Five Brothers and a War

The Dutch Language—Alphabet

LETTER ENGLISH SOUND

COMMENT

A

apple

This sound will be shown for pronunciation purposes as æ

B

bay

C

say

D

day

E

day

F

eff

Identical to English

Pronounced like “hay” but with a guttural “g” in front. In this book, this sound will be shown as §

G

ghay

H

hat

I

beet

Spoken exactly as the English letter “e”

J

yay

K

cat

L

ell

Identical to English

M

emm

Identical to English

N O

enn

Identical to English

oh

Identical to English

P

pay

holland Q R

Cuckoo clock

air

Sound is rolled in back of throat

S T

ess

Identical to English

tay

U V

ew (e.g., tube)

Very short sound—shorter than “tube”

vay

W

way

Soft, airy “w” sound

X

Ricks

No similar sound in English. Combination of the “a” sound in “apple” followed instantly with the “y” sound of “yolk” “z” is pronounced with a hard “s” sound with the slightest hint of the “z” in front. In Dutch, a “d” at the end of a word is pronounced “t”

Y

ay

Z

Set

Five Brothers and a War

Page 8