Folk Dance Federation of California, South, Inc.
Flemish
By Dick Oakes
A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g,
H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p,
Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v,
W w, X x, Y y, IJ ij, Z z
Flemish is the Belgian form of Dutch and is a West Germanic language spoken by more than 20 million people.
The letter b is pronounced p at the end of a word (b elsewhere).
The letter d is pronounced t at the end of a word (d elsewhere).
The letter e is probounced eh in unaccented syllables.
The letter g is pronounced x at the start of a word.
The letter h after t is silent.
The letter n at the end of a word is softened or even silent.
The letter i after a vowel is pronounced as the y in away.
The letter r is usually silent before g (r elsewhere).
The letter ij was once written y (now used only in foreign words).
There is also the addition of a diacritical mark called the "trema" (ä, ë, ï, ü), indicating that the vowel is pronounced separately from the preceding vowel.
Letters not listed below are pronounced approximately as in English.
A, a - a as in above; a as in father E, e - a as in hat; e as in wet; a as in face I, i - i as in pin; also i as in machine O, o - also o as in gone; o as in note U, u - a as in about; ew as in dew Y, y - i as in pin; also i as in machine C, c - k as in king; s as in sing G, g - ch as in loch R, r - slightly rolled; when used as a vowel as er in pert IJ, ij - e as in eye W, w - v as in vine DIPTHONGS: Ai, ai - ai as in jai alai Au, au - ou as in proud Ea, ea - letters are pronounced separately Ei, ei - e as in eye Eu, eu - eu as in fleur Eeuw, eeuw - ch as in loch Ia, ia - letters are pronounced separately Ie, ie - i as in machine Ieuw, ieuw - ew as in new Io, io - letters are pronounced separately Oe, oe - oo as in boot Ou, ou - ou as in loud Ui, ui - ir as in bird Uw, uw - ew as in new OTHER SOUNDS: Ch, ch - ch as in loch dt - at the end of a word is pronounced as a t in bat ig - at the end of a word is pronounced as a in bubba isch - at the end of a word is pronounced i as in line with the ch silent Kn, kn - k(e)n as in broken lijk - at the end of a word is pronounced as a in above Ng, ng - ng as in sing Sch, sch - ch as in church Tj, tj - ch as in church