HOLLAND. Language, xxiii
is remarkably rich and full of vital energy, and words of purely
native growth are to be found in almost every branch of science
and art. The following lines from two popular ballads will serve
as a specimen : —
Wij leven vrij, vij leven blij
Op Neerlands dierbren grond,
Ontworsteld aan de slavernij,
Zijn wij door eendragt groot en vrij ;
Hier duldt de grond geen dwing-
landij
Waar vrijheid eeuwen stond.
(Brand.)
(Literal translation: 'We live free,
we live blithe, on Netherlands' dear
ground; delivered from slavery, we
are through concord great and free;
here the land suffers no tyranny,
where freedom has subsisted for
ages'.)
Wien Neerlandsch bloed in de aderen
vloeit,
Van vreemde smetten vrij,
Wiens hart voorland en Koning gloeit,
Verhef den zang als wij :
Hij stel met ons, vereend van zin,
Met onbeklemde borst,
Het godgevallig feestlied in
Voor Vaderland en Vorst.
C Tollens.)
(Literal translation : 'Let him , in
whose veins flows Netherlandish
blood, free from foreign stain, and
whose heart glows for country and
king, raise the song with us, united
in sentiment, with unburdened breast,
in the festal song, pleasing to God,
for Fatherland, and Sovereign'.)
The pronunciation of Dutch somewhat resembles that of Ger¬
man , but is more guttural, and therefore more difficult for the
English student. The vowels a, e, i, o, u are pronounced as in
French , and are lengthened , but not altered in sound , by being
doubled (thus 00=0); ei and ij, or y, are like the vowel sound in
the French pays; au and ou like ow in now, but broader (aw-oo) ;
eu like the French eu or the German 0 ; oe like the English 00 or
the German u; ui has a sound fluctuating between oi and ow (as in
now). In most other combinations of vowels each retains its usual
sound. All the consonants are pronounced as in English, except g
and ch, which have a guttural sound like the ch in the Scotch word
loch, or the g in the German Tag; w, which is pronounced like v ;
j like the English y or ee; and v like f. Final n is often dropped
in colloquial speech (e.g. Leyde' for Leyden).
The definite article is de for the masculine and feminine, and
het for the neuter ; genitive des, der, des, or van den, van de, van
het; dative den, der, den, or aan den, aan de, aan het; plural for
all genders de, der, den, de.
The declension of substantives and adjectives resembles the
German. The plural of substantives is formed by the addition of *
or of en (dative plural always en).
The pronouns are ik, I; mij, me, to me ; gij, thou, you ; u, thee,
to thee, you, to you; hij, he; hem, him, to him; het, it; zij, she;
haar, her, to her; zij, they; hun, to them; hen, them. Mijn,
mijne, my; utt, uwe, thy, your; zijn, zijne, his; haar, hare, her;
onze, ons, our; hun, hunne, their. Wie, who (interrog.); wat,
what; hoe, how ; wanneer, when.
Cardinal numbers: een, twee, drie, vier, vijf, zes, zeven, acht,
negen, tien, elf, twaalf, dertien, veertien, vijftien, zestien, zeven-
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