Learn to Speak Dutch

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Learn Dutch
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Origins of the Dutch Language
Dutch is a member of the West Germanic group of the Germanic subfamily of the Indo-European family of languages.

How many people speak the Dutch language?
There are 21 million native speakers of Dutch. About 15 million of these reside in the Netherlands, where it is the national language.

Dutch-speaking Countries
The Dutch language is spoken in the Netherlands (Holland) and the Netherlands Antilles, as well as Aruba, Canada, Suriname and the USA. Dutch is also spoken in northern Belgium but there it is generally known as Flemish.

Screenshots from Talk Now! Learn Dutch CD-ROM

Talk Now Dutch CD-ROM Details

This is an excitingly different language learning series. Talk Now! uses games and quizzes as a basis for making the learning process fun, easy and relaxing. There is no better way to teach an old dog new tricks and this fun element of the program means that your fears are forgotten as you absorb words and phrases without even realising you are learning them.

Talk Now! is the world's best selling language learning CD-ROM series for beginners, used by more than three million people to date. It's ideal for travellers, holidaymakers, business people, schoolchildren, students and families.

Anyone over 10 years of age will find the disc indispensable for improving listening, understanding and spoken language skills. There are nine topics: first words, food, colours, phrases, parts of the body, numbers, time, shopping and countries.

The games and quizzes included on the disc ensure that users have fun whilst using the disc, without realising that they're learning. The "intelligent" software feature remembers words you get wrong and targets your weak points.

NOW includes Apple iPod integration, which allows you to listen to Talk Now Dutch wherever you are!

Dutch Culture

The Painters
The Netherlands is famous for its realm of famous painters:

Hieronymous Bosch was the first, whose 15th-century religious works are charged with fear, distorted creatures and agonised people.

Rembrandt led the historic artists of the golden age.

Frans Hals and Jan Vermeer were the contemporary masters of portraiture and daily life scenes, two revolutionary themes which became popular due to the decline in the influence of the church as patron of the arts.

Vincent van Gogh's early works, including the Potato Eaters, were painted in his homeland, although he spent much of his life in Belgium and France.

Piet Mondriaan later introduced his cubic De Stijl movement.

Dutch Food and Drink

The Dutch national fast food is chips - frites, traditionally served with mayonnaise.

Traditional Dutch gastronomy tends to be fairly meat-based and quite heavy but due to the sizeable Indonesian, Chinese, Surinamese, Turkish and Italian communities in the Netherlands, there tends to be plenty of choice.

Breakfast usually consists of cereal, bread, cheese, cold meats, fruit juice, coffee, or tea. Dark grained breads are preferred. Lunch is usually just an open-faced sandwich, called kroket. Dinner can consist of herring, smoked eel, pea soup, hutspot (mashed potatoes with onions and carrots), fried potatoes or puffed pancakes.

Beer is the staple drink, served cold and with lots of froth. Dutch gin is often drunk with a beer chaser, and the combination is known as a kopstoot - a 'head butt'.

Dutch Attractions

Amsterdam: The Netherlands' capital is a superb place to soak up plenty of culture, and immerse yourself in history, art, beer or other more controversial activities! Amsterdam brilliantly combines old and new, as well as big city energy with the manageability and friendliness of a small town. It is a popular city with travellers but this tends not to detract from the city's appeal. It is a thriving, fun and diverse city, with a quintessential Dutch charm that shines through in the architecture, ubiquitous bicycles and tree-lined canals.

The Randstad: This is the most densely populated region in the Netherlands, and incorporates the Hague, the country's seat of government, Rotterdam and Utrecht. The area is home to the spectacular bulb fields which explode into vibrant colour between March and May, and create an amazing scene to be admired, as well as intoxicating fragrance to be savoured. There is also the Keukenhof, south of Haarlem, which is the world's largest garden.

Hoge Veluwe: This is the largest park in the Netherlands and home to the Kröller-Müller Museum, which has 278 works by Van Gogh. The park is a unique place, covering 5500 hectares and combining forests and woods, shifting sands and heath moors.

Maastricht: This is the Netherlands' oldest city. The city's history stretches back to 50 BC when the Romans set up camp on the bank of the River Meuse and fortification walls still partly surround it. Today this lively city has a reputation even in its own country of being a little foreign. In February, Maastricht also hosts the Netherlands' largest carnival festival.

Customer Testimonials

"This is an excitingly different language learning series. Talk Now! Uses games and quizzes as a basis for making the learning process fun and relaxing." - PC Answers

"I bought your Learn Malay CD today - I've only just begun, but I wanted to say how much I am enjoying it. I studied Malay from a book all day yesterday, making some 25 pages of notes on grammar and vocab, but I remember more from your CD from just an hour!" - James Bryce

Full list of Talk Now Language CD-ROMs available to buy online in the UK.