LL-L 'Language politics' 2006.10.30 (05) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 30 October 2006 * Volume 05
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From: John Duckworth [johncduckworth at yahoo.co.uk]
Subject: Algemeen Beschaafd Nederlands.

Dear Lowlanders,
 
Can anyone on the list give me some idea how much Algemeen Beschaafd Nederlands
(ABN) is promoted in the schools of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Belgium?
 
Are pupils in Amsterdam for instance made to pronounce the ending of the
infinitive as -en, or are they allowed to drop the ending n_ , as in their
everyday Amsterdam speech? Are they urged to pronounce the _V-_ of _vier_ as a
voiced consonant, or are they allowed to pronounce it devoiced, as is the local norm?
 
And what is the situation in the Vlaamstalige areas? Are Belgians expected to
learn and use certain pronunciations at school that would normally be considered
indiosyncratic of their northern neighbour?
 
It seems to be that there is a degree of confusion. I listened to a speech by Her
Majesty Queen Beatrix delivered in Amsterdam earlier this year, and her speech
was very definitely different from the speech of even the most intellectual
Amsterdamers I know. (I know that there is supposed to be a separate 'noble'
register of the Dutch language, but I think she was basically using the ABN
[Algemeen Beschaafd Nederlands]). I also purchased a Dutch language course
produced by the Prisma company that includes two CD Roms. of the spoken language;
many of the dialogues on the CDs appear to be in a rather well enunciated
Amsterdam accent, but when it comes to giving the pronunciation of individual
words  final _-en_  is spoken clearly, the letter _r_ is slightly trilled.
initial _v-_ is voiced and so on. If this is the way the immigrants are taught
Nederlands, they must get very confused when they have to speak with the man on
the street!
 
John Duckworth
Manchester, UK




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