Everything about Dutch Spelling totally explained
Dutch orthography uses the
Latin alphabet according to a system which has evolved to suit the needs of the
Dutch language. The regular relationship of
graphemes to
phonemes is listed in the article on Dutch language. This article will explain the present spelling system, and then trace the development of Dutch spelling as it has evolved from the
Middle Ages through to the last two centuries when frequent government decrees sought to improve and simplify the system.
Regularity
Dutch
orthography has the reputation of being particularly logical. For the foreign learner it's relatively easy as, once one knows the system, one can almost always deduce pronunciation from spelling, if proper names and foreign loan-words are discounted. For Dutch children learning to write, the system isn't quite so kind, as the reverse operation, deducing spelling from pronunciation, is more complicated: /k/ can be spelled ‹c› or ‹k› in loan words for example, and ‹ou› and ‹au› sound the same, as well as ‹ij› and ‹ei› in the standard dialect. Critics also complain that even when the system is regular it's occasionally antiquated: the
digraph ‹oe› is spelled in this way because it was once a
diphthong, but now it's a simple vowel /u/; the combination ‹sch› for /s/ in the ending -isch is also historically conditioned. All in all, among the Western European languages however, Dutch is closer than average to a phonemic spelling.
The present spelling system
The spelling system of the Dutch language is issued by government decree and is compulsory for all government documentation and educational establishments.
Basic graphemes
Dutch consonants>
| spelling |
IPA |
| initial |
final |
| b |
/b/ |
/p/ |
| ch |
/x/, /ʃ/ |
/x/ |
| d |
/d/ |
/t/ |
| f |
/f/ |
| g |
/ɣ/, /x/ |
/x/ |
| h |
/ɦ/ |
– |
| j |
/j/ |
– |
| k |
/k/ |
| l |
/l/ |
| m |
/m/ |
| n |
/n/ |
| ng |
– |
/ŋ/ |
| nj |
/ɲj/ |
– |
| p |
/p/ |
| qu |
/kw/ |
– |
| r |
/ɾ/, /r/, /ʀ/ |
| s |
/s/ |
| sch |
/sx/ |
/s/ |
| sj |
/ʃ/ |
| t |
/t/, /(t)s/ |
t |
| tj |
/tʲ/ |
– |
| tsj |
/tʃ/ |
– |
| v |
/v/ |
– |
| w |
/ʋ/ |
| x |
/ks/, /gz/ |
/ks/ |
| y |
/j/ |
– |
| z |
/z/ |
– |
|
|
Dutch vowels and diphthongs>
| spelling |
IPA |
| closed |
open |
| a |
/ɑ/ |
/a:/ |
|
| aai |
/a:i̯/ |
| au |
/ʌu/, /ʌ:/ |
| ay |
/ai/ |
| e |
/ɛ/ |
/e:/, /ə/ |
| ee |
/e:/ |
| eeuw |
/e:u̝/ |
| ei |
/ɛi/, /ɛ:/ |
| eu |
/ø:/ |
| i |
/ɪ/, /i/ |
| ie |
/i/ |
| ieuw |
/i:u̝/ |
| ij |
/ɛi/, /ɛ:/ |
| o |
/ɔ/ |
/o:/ |
| oe |
/u/ |
| oo |
/o:/ |
– |
| ooi |
/o:i/ |
| ou |
/ʌu/, /ʌ:/ |
| u |
/œ/ |
/y/ |
| ui |
/œy/, /œ:/ |
| uu |
/y/ |
– |
| uw |
/y:u/ |
| y |
/i/, /ɪ/ |
|
Double vowels or consonants
Since Dutch has many more vowels than the
Latin alphabet, a system has come into use indicating vowels by an intricate system of single and double vowels or consonants. The same letter is used to indicate a pair of vowels that are close to each other in the IPA vowel space. Depending on the particular phonological treatise, the members of each pair are given various names: sharp/dull, clear/dim,
free/checked,
tense/lax, open/closed, long/short. Although
vowel length is generally
not phonemic in Dutch, one of each pair is pronounced slightly longer by many speakers, so the naming long/short is traditionally used to explain the orthography system and will be used here as well, even though some of the other indications might be more accurate.
| Written letter |
Long phoneme |
Short phoneme |
| a | aː |
ɑ
|
| e | eː |
ɛ
|
| i | iː |
ɪ
|
| o | oː |
ɔ
|
| u | yː |
ʏ
|
Some linguists propose using /ɵ/ instead of /ʏ/ as a more precise rendition for the short
u. The length signs ː are somewhat arbitrary as they don't mark a phonemic difference and the actual length varies with stress and the speed of speech.
The spelling rules for
a, e, o, u are very regular, apart from
e also being used for the neutral schwa sound /ə/ in unstressed syllables, thus giving it three possible interpretations. As the position of the stress in a polysyllabic word isn't indicated in the spelling this may lead to some confusion.
The following basic rules are simple:
- A vowel in an open syllable (one ending with the vowel) is long:
- po ('chamber pot') has a long /oː/
- A vowel in a closed syllable (one ending with a consonant) is short, unless the vowel is doubled to show its length:
- pot ('pot') has a short /ɔ/
- poot ('paw') has a long /oː/
More confusing for learners is the additional rule for polysyllabic words:
The first syllable is open if it's followed by a single consonant, since this consonant belongs to the following syllable. There have to be two consonants for one of them to be closing the first syllable. So:
- poot has plural poten; the "t" belongs to the second syllable so the syllables divide po-ten. As the first syllable is open, a double "oo" is no longer required to mark the long vowel /oː/.
- pot has plural potten; the syllables divide pot-ten, so the double "t" indicates the first syllable is now closed and has the short vowel /ɔ/.
Much confusion is caused by the many words that change their vowel in declensions. For example the plural of lot is loten, not lotten as would be regular. So in fact:
lot to loten keeps the same spelling "o", but changes sound /ɔ/ to /oː/ (irregular)
poot to poten changes spelling "oo" to "o", but keeps the same sound /oː/ (regular)
Similarly vat changes vowel to vaten and gebed to gebeden.
pad has two plurals according to the meaning:
paden (paths) or padden (toads).
Rules for i are more complicated. In the past the language did indeed have a doubled ii. To avoid confusion with a handwritten u, it became customary to lengthen the second i to a letter j, thus forming ij, initially pronounced (as it still is in some dialects) as a long /iː/. In the standard language the sound shifted to a diphthong /ɛi/. In the modern language a long i is usually written as ie, even in open syllables. In loanwords however, a single i is often used.
When vowels appear in front of an 'r', their value may be affected. Compare e.g:
» bord: /bɔrt/
boord: /bɔːrt/ (instead of /boːrt/)
» ver: /vɛr/
veer: /vɪːr/ (instead of /veːr/)
The vowels /u/ and /ø/ don't possess a long/short version.
The 't kofschip rule
The rule is that words ending in voiceless consonants take the voiceless -t-, voiced consonants the voiced d. Dutch children are taught the rule 't kofschip is met thee beladen, ("the merchant ship is loaded with tea"), that is, if the verb stem in the infinitive ends with the consonants of 't kofschip (-t, -k, -f, -s, -ch or -p), the past tense dental is a -t-; otherwise it's a -d-.
werken, ik werkte (to work)
krabben, ik krabde (to scratch)
English-speaking learners of Dutch can use the mnemonic phrase soft ketchup.
See also T-rules.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Dutch Spelling'.
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