LL-L "Phonology" 2004.05.05 (02) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 05.MAY.2004 (02) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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A=Afrikaans Ap=Appalachian B=Brabantish D=Dutch E=English F=Frisian
L=Limburgish LS=Lowlands Saxon (Low German) N=Northumbrian
S=Scots Sh=Shetlandic V=(West)Flemish Z=Zeelandic (Zeêuws)
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From: marco [evenhuiscommunicatie] <marco at evenhuiscommunicatie.nl>
Subject: LL-L "Phonology" 2004.05.04 (03) [E]

Luc Vanbrabant wrote:

> Indeed, g and ch sound almost the same in Dutch.
> In my region though the g sounds h and the h is not heard. The ch
> sounds h.

The situation Luc describes here, actually goes for all Zeelandic and
West-Flemish dialects (roughly spoken in the Dutch province of Zeeland, the
Belgian province of West-Flanders and a small part of the Nord-departement
in France). It even stretches out to a large part of East-Flanders.

I think Luc is simplifying the subject a little. Allthough he is right that
all h's are silent (like in French), not all ch's and g's sound as an h.
After a dental vowel and at the end of a word, g's and ch's (which by some
dialect writers are all -a bit too consistently- spelled h) actually sound
like the g's and ch's in standard Dutch (so voiced cq voiceless). This is
even the case when the dental consenant isn't pronounced (but the speaker
'feels' it's there):

Dutch: mag ik vragen of het goed gaat? ja, het gaat goed
Zeelandic: mah ik vraehen of at 't hoed haed? jae-t, 't gae goed

So in the second phrase ('t gae goed) not only does the t in _'t_ turn the
h-sound in _gae_ into a g, the 'silent' t in _gae_ (which gramatically
should be _gaet_) makes the g in _goed_ sound like a g as well.
Note that in written Zeelandic, all g's are usually spelled as a g. Also if
they sound as an h. Silent h's are usually spelled with an apostrophe. In
West-Flemish, the h's are usually just spelled as an h and spelling of g's
that sound as an h varies: hoed, goed, ghoed (Du. _goed_).

I believe this phenomenon is changing a bit. Younger speakers tend to use an
h-sound in stead of a g-sound in more and more positions now.

regards,

Marco

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