." Note: Single 'i' at the end of a word is rare (only found in words of foreign origin); it's usually 'ie' ga - [de] - [die] - juli - zo - nu -


A single vowel followed by a consonant at the end of a word is always short. Linguists call this a 'covered' vowel. Exception: 'uw' is always long das - des - dis - dos - dus - [duw] - pat - pet - pit - pot - put -


Longer words are broken up in syllables.


If there's a single consonant between vowels, that consonant usually goes to the second syllable.
A syllable ending in a vowel is called 'open,' and that vowel will be free ('long.') manen: ma-nen - A syllable ending in a consonant is called 'closed.' A single vowel before that consonant will be covered ('short.') mannen: man-nen -


Note: Only at the end of a word is single 'e' always voiceless; as the last letter of a syllable that's not the last of a word, single 'e' will be either voiceless or long


banen -(ba-nen)
benen -(be-nen)
tienen -(tie-nen)
bonen -(bo-nen)
buren (bu-ren)
-

baren -(ba-ren)
beren -(be-ren)
bieren -(bie-ren)
boren -(bo-ren)
buren (bu-ren)
-
Two or more consonants are usually divided between syllables, so the vowel in the first syllable will be covered ('short.')
danken -(dan-ken)
denken -(den-ken)
zinken -(zin-ken)
bonken -(bon-ken)
dunken (dun-ken)


Note: The constituting parts of compound words retain their original form.
kweepeer(kwee-peer)
theepot(thee-pot
tweedracht (twee-dracht)

A double consonant is pronounced the same as a single consonant, not longer or with a pause in between; the consonant is doubled only to indicate that the preceding single vowel is short.
grote grootte hete heette late haatte



bakken -(bak-ken)
bekken -(bek-ken)
bikken -(bik-ken)
bokken -(bok-ken)
bukken (buk-ken)

Remember that there are three (3) kinds of 'e' in Dutch: long, short and voiceless. veel vellen - een en 'n - heet het 't - The voiceless 'e' is found in prefixes be-, ge-, ver-, and in suffixes -e, -er and -en. and maybe in most unstressed syllables.



Thanks, http://homepage.mac.com/schuffelen/duspelling.html. You can visit this website to hear the pronunciations of some of the rules.



Here are the Dutch words for today:



kermis

monsoon

maelstrom

polder

soya

vendue

vrou

baas

kloof

poort

snoek

stoop

Boer

matje

riem

riempie

rijsttafel

spruit

witloof

kraak porselein

woonerf

Challenge you to look for the definitions of the word, can post them under comments! Check the Webster's Dictionary Third unabridged for the best answers, if you do have a copy!