Dutch spell out their confusion

By Geraldine Coughlan
BBC News, The Hague

When does a hyphen become unnecessary? When should old words be dropped from the dictionary? In the Netherlands' Het Groene Boekje, or Little Green Book, a new official guide to spelling can be found, but it is already causing its fair share of misunderstandings.

Het Groene Boekje is the Dutch language "rule book"

Dutch class is one of the highlights of my week.

I even enjoy doing the tests and the homework.

I sit next to Kevin, an engineer and fellow countryman from Ireland.

Then there is Ali, an Iranian, who prays with his lamp on his mat before the lesson. And Ignatius, an Austrian monk, who happens to be my neighbour.

We all start off with "Goede Morgen" (good morning), then progress to more advanced guttural sounds - once we get our throats warmed up.

I first started learning the language here 25 years ago.

Though I read and understand everything and, I am told, speak charming Dutch, it is full of mistakes.

And alas, all my friends here love to practise English.

But when local TV stations began asking me to take part in live debates - in Dutch - I decided it was time to bring my grasp of the language up to scratch and earn a diploma.

'Koffiewafel'

Every so often the Dutch like to re-vamp their language.

The Dutch Language Union says it is to keep it up-to-date.

This time 6,000 words have been added.

Besides words like "spamfilter" for the computer software which filters out unwanted e-mails, and "ecoaardappelen" meaning organic potatoes, 500 of these new words come from the Surinamese version of Dutch.

One of my favourites is "okseltruitje" which means literally an oxter or underarm sweater, a sleeveless top.

Some 14,000 old words have been dropped.

These are ones which do not need to be in the green book because mostly they are self-explanatory, the language experts say. One of them is the traditional "koffiewafel", the caramel wafer that comes with a coffee.

Disgruntled users

There are approximately 21 million Dutch speakers in Europe

While I struggle with grammar at the class, I do not envy my colleagues at the Dutch News Agency who have to respect the new official spellings in Het Groene Boekje.

Many Dutch readily dismiss the changes as confusing and nonsensical.

"Joods", or "Jewish", used to start with a small "j".

Now it is a capital "J" for the religion and a small "j" when referring to ethnicity.

Hyphens are also disappearing. So terms like "ja-kamp" and "nee-kamp", meaning "yes camp" and "no camp", have each become one word.

It is supposed to make reading and writing easier.

Newcomers

Playing darts in the canteen with some of my classmates after the lesson, we agree that we are lucky we do not have to worry about the new Dutch spelling rules.

Coming from the European Union we are not obliged to learn the language.

If the Dutch language is a struggle for people with an education, how must it seem to those who cannot even read or write in their own language?

In fact, many EU expats in the Netherlands refuse to learn Dutch, saying the language is ugly.

All other newcomers from outside the EU have to attend compulsory language and integration courses when they arrive in the country before they can get a residence permit.

Cycling home from class with Ignatius, we pass the centre where the non-EU immigrants study Dutch.

For these new arrivals, learning the language is supposed to make their lives here easier.

They come mostly from Turkey and Morocco and learn to speak Dutch very quickly but if they cannot read and write it properly, they fail the test.

Others find reading and writing the language easier than speaking it and so fail the oral exam. Fewer than 70% pass first time.

But everyone, at least, can try and try again.

Tricky but quirky

If the Dutch language is a struggle for people with an education, how must it seem to those who cannot even read or write in their own language?

From this year, would-be immigrants from most countries - apart from the EU, the United States, and a couple of others - will have to take compulsory integration and language courses at embassies abroad, before they can come to the Netherlands.

And once they arrive in the country there is another integration course on Dutch history, language and culture to attend.

Discovering that they will also have to learn all the new spellings in the green book must be an added burden.

Journalists and writers say Het Groene Boekje is destroying historic Dutch spelling but though it is quirky, I love Dutch.

It is a creative language with character.

It is rough, guttural and even humorous. Especially when people's surnames seem to fit the professions they do, as is sometimes the case.

Take the Governor of the Netherlands Antilles in the Caribbean. He is called Frits Goedgedrag, which means "good behaviour".

Or the spokesman on rivers I interviewed at the Water Ministry. What was his name? Hans van Dijk.

Another good name belongs to our local plumber. His company van says: Jan Naaktgeboren en Zoons, which translated means: Jan Born Naked... and Sons.

Dutch people do not seem to find this funny, but I do.

And that is what makes me keen to learn more about this most culturally intriguing language.

From Our Own Correspondent was broadcast on Saturday, 21 January, 2006 at 1130 GMT on BBC Radio 4. Please check the programme schedules for World Service transmission times.