Author Ben van der Have, having spent much of his life as a teacher, brings together an unlikely pair, an American professional, Nancy Collins, who like many expats wants to learn how to linguist from the University of Amsterdam, takes her on an incredible expedition- not only to learn proper Dutch- but to give her an insight into the orispeak the local language. Her knowledgeable teacher, who is a retired general gins of the language itself in relationship to the estimated 6,000 languages spoken throughout the world.
Is Dutch an easy language to learn? Thomas van Zanten answers her question with the ambiguity it deserves, saying, `Languages aren't easy or difficult. You find a language easy if it is similar to your own language and difficult the more it differs from your own language.'
As he explains all this to her, adding in his two cents about the strange sounds, the handy words and the ‘cruelty’ of Dutch grammar rules, he offers his insights into linguistic structures of languages. He tells Collins, ‘In Indonesia, they simply repeat a word (to form a plural): for example, anak is child and anak-anak is children. The Chinese don’t have any plurals at all.’ Collins background, rooted in her mother language of English, allows her to banter with Van Zanten, and also compare commonalities in rich sequels of dialogue. The author makes it clear to readers that you could ask the same questions from a background in any other language. The answers given in The Dutch Tongue are universal and ring true in many languages. Anyone who wants to learn a foreign language will find the book a useful tool to acclimate themselves in any foreign country.
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| The book with 25 illustrations is availabe at the campus bookstore in the bastille building for 16.95 euro |
