The Dutch language (native name: Nederlands, Vlaams) has its roots in the Indo-European language family. With 16.92 million native speakers, Dutch has the highest prevalence in the Netherlands. A total of about 23.5 million people worldwide speak Dutch as their mother tongue.
The two biggest groups of native speakers are the around 17 million people that live in the Netherlands and the 6.5 million in Belgium. But Dutch is an official language in six countries, so apart from the Netherlands and Belgium, it is also an official language in Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Aruba and Suriname.
Although Dutch and German are related, it is very difficult for speakers of the two languages to understand each other.
However, the closest major language to English, is Dutch. With 23 million native speakers, and an additional 5 million who speak it as a second language, Dutch is the 3rd most-widely spoken Germanic language in the world after English and German.
As late as 1905, Dutch was still heard among the old people in the Ramapo Valley of that state. Dutch is still spoken by the elderly and their children in Western Michigan.
Conclusion. The Amish, or Pennsylvania Dutch as many outsiders know them, are Germanic people. Most of the earliest Amish arrivals came from the Swiss/Alsace region and brought their traditions and mother tongue with them. Generations of living apart from other communities have kept their heritage intact.
Dutch Americans are most concentrated in Michigan, with 418,156 individuals of Dutch descent residing there, accounting for 4.17% of the state's population.
Although Dutch is considered an easy language for English speakers to learn, it still requires hard work and dedication to reach a proficient level. Using the right way to study can be beneficial and keep you motivated to learn. But with so many options out there, finding the best way to study can be time-consuming.
Across multiple sources, Mandarin Chinese is the number one language listed as the most challenging to learn. The Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center puts Mandarin in Category IV, which is the list of the most difficult languages to learn for English speakers.
If you want to say hi in Dutch, you would simply say “hoi”. The more formal hello is “hallo”. Regional varieties of “hi” include “heuj”, “alo” and “huijj” but sticking to “hoi” or “hallo” is generally all you need.
Pennsylvania Dutch is the language used by the Amish population here in Lancaster County. It is considered to be their first and native language. The Amish learn to read, write and speak in English, allowing them to communicate with the 'outside world'.
Dutch grammar is easier than German
One of the biggest differences between Dutch and German is in the definite articles. In German there are three, whereas Dutch has two.
Afrikaans and English are the only Indo-European languages among the many official languages of South Africa. Although Afrikaans is very similar to Dutch, it is clearly a separate language, differing from Standard Dutch in its sound system and its loss of case and gender distinctions.
Its closest relative is the mutually intelligible daughter language Afrikaans. Other West Germanic languages related to Dutch are German, English and the un-standardised languages Low German and Yiddish.
There are around 23 million native speakers of Dutch worldwide. Dutch is spoken in the Netherlands, Belgium (Flanders) and Suriname. Dutch is also an official language of Aruba, Curaçao and St Maarten.
Sumerian can be considered the first language in the world, according to Mondly. The oldest proof of written Sumerian was found on the Kish tablet in today's Iraq, dating back to approximately 3500 BC.
Finally, the “Big Four.” According to the US Department of State, the four most difficult languages to learn are Arabic, Japanese, Chinese and Korean. To become conversational in one of these languages, you'll probably need 1.69 years, spending 2,200 hours in class!
You can spend years learning a language and still find words that you haven't come across before. But as a general guide, the Foreign Service Insitute in the US estimates it takes about 600 hours of class lessons (or 24 weeks) for a native English speaker to become fluent in Dutch.
The Foreign Language Institute recommends a total of 24-30 weeks or 600-750 hours of Dutch language learning to reach fluency. Tobian Language School personally recommends 20 – 30 lessons for A2 level with a minimum of 2 weekly lessons. And B2 learners? You'll need to strive for 40 – 50 lessons or up to 50 hours.
And the U.S. didn't even make the top 20. The Netherlands came out on top because of low diabetes rates, low food prices and nutritional diversity.
New Netherland was the first Dutch colony in North America. It extended from Albany, New York, in the north to Delaware in the south and encompassed parts of what are now the states of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Connecticut, and Delaware.
The immigration waves of the nineteenth century brought thousands of Dutch to the United States escaping famine, political and religious discontent, and economic troubles. These Dutch immigrants settled primarily in the Midwest states and on the West coast.