Ant wrote:
When I met Gerard in Rotterdam, he said "hi, I am Gerard". I answered I
did not know him... Could not recognise a name though it is a name used
in France...he had to spell it :-)
For a lot of non-Dutch speakers neither my first name nor my surname is pronouncable. Neither would they understand them when I do pronounce them myself. Surprisingly my first name is much harder than my surname. To englishman I would most times introduces myself with an anglicized version of my middle name - Henry - to evade the complexity of my first name. For an englishman to pronounce my surname, here is the guide. Look puzzled when reading, murmur two letters, embarrassingly look around for help, give up - if I see that I know an englishman sincerely tried to pronounce my surname. I do not answer questions about my first name.
As a rule of thumb, the dialect changes every 3 miles from the North-Sead to the Alps through the Netherlands and Germany. Only listening to local people in villages on such a trip you would not be able to tell the border between the Netherlands and Germany. More generally, in the USA the dialect varies enormously from state to state, and even within states. For sure a Texan could tell Jimbo is not Texan by only listening
Ad Huikeshoven
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