Jude
Letter "R" in Dutch Hey I was just wondering whether the Letter "R" in Dutch is pronounced like the French R (from the throat) or like the English R (from the tongue) many websites have pronounced it differently and it got me confused... :/ Thanks for the help! :)
Aug 10, 2014 4:44 PM
Answers · 6
4
As a native (whose name starts with a "R"!!) I can tell you that Dutchmen uses the "R" from the throat. In fact when I pronounce my name in Dutch, people from the USA or Canada don't understand it! I have emphasize that people from Belgium are using a softer pronounciation than people from The Netherlands (like me). To give you an idea about how to pronounce Dutch I advise you to listen to Dutchmen on the internet, like YouTube. I think when people can speak Arabic, they might say words from the throat like the Dutch because for me some Arabic sounds are coming from the throat.
August 10, 2014
1
Depending on where you are in the Netherlands/Belgium it can vary. It's kind of a mixed bag really, it's partially a local accent thing and partially a social class thing. You get your basic rich kids who tend to pronounce the r way down from the throat, emulating what can only be described as a faux French attitude. And then of course you just got your regular blue/white collar workers who adhere more to local standards of pronunciation. In general this tends to be more to the front and unlike English it's a rolling R. (The only example in English would be an over the top version of a Scottish accent.) Along with vowel pronunciation, the way people pronounce G and R says a lot about their background. If you would like to listen to exampes there's an excellent website collecting sound samples from around the country: http://www.meertens.knaw.nl/ndb/#europa
August 15, 2014
I am actually used to both pronunciations because I speak Arabic and I'm used to these difficult letters I was just wondering how Dutch people pronounce it :p Thanks for your answer Laurence ! :D
August 10, 2014
As a non native speaker I may be wrong in saying this, but my best friend is Flemish and he did explain this to me: The Dutch often use the r at the back of the throat, but they are use the "tongue" r. I believe it's an accent thing, but I think they also pick and choose for different words. For words such as "werk" when there is a single rolled r (a tap), it's far easier to do with with the tongue, but for words like "graag" then I would go for the g at the back of the throat and then move it forward to the back of the throat r. He also said that in Flemish the r at the back of the throat is moved forward towards the bottom of your tongue. To me it feels a bit like trying to roll and r and spitting at the same time - it's a little bit disgusting haha. Hope this was of at least some use!
August 10, 2014
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