Like Frisian and English, Dutch is another West Germanic language that developed from Proto-Germanic. Because of this, Dutch possesses many words and phrases similar to English and has a similar grammatical structure.
With the exception of Frisian, Dutch is linguistically the closest language to English, with both languages being part of the West Germanic linguistic family. These means many Dutch words are cognates with English (meaning they share the same linguistic roots), giving them similar spelling and pronunciation.
Dutch is genealogically close to English. Both share the same group of vernaculars and a common ancestor at some point in their history. Which means that at one point, they were a lot similar. But today, the likeness can only be seen from the eye of a linguist.
So dive right in and practice your Dutch with confidence. For the same reasons Dutch is the closest language to English, German is also a close language, and another one that many English speakers may find easier to learn. Dutch is commonly mentioned as the language nestled between English and German.
The Dutch language is part of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, just like English. This means that the two languages share the same roots and have similar characteristics, making it easier for Dutch speakers to learn English.
Anchovy, buoy, caboose, freight, halibut, herring, hoist, keelhaul, skipper and starboard are all derived from Dutch. Even when the water is frozen, modern English cannot do without Dutch loan words. The words skate, to sled and sleigh come from Dutch as well.
Dutch, German, English, Swedish and Danish are all Germanic languages but the degree of mutual intelligibility between these languages differs. Danish and Swedish are the most mutually comprehensible, but German and Dutch are also mutually intelligible.
Together with English, Frisian, German, and Luxembourgish, Dutch is a West Germanic language. It derives from Low Franconian, the speech of the Western Franks, which was restructured through contact with speakers of North Sea Germanic along the coast (Flanders, Holland) about 700 ce.
Although Dutch and German are related, it is very difficult for speakers of the two languages to understand each other.
Since English words are prominently located within the Dutch language, it can be easy for people proficient in English to read Dutch. However, speaking Dutch can be more difficult due to the different Dutch pronunciations. Some of the most difficult sounds include the 'r', the hard 'g', the sch and the ij sounds.
When meeting someone in a casual setting, it is common for people to say “Hoi” ('Hi') or “Hoe gaat het?” ('How are you? ') Meanwhile in formal settings, the most common greeting is “Hoe gaat het met u?” ('How are you? ').
Except for Frisian, Dutch is linguistically the closest language to English, with both languages being part of the West Germanic linguistic family. This means many Dutch words are cognates with English (meaning they share the same linguistic roots), giving them similar spelling and pronunciation.
Its closest relative is the mutually intelligible daughter language Afrikaans. Other West Germanic languages related to Dutch are German, English and the Frisian languages and the un-standardised languages Low German and Yiddish.
Dutch is spoken in the Netherlands, Belgium (Flanders) and Suriname. Dutch is also an official language of Aruba, Curaçao and St Maarten.
Dutch, German and English are in the same family tree
Around the year 500 A.D., the Germanic dialects gave rise to separate languages, including Old Dutch. So Dutch is about 1500 years old. To simplify a little bit, you can see it like this. German is the oldest form.
There are 10 things you need to know about studying in the Netherlands: Would you like to read more about studying in the Netherlands? Although the official language is Dutch, almost 95% of the population speaks English.
Around 90% of the Dutch can speak English (around 70% can speak German and 30% can speak French!) and the language is used in many international businesses, organisations and universities.
It's also the official language of several countries, including Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Both Dutch and German have their challenges, but Dutch is generally considered easier to learn than German. However, your decision should ultimately be based on your goals and interests.
Dutch and Danish are not mutually intelligible, which means that speakers of one language cannot understand the other language without some prior knowledge or exposure. While both Dutch and Danish are Germanic languages and share some similarities, they are still quite distinct from each other.
Officially, according to the number one dictionary in the Netherlands, Van Dale - which is also responsible for selecting the country's word of the year every December - the longest Dutch word is meervoudigepersoonlijkheidsstoornis (35 letters) which, when plural, becomes even longer: ...
The word Dutch comes from a Proto-Germanic word meaning “of the people.” It shares a root with the German word Deutsch, which has led to some confusing names. The name Germans call Germany, for example, is Deutschland and the people there Deutsch. Dutch and German are related, after all, both being Germanic languages.
Are the Dutch considered Scandinavian? While Dutch people have several similar character traits to Scandinavians, they are not considered Scandinavian. Instead, they are their own ethnic group. Although the Dutch are not considered Scandinavian, both are included when discussing Germanic ethnicities.
The etymology of Deutschland is pretty simple. The word deutsch comes from diutisc in Old High German, which means “of the people.” Land literally just means “land.” In other words, Deutschland basically means something to the effect of “the people's land.”
Yes, the Amish understand German. In fact, it's their mother tongue. However, it's a bit different from the modern German dialects spoken in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland today. The early Amish settlers hailed from German-speaking countries and their language adopted other traits over time.
Luxembourgish
As part of a group of high German languages, Luxembourgish is the closest language to German—more closely related to standard German than some of the other high German dialects you'll hear in countries such as Austria and Switzerland.