The Great Dictation of the Dutch Language will be broadcast from Deurne on Saturday. For the eighth time, linguist Wim Daniëls wrote the text, which the participants must write down as best as possible without errors. “I think the winner will have two, maximum three mistakes.”
What about that between-n again and what are the rules for pluralizing strong or weak verbs? Lovers of the Dutch language can indulge themselves again on Saturday when The Great Dictation of the Dutch Language is held.
From the library in Deurne, former Speaker of the House Gerdi Verbeet reads the text written by Aarle-Rixtel resident Wim Daniëls. It will be broadcast live in Frits Spits’ program ‘De Taalstaat’ on Radio 1. “I usually start writing in September, because I have to hand in the text on time,” says Daniëls. “In this case, the text was already ready before presenter Frits Spits announced that he was quitting. Otherwise the dictation might have been about Frits.”
Daniëls’s text is seven sentences long, with a total of about 250 words. “I first write the story. Then I check whether there are enough spelling problems. It shouldn’t be too difficult. That’s what ruined the dictation on TV. The winner usually had about fifteen or sixteen errors. That’s not good. I think the winner tomorrow will have two, maximum three errors.”
What is this year’s dictation about?
Of course, Daniëls will not reveal which difficult words will be read by Verbeet on Saturday. He would like to explain the subject. “The text is always about the place where the dictation is held. It is now completely dedicated to Deurne. When it was held in Groningen, it was about the natural gas problem.”
Perhaps ‘my father’s garden path’ will appear in the text this year. “Anyone who thinks of Deurne thinks of the song ‘Het Dorp’. You can safely assume that this is reflected in the lyrics,” laughs Daniëls. “Hendrik Wiegersma, the general practitioner, lived in Deurne. His son Friso wrote the text for ‘Het Dorp’. This is explicitly mentioned in the text,” the writer gives a glimpse of the veil.
How is your knowledge of the Dutch language?
According to Daniëls, knowledge of the Dutch language is not as poor as is sometimes stated. But: “People might know the spelling problems, if they ever bother to learn the rules. In terms of spelling, we remain at the same level in the Netherlands. That is also because the spelling rules in the Netherlands are not as easy as in other countries,” says the writer. “Many people learn spelling at school and think: I’ll do it with that. But of course that knowledge disappears and then people no longer bother to learn the rules. If this is done, people can spell much better.”
Does Great Dictation of the Dutch Language have a future?
Even though Eindhove resident Frits Spits will stop as presenter of De Taalstaat, Het Groot Dictee der Nederlandse Taal will continue to exist, Daniëls assures. “Frits Spits is stopping, but De Taalstaat continues. The new presenter was announced on Thursday: writer Ronald Giphart. He will certainly continue with the Great Dictee, he is also busy with language. I once wrote a book about the new words that Giphart uses in his books. Words such as loan smell, back seats, nose happiness and scream grin!”