Friday, December 7, 2012
how hard is it to learn dutch?
how hard is it to learn dutch?
i'm going to belgium for 6 months (student exchange) and it requires a basic understanding of dutch. I have one year to prepare. How hard is the grammar? How hard is it to understand? Read? Write? just learn in general? Could i attain a basic skill level in one year?
Languages - 5 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
Very Hard
2 :
why do you need to know dutch? go to french part lol
3 :
The grammar of Dutch/Flemish is not really too daunting for an English speaker - and certainly considerably easier than German. Where English people often come to grief is in the pronunciation but even that is not really difficult if you are prepared to imitate what you hear. And in my view, a basic knowledge of the language is easily attainable in a year.
4 :
Dutch is one of the closest languages to English. There are a lot of features you'll recognized. It's not as difficult as German, and one of the benefits of learning Dutch is that it's mutually intelligible with Afrikaans (in Southern Africa). Edit: Flemish is to Dutch as is UK English is to North American English.
5 :
I agree with GrahamH and Allan. You should be able to learn much more than just the basics in a year. Start by practicing the guttural 'g' and you're already halfway. I don't speak Dutch, but I understand and read it quite well.
Read more other entries :
