Series
language
Series
Babel in the Low Countries
Series
Translating Quaco
language
Joss Wibisono
10 min reading time
Why Indonesia Never Really Became Dutch, but Is Now Becoming Anglicised
There is something about the development of the Indonesian language that irritates journalist Joss Wibisono - it is being mixed with English.
language
Marten van der Meulen
7 min reading time
The Dutch Language in 2050? More Diverse Than Ever
Will the Dutch language still exist in the future? 'In 2050, Dutch is flourishing like never before. However, it would be more appropriate to refer to it as Dutches in the plural form.'
language
Marten van der Meulen
4 min reading time
Even in Microstate Andorra, There Is Room for Language Variation
Variation exists in everything, and language is no exception. No matter how small an area is, there is always room for language variation, writes linguist Marten van der Meulen.
Series
Dutch in the World
language
Leonie Cornips
7 min reading time
There Is More to the Cow’s Voice Than Just Moo
Dairy cows are social beings that communicate with each other and with humans. However, sociolinguistics has paid little attention to this kind of interaction. Leonie Cornips aims to shed light on this through her language research on cows.
language
Marten van der Meulen
5 min reading time
'Yes, I Do' and Other Words That Change the World
Linguist Marten van der Meulen had the honour to perform one of the rarest and most extraordinary speech acts: the wedding ceremony.
Series
Babel in the Low Countries
language
Ingrid Glorie
8 min reading time
A Matter of Awareness: Language Variation in International Dutch Studies
Dutch is a pluricentric language. That raises the question of which variety of Dutch foreign students might be offered.
language
Miet Ooms
9 min reading time
Why the Final Word on Gender and Language Is Not Yet Said
Gender-inclusive language is not a new phenomenon, but an additional layer has recently been added. Where do we stand today in 2023?
Series
Translating Quaco
language
Marc van Oostendorp
11 min reading time
Why We Will Never Agree About Dutch
Linguist and Professor of Dutch Marc van Oostendorp debunks the consensus that Dutch would be a pluricentric language.
language
Marten van der Meulen
4 min reading time
Thingy
There is something you should know about the word thingy. It refers to something, but what it represents is at the same time unknown. So how come this yet seems to work, linguist Marten van der Meulen wonders.
language
Joss Wibisono
10 min reading time
Why Indonesia Never Really Became Dutch, but Is Now Becoming Anglicised
There is something about the development of the Indonesian language that irritates journalist Joss Wibisono - it is being mixed with English.
language
Lode Delputte
11 min reading time
Courses in English at Our Universities? Yes, but in Moderation
Should we consider the increasing anglicization of higher education in the Netherlands and Flanders a good or bad evolution?
language
Christopher Joby
9 min reading time
An Audible Accent When Speaking Dutch? It Doesn’t Matter
Native speakers of Dutch should adopt a more tolerant and empathetic attitude towards non-native speakers, argues Christopher Joby, a Dutch Studies scholar from Norwich.
language
Tom Christiaens
2 min reading time
The Top 7 Language Stories of the Year
Join us in bidding goodbye to 2022 with seven of the finest language stories we published this year that are worth re-reading or listening to again.
language
Nicoline van der Sijs
8 min reading time
Blep, Sploot and Zoomies: Online Cats and Dogs Leave a Pawed Imprint in Dictionaries
Cats and dogs on the internet use lolspeak to address their owners. How long will it be before this new language takes hold in Dutch?
language
Derek Blyth
2 min reading time
Everyone in the Low Countries Knows 'Fat Van Dale'
The most famous dictionary of the Dutch language is named after its creator, a nineteenth-century teacher from the Dutch border town of Sluis.
language
Marten van der Meulen
5 min reading time
Tips on How to Create an Escher Sentence and Other Ambiguities
Linguist Marten van der Meulen is fascinated by a special phenomenon: the Escher sentence. And although it can drive you crazy, he is happy to provide some tips on how to create ambiguous sentences.
language
Marten van der Meulen
5 min reading time
There Is No Such Thing as an Untranslatable Word
Linguist Marten van der Meulen thinks these popular lists of supposedly untranslatable words are strange.
language
Jordi Britton
4 min reading time
The Vital Role of Translation in the Black Lives Matter Era
Dutch Studies students wonder: "Is it appropriate for white students to translate texts about Black experiences of slavery?"
language
Marten van der Meulen
4 min reading time
Destroy Language to Demonstrate Your Love for Writing and Speech
Show your love for language by playing, fooling around and experimenting with it, in the same way William Shakespeare, Georges Perec, and their translators Guido van der Wiel and Gilbert Adair did.
language
Karlien Franco
5 min reading time
New Reference Work on Regional Languages in the Netherlands and Flanders
In the book Wie zegt wat waar? (Who Says What Where?) the reader is presented with a more accurate picture of the regional languages in the Netherlands and Flanders than in many other reference works.
language
Sholeh Rezazadeh
5 min reading time
Surviving in the Sea as a Land Animal
How does one become a writer in a different language? We asked Sholeh Rezazadeh, who moved from Iran to the Netherlands and made her successful debut in 2021 with a novel in Dutch.
language
Frans Blom
11 min reading time
The Future of Historical Dutch Is International
International interest in Dutch sources is huge and, thanks to digitalisation, there are more texts available than ever. But human know-how is lagging behind technological progress.
