A language learners’ forum

Hi everyone, anyone ever tried this book (Harrap's méthode intégrale néerlandais 2 CD + livre)?

https://www.amazon.com.be/Harraps-m%C3% ... 165&sr=8-6

I just finished the Assimil "La Pratique du Néerlandais" (Louis Verlee) and I really like it. I am looking for similar things. I do have a version of the assimil 'Le Néerlandais des affaires', but I still did not study it. Any suggestions?

jayjaynowayson wrote:Hi everyone, anyone ever tried this book (Harrap's méthode intégrale néerlandais 2 CD + livre)?

I just finished the Assimil "La Pratique du Néerlandais" (Louis Verlee) and I really like it. I am looking for similar things. I do have a version of the assimil 'Le Néerlandais des affaires', but I still did not study it. Any suggestions?

I've never seen or heard of it before, but it seems to claim it is for reaching C1 level. If you don't find it costly maybe it's worth a try. 2 CDs probably doesn't have much material, but by the B2=-C1 stage most learners are using native materials anyway I suppose.

I am studying Dutch because I am a belgophile and I enjoy speaking to people in Flanders. I am entering for B1 in May 2024. I have ordered Routledge Colloquial 2. Does anyone know how it relates to the CEFR levels?

Sesquiglot wrote:I am studying Dutch because I am a belgophile and I enjoy speaking to people in Flanders. I am entering for B1 in May 2024. I have ordered Routledge Colloquial 2. Does anyone know how it relates to the CEFR levels?

In the same way every course does since the formulation of those guidelines I expect. It doesn't appear to be geared towards any known exam, it's just a course.

A video with a correct subtitle file. Interesting subject, since I also have sleep problems. Here are some bits I picked out during watching:

gelikt uitzien = to look slick
indommelen (je dommelt in) = to doze off (you doze off)
inlassen = insert (here: set aside time for)
de druk van de ketel halen = release the pressure from the boiler

There is a free audiobook with epub-file on luisterrijk.nl

https://www.luisterrijk.nl/luisterboek/9789490938994/schipbreuk

The crime story is only 57 minutes long and can therefore be used for intensive reading or listening.

You don't need their app, you can also just download the files on your computer.

I was going to drop this video in that other discussion on the main board, where the uneasy status of Vlaams/French in Brussels turned up. However I don't want to bore the general members. I spent a fair amount of time in Brussels when I lived in Belgium, never lived there though. The conclusion of the two Dutch people in the video tallies with my experience. At the time I moved from south to north my Dutch was pretty weak, so using French was a relief for me. Nevertheless... because I was learning the language I was very interested in how much Vlaams there was on the street.

Noteworthy in this video is what the fellow with the cast on his arm says about the police/authorities. I've seen this, where the police moved on noisy drunken Flemish revellers and couldn't speak the language, only one of them had a basic level. That's not really on. That little discussion is also a good example of the general sound and cadence of NL Dutch and Flemish and word choices. Note that the older guy says (from about 6:30) '...dat ik blijf m'n taal nooit verloochenen...' The word exists in NL, but casually you'd be more likely to expect to hear 'ontkennen' or maybe 'verwerpen'.

Oh, I have video evidence on a trip up to Antwerp. The missus filmed us on the train. I cringe when I see it.

Ug_Caveman wrote:Well, I shall be visiting Brussels in two weeks, so hopefully I'll get a chance to test this myself...

Report your findings here!

Ug_Caveman wrote:Just curious, has anyone here had experience with Ter Zake by L. Bekkers and S. Mennen (published by Intertaal)?

I haven't, but it's worth saying something about 'Ter zake'. In the 1995 Woordenlijst Nederlandse taal (aka Het Groene Boekje) it was spelled as one word. It has been at other times as well, but it is now considered as always two words, in fact a 'word group'. Nevertheless loads of people write it as one single word.

Its usual meanings are : 'to the point or matter' (at hand) and 'to business'. Adding 'van' to the end 'ter zake van' means 'with regard to' or 'regarding' in a formal style. Something like:

Hij had een telefonisch bericht achtergelaten ter zake van het ondertekenen van het contract. Or more informally 'over het ondertekenen van het contract. Very commonly people tend to put this acronym or initialism: mbt (met betrekking tot = regarding/concerning/with reference to):

Was er een telefonisch bericht achtergelaten mbt het ondertekenen van het contract?.

There are loads of these used officially and unofficially: maw = met andere woorden, tbv = ter beschikking van, dwz = dat wil zeggen, iig = in ieder geval... etc.

Ug_Caveman wrote:How about "afb" - does that mean anything as a Dutch contraction?

Afbeelding = image/picture/diagram