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Pronunciation

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I have looked at Dutch long enough!  I am going to teach myself and you my dear readers how to pronounce it as well.  At least we should be able to read it right?  Een enkele taal is nooit genoeg (one language is not enough)  And some noticeable differences in letter pronunciation are G, J, R, ch, and of course the vowels.  -I have copied this box out of smartphrase.com-



Vowels
 
a
 • short like a in hard, but even shorter, or
• long like a in cat, but even longer
e
 • short like e in set, but even shorter, or
• long like a in lane
i
 • short like i in bit, but even shorter
o
 • short like o in hot, but even shorter, or
• long like oa in boat
u
 • like u in hurt, but even shorter, or
• long like oo in boot, said with pursed lips
eu • long like u in hurt, but with tightly rounded lips
oe • long like oo in book, but with rounded lips
ie • long like ea in cheat
 
 
Ch/Sch-  like  loch
 
G- like loch
 
J- like yes
 
R- trilled like a french r
 
 
Some helpful hints as well are:

  • B is a P at the end of a word
  • D is a T at the end of a word
  • G can be pronounced as and X
  • and R is usually silent before Q

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