How do you pronounce IJ which I believe is a bay or a body of water in Amsterdam. I'm reading several books about Amsterdam. All reference the IJ without explaining exactly what it is or how it's to be pronounced. Google hasn't really helped. I'd appreciate an easy, if not totally accurate, way to pronounce it just for my own benefit - every time I see it in print, I can't help but wondering how in the heck it's pronounced.
Posted by
Calgary
2297 posts
It's an "i" sound. The Dutch word "dijk" is pronounced the same way as the English word "dike" and has the same meaning in this case :-)
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
If you mean the harbour in Amsterdam, the pronunciation is something like the English word "eye". "J" is pronounced like the English "Y", except in combination with the letter "I". If the combination occurs at the begining of a word (like in "IJland", "ijs"), it is pronounced as above. If the combination occurs elsewhere in the word, ("zijn", "hij") it is usually pronounced like the "-ay" in "bay", although is some longer words, it is rendered like an English short "i" ("gebruiklijk", "vrolijk"). And for a Dutch pronunciation bonus, to make the sound of the letter "G", clear your throat like you're about to spit something out. Seriously...
Posted by
OP
Indianapolis, Indiana, usa
360 posts
Thanks to both of you. I had read that very early in Dutch history, the waters around the area had names such as Aa, Ee and Ye so I guess this is where this name came from. What I found in Google was confusing. Apparently, this is a distinctly Dutch sound.
Posted by
Frankfurt am Main, Germany
2779 posts
Rose, it's rally not so destinctily Dutch, other than maybe the spelling of it. The sound is available in English (eye) and German (ei) as well. The Dutsch word "wijn" is pronounced and means "wine" in English and "Wein" in German... A Dutch "v" is pronouced somewhere in between an English "v" and an English "f", so much harsher than you'd do it. A Dutch "ch" is pronounced even harsher than a German one and is a sound not available in English which is why usually Anglosaxon people have quite a hard time to pronounce it properly. The dutch word for ditches, "Grachten" comes to mind. The sound a person that snores makes while exahlating comes somewhat close to how the "ch" is pronouced in Dutch or German ;-)...
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15777 posts
The Dutch "G" is pronounced like the "ch" in loch (Scottish lake). So Van Gogh isn't Van Go, but Fon Choch :-) Do visit his museum while in Amsterdam.
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
I forget where I read this, but someone once wrote "Dutch is not a language but a disease of the throat". I don't exactly agree with that sentiment (and the Flemish dialects are far less gutteral), but it does illustrate how the language might sound to a non-speaker.
As a non-native speaker of Dutch, though, the hardest sound to pronounce for me was not the infamous gutteral "G" but the combination of "UI", like in "huis". There really is no equivalent to this sound in English, German or French.
Posted by
Portland, Oregon, USA
18 posts
OK, as the child of Dutch parents -- it's more like "aye" (as in "aye-aye, sir"), but said with your lower lips sort of curled out. When my uncle tried to teach me, he poked me in the cheeks with his fingers (hard!) while I said "I", and I almost got it right. Hard to explain and almost impossible for a non-Dutch person to pronounce correctly. Just say "I" and they'll get it.
Pronouncing G -- you're right. Pretend you're getting rid of some phlegm from way back in your throat.
And, everyone speaks English, anyway.
Have a great visit!