Attempting to Pronounce Dutch Guessing how words and names might have been spoken by 18^th Century New Yorkers

This page will perhaps venture farther than your author should ever delve into the realm of rank amateur dilettantism! I have no real understanding of the Dutch language and, frankly, no expectation of acquiring one. But it irks me to be completely unable to pronounce words and names, and I imagine the same applies to many of my readers. So we’ll hoist our “Dutch courage” and give it an old college try—recollecting every caveat in the book.

There’s no Dutch heritage in my family background, so I was very fortunate to be able to interview Dr. Mel Rosen, whom I met through the American Revolution Round Table of New York, and his charming wife Hillegonda (pronounced Hill-uh-HON-duh). He studied medicine for seven years in Amsterdam some decades ago, and returned to New York City with Hillegonde, an Amsterdam native. (The errors in this sketch, I hasten to affirm, are solely my own.)

Our quick study is complicated by the fact that mid-18^th Century New York Dutch was already well-divorced, culturally, from Netherlands Dutch. Thanks to Britain’s onerous mercantilist commercial restrictions (the “Navigation Acts”), immigration virtually ceased after the 1670s, and there was little direct communication of any kind outside the Dutch Reformed Church. The way our characters spoke is also as separated by the passage of a quarter-millennium from contemporary Amsterdam Dutch as George Washington’s English is separated from that of today’s Londoners. Like English, Dutch also has dialects and accents. Flemish is a dialect that apparently often requires a translating dictionary. But Mrs. Rosen can not only discern the accents from such Dutch colonial possessions as Curacao and Indonesia, but from cities less than two hundred miles from the capital, such as Groningen and Maastricht!

As time wore on, the Dutch of the descendants of the New Netherlands immigrants would have become progressively anglicized: insisting that everyone else pronounce your surname correctly becomes very tedious, as all immigrants quickly find out.

· President Theodore apparently pronounced his surname ROOZ-e-velt, whereas his distant cousin President Franklin pronounced it ROWS-e-velt. According to current Netherlands usage, the latter is more correct … but who’s to say? Is it any wonder we’re confused?

· Mrs. Rosen’s nickname, in Holland, was Gonje, pronounced something like gHAWN-ye. She has long since given up explaining this to her New York friends, and is usually addressed as Connie.

· Another analogy: your present author’s patrilineal line descends from a 17^th Century French Huguenot, who doubtless pronounced his surname Cah-ree-ELL, rolling the R. Yours truly never manages to roll the R and, like most of his relatives, friends, and neighbors, pronounces it CAHR-ee-ul.

· By the late 1750s, the (rather improbable) surname Dordrecht would likely have been somewhat anglicized, in that the Ds would already be harder than in native Dutch, the Rs would not be rolled, and the guttural echt would have been simplified to ekt. Perhaps our hero and his family might even have unconsciously sounded their surname differently as they introduced themselves to people who did or did not speak Dutch.

Like French and like German, Dutch apparently has dipthongs and gutturals … but they’re not the same dipthongs and gutturals, so we can’t make any assumptions along those lines. Here are the few pointers I’ve accumulated (a/k/a the essence of my ignorance):

· As in English, the first syllable of a word receives the emphasis more often than not.

· E is generally pronounced like an English hard A; double-EEs are invariably like a hard A.

· Double-OOs are pronounced like hard Os (ROWS not ROOZ).

· Double-AAs are pronounced like soft As.

· Vowel combinations such as EU and OE … are impossible to describe coherently.

· Letter Gs are neither hard nor soft, but almost nonexistent; you’re better off to think of a sharply-attacked letter H.

· Letter Js are pronounced like Ys, except…

· The IJ combination apparently usually sounds like a hard A.

· The SCH combination sounds like SHK.

That’s all the tourist-Dutch I even think I know. Proceed at your own risk!

The following words and names are all used in Great Mischief:

Words Other Than Proper Nouns
WORD	PRONUNCIATION	ROUGH EQUIVALENT
Classis	KLAHSS-eess	Synod
Genever	Hen-AY-ver	Genever (a flavored gin)
Grootmoeder	HROAT-moo-dair	Grandmother
Grootvader	HROAT-fa-dair	Grandfather
Hekserij	HAIK-sair-ay	Witchcraft
Het Wapen Van Oranje	Hayt VAP-pen fan oh-RAHN-yeh	The Arms of Orange
Ja	Yah	Yes
Juffrouw	Yuh-FROW	Miss
Kerk	KAIRK	Church
Meneer	Mayn-AYR	Mister
Mevrouw	May-FROW	Missus
Natuurlijk	Na-TOOR-lake	Naturally
Pinkster	PINK-stayr	Pentecost
Roodborstje	Road-BORST-ye	Robin (the bird)
Schout	SHKOWT	Sheriff or bailiff
Sinterklaas	SINT-ayr-klahss	Santa Claus
Stadhouder	SHTAD-how-dayr	Mayor or governor
Vrouw	FROW	Woman, wife
Waakzaamheid	VAHK-zahm-hite	Watchfulness
Zus	ZOOSS	Sis
Zuster	ZOOSS-tayr	Sister
Zwarte	ZWAR-tuh	Black

The original name for Brooklyn, Breuckelen, was probably pronounced Brew-kuh-LAYN. The ancient Netherlands city of Utrecht, after which our hero’s hometown is named, is sounded Oo-TREKT (with a flipped R and a guttural). The modern “nabe” of New Utrecht is sounded (by Noo YAWK-uz) as Noo YOO-trek. Sic transit gloria, etc., etc.

English speakers will probably pronounce the following given names “close enough,” without prompting: Aalbert, Balt, Ernst, Floris, Frederik, Hans, Hendrik, Kaspar, Katryne, Maurits, Rozamond, Sander.

Given Names
Aeltje	OWLT-yeh
Anneke	AHN-ne-keh	Annette
Arjan	AR-yan
Berend	BAYR-end
Berendina	BAYR-en-DEEN-uh
Betje	BAYT-yeh	Betty
Boudewyn	BOW-de-wayn	Baldwin
Brevoort	Bray-FORT
Claes	KLAYS	Claude
Constantija	Kon-STAN-tee-yah	Constance
Cornelis	Kor-NAYL-eess	Cornelius
Derk	DAYRK	Dirk
Dries	DREESS	Andrew
Emke	AIM-keh
Engelbertus	AIN-hel-BAYR-tus
Geertruid	Hayr-TROWDT	Gertrude
Gerrit	Hay-REET
Gesina	Hay-SEEN-ah
Gosselick	HOSS-uh-LEEK
Harmanus	HAR-man-us
Jaap	YAHP	Jacob
Jan	YAHN	John
Janna	YAHN-nuh	Johanna
Jenneken	YAY-neh-ken	Joan
Karel	KAH-rel	Charles
Lodewyk	LOW-de-wik	Ludwig/ Louis
Lotje	LAHT-yeh	Charlotte
Machtel	MAK-tull	Matilda
Marijke	Mar-AY-keh	Maria
Marinus	MAR-uh-nus
Mathijs	Mat-TICE	Matthew
Petrus	PAY-truss	Peter
Powles	POW-less	Paul
Roosje	ROW-sheh	Rosie
Rykert	RY-kayrt	Richard
Saal	SAHL	Saul
Teunis	TEH-niss	Anthony
Toontje	TOANT-yeh	Antonia
Vrijdag	FRY-dah	Friday
Willem	VIL-lum	William
Willemina	VIL-lum-MEEN-uh
Wim	VIM
Wouter	VOH-ter	Walter

r

Surnames
Bilderbeek	BEEL-der-BAKE
Dordrecht	DOR-drekt
Esselinkpas	AYS-se-LINK-pahs
Grijpstra	HRAYP-strah
Halsema	HAHL-se-mah
Hampers	HAHM-pers
Ijsbrandts	AYSH-brahndts
Katelaar	KAHT-uh-lar
Kloppen	KLOAP-pen
Ligtenbarg	LIH-ten-bar
Loytinck	LOY-tink
Meerdink	MAIR-dink
Nijenhuis	NAY-en-howsh
Oosterhout	OAST-er-howt
Schuppert	SHKUP-pairt
ter Oonck	Tayr OHNK
Van Klost	Fan KLOHST
Van Renssalaer	Fan RENSS-uh-lar
Van Voort	Fan FORT
Voskuil	FOSS-kile
Westerhof	VEST-er-hoff
Zuykenaar	ZOW-ken-ar

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