Ik leer Nederlands

by Suw on October 27, 2003

I've finally got round to joining a Dutch learners' Yahoo group today, in order to give myself a little more motivation to actually study this language. So far, the things I can say* about myself in Dutch, (and which are actually repeatable in public), are limited to:

– Ik leer Nederlands. (I'm learning Dutch. No kidding!)
– Ik woon in Engeland. (I live in England. So that's where the extra vowel comes from in the footie song.)
– Ik spreek Engels en Welsh. (I speak English and Welsh. Stating the obvious, I know, but that's always been my strongest skill.)
– Ik heb vrienden die in Spijkenisse, Broekhuizen en Eindhoven wonen. (I have friends who live in… Ok, I admit I had help with that one.)
– Ik weet het niet. (I don't know. I suspect this'll be the most-used phrase in my limited vocabulary.)

I think it's good for me to be a rank beginner again, learning a language from scratch. I don't really have much more reason to learn Dutch now than I did to learn Welsh five years ago, but I figure that not having a reason is no reason not to carry on. After all, I found a good use for my Welsh, and I'm sure I'll find an equally good use for my Dutch in due course.

In the meantime, let's just put it down to being klap van de molen (hit by a windmill).

*I say 'say', but actually I can't yet pronounce a single word properly – the last time I tried to get my Dutch friends to help me with my pronunciation, they just laughed and told me I was crap. Ah, that innate Dutch diplomacy.

A visitor October 28, 2003 at 7:50 am

Suw 😉

Heh, someone mentioned “Broekhuizen” without external motivations. And maybe now my little home-village will show up in non-Dutch search engines. lol.
Keep it up, and if you need help I'll help you (as long as you promise to help me with my Welsh *chuckles*)

I'll keep een oogje in het zeil (an eye on the sail)

B.

Bram [ungwendil@yahoo.co.uk]

Suw October 28, 2003 at 8:51 am

Brammetje!

Well, I did Google Broekhuizen but the results that came up were in Dutch and I was thus confused. And disappointed that the first entry didn't really say 'Broekhuizen Kersplatten' like my brain was insisting it did.

I think it's safe to say ik heb help nodig. 😀 Ac wrth gwrs, bydda i'n hapus i dy helpu di hefo dy Gymraeg, bach. Jyst gofyna!

A visitor October 28, 2003 at 10:55 am

LMAO

It says “Kerstpaketten” which means “Christmaspackets”. It's a company making xmas giftsets for employees, an old tradition in the NL. (my boss gives very royal ones) It looks like the proprieter of said company has Broekhuizen as their surname.

Here's a real link to Broekhuizen
http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/nl-li-bh.html
(ENGLISH LANGUAGE!! UNBELIEVABLE!!)

and a picture:
http://p.vtourist.com/925111.jpg

gr,

Bram [ungwendil@yahoo.co.uk]

Suw October 28, 2003 at 11:23 am

But I still think 'kersplatten' sounds better than 'kerstpaketten'. It looks like it should be the Dutch word for what happens if you drop a large piano on a small chihuahua. 😉

Dank je for the links though. I shall investigate forthwith!

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