Grammar and pronunciation of Dutch

Teacher(s)

Bosmans Hilde; Degrave Pauline;

Language

Dutch

Main themes

This course takes a descriptive and prescriptive approach to Dutch grammar and pronunciation. Topics include:  

1. The principles governing Dutch pronunciation, in particular sentence stress, word stress, assimilation processes and typical Dutch sounds. 
2. A detailed description of the rules governing the Dutch word order and form. 
3. The grammatical analysis of the sentence and its constituents. 
4. The interface between word order and sentence stress.

Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :
1	Apply the basic rules of Dutch in exercises.
2	Recognising and exploiting the specific features of written and spoken Dutch.
3	Define basic concepts and illustrate them using examples.
4	Use the tools needed to understand, describe and produce correct written and spoken Dutch productions.
5	Understand and be able to explain a simple scientific article on a linguistic aspect of Dutch.
This learning unit contributes to the development and command of the following skills and learning outcomes of the ELAL programmes: 1.4, 1.6, 2.6, 5.6, 6.6.

Content

The course aims to support the process of acquiring Dutch grammar and phonetics. It consists of three distinct but interconnected parts:

• Introduction to Dutch phonetics/phonology, focusing in particular on sentence stress, word stress, assimilation, and typical Dutch sounds, using a contrastive approach to raise students’ awareness of the communicative importance of accurate pronunciation.
  
• Review of word categories and their usage, and an introduction to the principles governing word formation in Dutch, with a particular focus on inflection.
  
• Basic principles of word order, as well as the principles of grammatical analysis of sentences and their constituents.
  

Systematic exercises, both specific and global, will be provided to facilitate mastery of Dutch grammar and pronunciation.

Teaching methods

A mixed approach of lectures, exercises and reading of scientific articles adapted to the level of the students. 

Evaluation methods

In January: oral exam.
Students who do not get a pass mark for the January partial exam must retake that part in June.
In June: written exam.
The oral exam will count for 60% of the final grade; the written exam for 40%.
Students who obtain an insufficient grade in either of the two parts will automatically receive a failing grade for the entire course and will have to retake that part during the August session.

Bibliography

Hiligsmann, P., Degrave, P., Van Goethem, K., & Rasier, L. (2023). 100 fautes : Les erreurs courantes des francophones B1-B2 + exercices. De Boeck Supérieur
Supports de cours disponibles sur la plateforme Moodle.
Syllabus d'exercices disponible chez FacCopy.

Teaching materials

• Néerlandais - 100 fautes Les erreurs courantes des francophones

Faculty or entity

> ELAL