(:title Summary:)
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PICS:arrowlink.gif"internal link" [[FORUM:quiz.php?c=8 | Spelling exercises]] PICS:link_icon.gif"link"[[AXS:ax.pl?http://taalunieversum.org/nieuws/1393/ | Dutch spelling reform 2006]]
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{$TransBy} [[Main.AboutMe | Bieneke Berendsen]]
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'''Rules for dividing words into syllables'''

* If two [[09 | vowels]] are separated by one [[22 | consonant]], the consonant goes to the second syllable
* If two vowels  are separated by more than one consonant, the first syllable gets one consonant, the second gets the rest
* A [[04 | syllable]] should not be impossible to pronounce: if it starts with an impossible sequence of consonants, we send one (or as many as necessary) to the first syllable
* [[06 | CH]] is considered as one consonant
* [[08 | dieresis]]: We use this to indicate where two vowels have to be separated. We only do this, if without the dieresis, the vowels would be pronounced as one vowel (double vowel or vowel combination)
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'''Long vowels'''

* [[10 | Double vowels]]
* [[12 | Vowel combinations]] (au, ei, eu, ie, ij, oe, ou, ui, aai, oei, ooi, ieu, eeu, and also: ae, ai, and oi)
* [[11 | Open vowels]] (single vowels at the end of a syllable)

'''[[13 | Short vowels]]'''

* Single, closed vowels - in other words: single vowels in syllables that end in one or more consonants

'''[[17 | The mute ''e'']]'''

If the letter ''e'' is unstressed, it is a mute ''e''. When the ''e'' is stressed, it is either short (if closed) or long (if open).
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'''Rules'''

* A syllable never ends in a double vowel (with the exception of ee at the very end of a word)
* A syllable never ends in two identical consonants
* A syllable never ends in z or v (they turn into s or f respectively). See also [[23 | hard and soft consonants]]
* The length of a vowel generally remains unchanged if the form of the word changes (e.g. from singular to plural). See also [[19 | maintaining vowel length]].

'''Accents'''

* to stress a whole word (it was her idea --> het was háár idee)
* to distinguish ''een'' (a or an) from ''één'' (one)
* to distinguish ''voor'' (for you) from ''vóór'' (before)
* to make a mute (unstressed) ''e'' long (coupé) --> only appears in borrowed (French) words
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