Search - the low countries

How do you describe a fragrance when you lack the words for it? Linguist Marten van der Meulen sees possibilities in dialects and non-European languages.

Book after book, this young and much-acclaimed Dutch illustrator knows how to surprise.

Thanks to two biographies published at the same time, the Dutch physicist and Nobel Prize winner Hendrik Lorentz finally gets the attention he deserves.

Nuances of Dutch language are sometimes difficult for non-native speakers. But these difficulties have led to creative language discoveries.

Koen Vanmechelen created an evolving work of art on the foundations of the former mine and zoo of Zwartberg in the Belgian city of Genk.

After being hidden for six hundred years, the Royal Library of Belgium presents its unique collection of manuscripts from the Burgundian period.

In the Low Countries too, the use of profanity by politicians in office is no longer an exception. Is this profane language spontaneous and innocent, or is there a calculated strategy behind it?

250 words have been discovered from Skepi, a Dutch-based creole language spoken in Guyana for three centuries. And that's a big deal.

Dutch linguist Marten van der Meulen can't wait to travel again, so he can make new language findings.

Liberian-born writer Vamba Sherif recognises himself in Feticu's book about her difficult conquest of the Dutch language.

An estimated 600,000 enslaved Africans were traded by the Dutch from West Africa to the Atlantic. Almost half of them were shipped by the West India Company.

In the late eighteenth century, various ships departed from hotspot Ostend to the coasts of Africa to exchange goods for people.

To celebrate the 400th year of birth of Aelbert Cuyp, The Dordrechts Museum is organizing a special exhibition that focuses on his impact on English landscape painters.

Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen made its depot fully accessible to the public. It delivers a special experience in a new architectural icon.

Five hundred years, ago painter Albrecht Dürer travelled through the Low Countries. That journey is now coming to life in an exhibition, several books and his own diary entries.

While cycling and snarling, linguist Fieke van der Gucht might spur a change in language.

Linguist Marten van der Meulen thinks these popular lists of supposedly untranslatable words are strange.

'Translation in the Low Countries' is a monumental book that not only sheds light on the flourishing translation of culture in our region, but also offers a fascinating cultural history.

Even spelling can be important in the war of Ukraine, writes linguist Marten van der Meulen. This is why he will never again refer to the embattled capital city as Kiev.

Charity has a long tradition in the Netherlands and the actions for Ukraine show many parallels to past events.

The impending famine caused by the war in Ukraine recalls previous famines: in Ireland, in Ukraine itself, but also in the Low Countries.

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.

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.

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.

Is there such a thing as typical Dutch or Flemish humour? And if so, what are the differences and similarities?

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?

Although the Dutch have been ice skating since the 13th century, it was not until the 16th century that ice skaters would regularly appear in paintings, courtesy of the Flemish Master Pieter Bruegel the Elder and... a climatic phenomenon.

Here's a photobook that depicts the sensation of covering hundreds of kilometres on horseback in a snowy landscape without civilisation.

In June 1520, rival nations France and England impressed each other with lavish competitive displays of wealth and splendour on the “Field of the Cloth of Gold”.

Dutch linguist Marc van Oostendorp is still astonished by what ChatGPT. Nonetheless, he has seamlessly integrated this artificial intelligence into his work.

The artist from The Hague builds overwhelming experiences in the form of large installations.

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.'

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.

There is quite a bit of confusion surrounding the concept of ‘local,’ particularly in relation to food.

Behind the image of the well-organized Netherlands, a distressing reality is hidden, writer Jonah Falke discovered.

Linguist Marten van der Meulen had the honour to perform one of the rarest and most extraordinary speech acts: the wedding ceremony.

Sexually charged words are so ubiquitous in the Dutch language that we no longer bat an eye. Yet, talking about sex still carries a lingering sense of taboo – one that might be staging a comeback.

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.

Right-wing extremism and Muslim extremism penetrate deeper into society, even into institutions. Meanwhile a much larger problem is overshadowed: inequality.

In Amsterdam, the Flemish Jan Raes leads the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (RCO), now widely praised as one of the best orchestras in the world.

Broadcasters and major news brands focus more and more on podcasting. What about its popularity in Flanders and the Netherlands?

How can we make large, complex issues more manageable? Dutch artist Lieke van der Made discovered that by editing footage, her videos could achieve these ends.

The European elections in the Low Countries did not provide clear-cut results. The voters were dispersed across multiple different parties.

In the Flemish music industry, pop and rock photographer Alex Vanhee has been a household name for more than 25 years now.

Linguist Fieke Van der Gucht doesn't like teachers who complain about the decline in students' language skills.

Fifty years ago, Eddy Merckx won his first Tour de France, a few moments later the first man set foot on the moon.

Since its start in 2000, the Brussels dance theatre company has been building up a strong international reputation.

Nowhere is the Gender Pay Gap as strongly present as in professional football and cycling. Hind Fraihi states its about time the gap gets closed.

Wouter Paijmans recently exchanged the brush for needle and thread. Still, the painterly approach can be seen in his 'confection paintings'.

On 13 October 1944, the first V1 fell on Antwerp. This was the start of a long period of fear and terror.

What has happened to the East Germans since 9 November 1989? They had celebrated the prompt reunification with exuberant joy. However today, the gap between East and West still exists.

Foreign publishers, foreign rights agents, cultural foundations, translators and a bit of luck. This is what you need to get your book translated.

The Flemish tenacity for cycling inspired the English to invent much of today’s cycling lingo.

Linguist Fieke Van der Gucht declares her love to a comma.

A new biography gives the seventeenth-century Dutch astronomer and inventor the credit he deserves.

Linguist Fieke Van der Gucht investigated the way the old Germanic people chose their first names. As for her own name? Turns out her parents weren’t very good at German.

Throughout the history of film, the Dutch painter was given many identities.

Gender-inclusive language is not a new phenomenon, but an additional layer has recently been added. Where do we stand today in 2023?

Whale oil was a good substitute for vegetable oils and fats, so merchants in the Netherlands saw opportunities to earn good money with whaling. The Dutch hunted whales from 1612 to 1964.

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