'eu' klank

[braaiwors]

Goedenavond.

I'm having great difficulties pronouncing this sound. Not the 'eu' followed by 'r' want hij klink nes het Afrikaans bijvoorbeeld 'deur'. I'm trying to say 'leuk' but my tongue twists a bit:|

[fabriciocarraro]

I will use your topic to expose one of my doubts either, I hope it's ok!

I was taught that the Dutch "v" had the sound of an "f", but a Dutch friend of mine told me that "f" and "v" are substantially different. Now I'm in some trouble trying to understand the difference between them. Also, the Dutch "w" sounds like an English "v", right? I hope, at least ahahaha

Dank jullie!

[Quetzal]

I will use your topic to expose one of my doubts either, I hope it's ok!

I was taught that the Dutch "v" had the sound of an "f", but a Dutch friend of mine told me that "f" and "v" are substantially different. Now I'm in some trouble trying to understand the difference between them. Also, the Dutch "w" sounds like an English "v", right? I hope, at least ahahaha

Dank jullie!

It depends on the accent, frankly, but in most accents there is a clear difference, yes. Of course at the end of a word the V does become an actual F, but then, the spelling actually changes too (e.g. the verb "geloven", first person is "ik geloof" instead of "ik geloov"), so there's no room for confusion.

And the Dutch "w" does sound a bit special, but I've never understood why people say it sounds like an English "v". To me it doesn't at all, it sounds mostly like an English "w" - just a tad different.

Braaiwors: I'm afraid I don't really understand how you can be fine with it in the one word but not in the other... surely it's the same vowel sound?

[Joke]

Braaiwors: I'm afraid I don't really understand how you can be fine with it in the one word but not in the other... surely it's the same vowel sound?

Actually it isn't. The vowels eu, ee and oo change a bit before r, at least in some (most?) accents. Many native people are not really aware of this, but if you listen carefully to for example the oo sounds in boot and boor or beek and beer, you should be able to hear a difference. I'm not sure if this is also the case in Flemish accents, but it certainly is for me. Eu is less clear, though.
Unfortunately for Braaiwors, it very hard to explain pronunciation. There are examples of the pronunciation of all letters and lettercombinations in the spelling and pronunciation chapter of the grammar section of this site. I hope that helps a bit.

[braaiwors]

@Quetzal - there's also no difference in Afr. but I've noticed the pronunciation difference while watching a foreign film.

@joke - Ik had de mp3's op het 'site' gevonden, maar 'sukkel' nog. I'll keep at it though; it's the only way that helps for now.

And thanks for your assistance guys... Much appreciated

[ngonyama]

We hebben ook op WikiWoordenboek wat geluidsbestandjes, bijvoorbeeld

http://nl.wiktionary.org/wiki/Bestand:nl-leuk.ogg

http://nl.wiktionary.org/wiki/Bestand:nl-reus.ogg

[Dora]

The vowels eu, ee and oo change a bit before r, at least in some (most?) accents. Many native people are not really aware of this, but if you listen carefully to for example the oo sounds in boot and boor or beek and beer, you should be able to hear a difference. I'm not sure if this is also the case in Flemish accents, but it certainly is for me. Eu is less clear, though.

I have to agree here. [At this point note that I am not a native speaker of Dutch.] If I listen carefully, I can hear a difference usually. Especially ee. The fact that they are a little different becomes obvious when I try to speak those sounds. I was very confused at first because none of the pronunciation guides mention this. I still struggle with eu, a sound which does not exist in my native language. It sounds too much like uu, but only when not before r!

[ngonyama]

The vowels eu, ee and oo change a bit before r, at least in some (most?) accents. Many native people are not really aware of this, but if you listen carefully to for example the oo sounds in boot and boor or beek and beer, you should be able to hear a difference. I'm not sure if this is also the case in Flemish accents, but it certainly is for me. Eu is less clear, though.

I have to agree here. [At this point note that I am not a native speaker of Dutch.] If I listen carefully, I can hear a difference usually. Especially ee. The fact that they are a little different becomes obvious when I try to speak those sounds. I was very confused at first because none of the pronunciation guides mention this. I still struggle with eu, a sound which does not exist in my native language. It sounds too much like uu, but only when not before r!

I have noticed that for American speakers the difference between eu and uu is difficult to hear (and reproduce). The problem seems to be that American English does not have any vowel where you constrict your lips as strongly into a tiny circle as you do when e.g. you whistle. Both the uu sound and the oe sound in Dutch do have that. (So: try to whistle a high note, freeze lips and tongue and speak will produce a pretty good uu) Americans often produce something in between uu and oe with their lips too widely open.

Actually the eu should be easier because the lips form a bigger more open circle than for uu or oe.

[Bert]

A Dutchman from Tilburg (Noord-Brabant) pronounces 'eu' here (among other combined vowels), at 2:51-3:10.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTkvC8AU6XQ

[braaiwors]

Baie dankie aan almal/hartelijk bedankt.

The youtube link is amazing. I also found a bunch of other useful stuff like the 'ui' klank is a tiny bit different to what I'm familiar with.

[Dora]

I have noticed that for American speakers the difference between eu and uu is difficult to hear (and reproduce). The problem seems to be that American English does not have any vowel where you constrict your lips as strongly into a tiny circle as you do when e.g. you whistle. Both the uu sound and the oe sound in Dutch do have that. (So: try to whistle a high note, freeze lips and tongue and speak will produce a pretty good uu) Americans often produce something in between uu and oe with their lips too widely open.

Actually the eu should be easier because the lips form a bigger more open circle than for uu or oe.

Unfortunately, I've never been able to whistle either. Thanks for the info. I'll see what I can do.