Expats get 'easy Dutch' dictionary

Expats get 'easy Dutch' dictionary
5 September 2003
AMSTERDAM ?Amid rising demands for foreigners to integrate and growing popularity of the Dutch language, publisher Van Dale has launched a new dictionary containing the most common words, complete with pictures, to assist expats and immigrants learn Dutch more easily.

Van Dale, renowned as the publisher of the best Dutch language dictionary of the same name, launched its "Dutch as a Second Language Pocket Dictionary", or Pocketwoordenboek Nederlands als tweede taal, on Thursday, newspaper De Telegraaf reported. The book is priced at EUR 13.50.

The dictionary's 14,500 keywords are defined by just 2,000 words most frequently used in Dutch. The definitions of the words have been simplified and the publisher has also added 650 illustrations to help with word comprehension.

Van Dale hopes the book will assist the integration of foreigners in the Netherlands and chief editor, M Verbrug, said the dictionary was suitable for foreigners such as Argentinean-born Princess Maxima, the wife of Crown Prince Willem-Alexander, but also for those with a low level of Dutch and keen to improve their skills.

The dictionary's launch comes amid continued pressure from the Dutch government for immigrants to learn the Dutch language. The expanding system of integration courses has a compulsory Dutch language element and the Cabinet has raised the possibility of making foreigners study Dutch before they enter the country. New regulations, which came into effect in April, also mean that anyone wishing to take up Dutch citizenship must first pass a naturalisation exam, a requirement in which the Dutch language plays a central role.

Recent reports have also indicated that the study of Dutch is becoming increasingly popular across the globe. Figures revealed that 25 years ago there were 165 universities teaching the Dutch language in 26 countries in comparison to the present-day's 230 universities spread over 44 countries, an international association of Dutch language specialist academics, IVN, said.

The increased popularity was partly attributed to the fall of the USSR, resulting in newly-formed Eastern European nations no longer being forced to study Russian, allowing their citizens to opt for other languages, such as Dutch.

Many students across the globe study Dutch to become a interpreter/translator or a journalist, to find a job in the tourism industry or be accepted by a Dutch multinational company ?such as Shell, Philips, Unilever, Ahold or ABN Amro ?in their land of origin.

Meanwhile, Van Dale asserts that the restricted word choice used in the definitions of its new, streamlined dictionary will make it easier for expats and immigrants to learn the meaning of a word. In the official Van Dale, the definitions often contain words that many foreigners will not understand, the publisher admitted.

Expressions and sayings have also been left out because many foreigners will not understand them. Unlike the traditional Van Dale, the new dictionary includes the lidwoorden, (articles such as "a", "an" and "the" ?or in Dutch, "de", "het" or "een") before the keyword. The correct use of lidwoorden is considered a difficult element of the Dutch language.

The dictionary also includes short texts about Dutch culture and habits, such as education, religion, the meaning of Sinterklaas and the eating habits of both Dutch and Flemish people. It describes for example, the famously simple and standard-fare, Dutch-style sandwich lunch.

[Copyright Expatica News 2003]