Differences in Pronunciation of Dutch and Afrikaans

Dutch and Afrikaans are Germanic languages. The Afrikaans language evolved from the Dutch language in the eighteenth century. Despite their similarity, there are significant differences in pronunciation.

The following words are identical in the two languages:

been (leg)

groot (big)

neus (nose)

Though the three words share the same spelling and meaning, they are pronounced differently. In Afrikaans the three words have diphthongs. The three words can also be pronounced with diphthongs in Dutch, but this is only the case in the northern dialects. Nevertheless, even in those dialects which use diphthongs in the three words, the components of the diphthongs are different.

In Dutch, been  is pronounced with a mid front unrounded tense vowel. In the northern dialects, the word has a diphthong. The second component is a high front unrounded lax vowel. In Afrikaans, the word also has a diphthong, but it is different. The first component is a high front unrounded lax vowel and the second is a schwa.

In Dutch, groot is pronounced with a mid back rounded tense vowel. The nucleus is diphthongized in the dialects of the north. In this case, the second component is a high back rounded lax vowel. In Afrikaans, however, the pronunciation is quite different. The first component is a high back rounded lax vowel and the second component is a schwa.

The word neus has a mid front rounded tense vowel in Dutch. In the northern dialects, the word has a diphthong. In this case the second component is a high front rounded lax vowel. In Afrikaans, the first component of the diphthong is a high front unrounded lax vowel and the second is a mid front rounded tense vowel.

The pronunciation of Dutch and Afrikaans is not identical. In the words groot, neus and been, the pronunciation varies in the southern and northern Dutch dialects. In the southern dialects, the words have monophthongs, but in the northern ones they have diphthongs. In Afrikaans, the words all have diphthongs, but they are different from the diphthongs of the northern Dutch dialects.