Let’s learn how to get dutch vowels right.
The vowels are a, e, u, o and they have both a short and a long version.
SHORT VOWELS
A short vowel is spelled with one vowel when it is in a closed syllable.
I can hear your WFT already, so please read on and you will get it.
Everything is best done with examples so here are some words in which we see short vowels.
a
man
man
hand
hand
slap
weak
e
bed
bed
hek
fence
ken
know
u
bus
bus
dus
so
o
rok
skirt
sok
sock
bos
wood
A closed syllable is one that ends with a consonant.
Short vowels are so straightforward you need not worry so much about them, just remember the rule that if it is in one syllable and followed by a consonant it definitely is a short one.
Then come the long vowels. There are two important rules about them.
- A long vowel in a closed syllable is spelled with two vowels.
As in maan moon; boom tree ; buur neighbor; leeg empty - A long vowel in an open syllable is spelled with one vowel.
As in buren (neighbors), bomen (trees), manen (moons)
The case change from singual to plral is in fact syllables change. In dutch to make a word plural you add -en to the end
boom – boom + -en = boo – men = bo-men
From a single syllable word now you have a two-syllable word. But the first syllable boo- is not a proper syllable because it breaks rules. First, it is an open syllable (An open syllable is one that ends in a vowel) and second, a vowel in an open syllable is spelled with one letter as we discussed previously . So boo- turns into the way more proper bo-. The o in bomen remains long but it is spelled with one letter instead of two.
NOTE: When making the plural form it is not just vowels that change. When you work with short vowels and turn words into plural form by adding -en you might have to double a consonant to follow the open and closed syllable rules. For example:
man – man + -en = ma – nen = man -nen
When you add -ed the two sylalbles should be ma and nen. But the syllable a in man is a short one and by the rule a short vowel needs to be in a closed syllable aka followed by a consonant. You make it fit the rule by doubling the n in the middle so both syllables are closed and the vowels in them are short.
And now it is time for PRACTICE