Dutch voice overs: what you need to know

Dutch is a part of the West Germanic Language family and is is the first language to around 24 million people. Additionally, 5 million speak Dutch as a second language. It is the single official language of the Netherlands and is one of Belgium’s official three languages.

With Dutch being the third most common Germanic language, its spread is far and wide – from Aruba, Curacao, to parts of Southern Africa.

Language History

The Dutch language as we know it today went through quite a few changes over the centuries. Dutch as a modern language developed from Old Dutch – a variety of dialects spoken in early Middle Ages (c. 500-1150).

By 1150, what is now called Middle Dutch – a collective of closely related dialects was already widely used, kicking off a rich period for Medieval Dutch Literature.

Standardization of Dutch started in the middle ages when the dialects of Flanders and Brabant were the most influential. One of the most important years for Dutch is 1637 – when the first widely printed Bible translation was distributed and spread.

The Netherlands and Belgium were historically closely related for centuries, with an important event in1980 when the two signed a Language Union Treaty, which encourages mutual language policy and a common spelling system.

Close Relations

As Dutch is part of the West Germanic language family, it shares a lot in common with German and English. The three are actually considered to be sister languages.

The Dutch vocabulary is mostly Germanic and borrows from Romance languages as well.

Additionally, Dutch shares the three grammatical gender systems, the same as the German language and similar word order. Meanwhile, Dutch and English share similarly structured compound words and word origins.

The Dutch language also has many similarities with continental Scandinavian languages like Swedish, Norwegian, and Icelandic but is not mutually intelligible with them.

Accents and Voice Over Tips

The Dutch regional dialects are spread across the Netherlands and Northern Belgium. They are divided into five main groups: Standard Dutch, West Flemish, Hollandic, Brabantian, and Limburgish.

The standard Dutch variety is based on the West Flemish dialect. When focusing on the standard dialect, it is important to remember that Dutch has certain oddities. For example,  velar fricatives changing into glottal fricatives, and in some cases, much like in the French language, muting the written “h”.

Additionally, Dutch tends to have complex consonant clusters, which may be tough to pronounce fluently.

When planning your voice over, keep in mind that Dutch is most commonly spoken informally even when talking to superiors at a workplace, with a warm and friendly tone. Formal speech is mainly being used in politics, by officers, or when engaging with someone that is your senior by many years.