Hard and soft G in Dutch
In the Dutch language the terminology hard and soft ⟨g⟩ (Dutch: harde en zachte G) refers to not only a phonological phenomenon of the pronunciation of the letters ⟨g⟩ and ⟨ch⟩ but also indicates a major isogloss within the language. In the northern part of the European Dutch language area, these letters represent velar ([ɣ] and [x], respectively) or uvular fricatives [χ], the so-called hard G. However, in most northern dialects the distinction is not made anymore, and both sounds are pronounced either as [x] or [χ]. In dialects that merge ⟨g⟩ and ⟨ch⟩ it's still possible, at least for some speakers, to pronounce ⟨g⟩ as [ɣ] intervocallically. In many southern dialects of the European Dutch language area, ⟨g⟩ and ⟨ch⟩ represent front-velar fricatives ([ɣ̟] and [x̟]), the so-called soft G.
Pronunciation
Overview
- Hard ⟨g⟩ pronunciation:
- ⟨g⟩ represents either [ɣ], [x] or [χ], a voiced velar, a voiceless velar or a voiceless uvular fricative, depending on the dialect.
- ⟨ch⟩ represents either [x] or [χ], a voiceless velar or a voiceless uvular fricative, depending on the dialect.
- Soft ⟨g⟩ pronunciation:
- ⟨g⟩ represents [ɣ̟], a voiced front-velar fricative
- ⟨ch⟩ represents [x̟], voiceless front-velar fricative
Examples
| Symbol | Example | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IPA | orthography | Gloss | ||
| [x] / [χ] (Hard G) | [ɑxt] / [ɑχt] | acht | 'eight' | |
| [x̟] (Soft G) | [ɑx̟t̪] | |||
| [ɣ] / [x] / [χ] (Hard G) | [ɣaːn] / [xaːn] / [χaːn] | gaan | 'to go' | |
| [ɣ̟] (Soft G) | [ɣ̟aːn̪] | |||
Geographical distribution
The hard ⟨g⟩ is primarily used in the northern part of the Dutch language area in Europe, namely:
- All provinces of the Netherlands, excluding some dialects of Gelderland and Utrecht, and most dialects of North Brabant and Limburg.
- Most dialects of West and East Flanders. These dialects, as well as the ones of Zeeland, realize ⟨g⟩ as [ɣ ~ ɦ], and ⟨ch⟩ as [x ~ h]. Since these dialects also normally feature H-dropping, ⟨g⟩ does not merge with ⟨h⟩.
The soft ⟨g⟩ is primarily used in the southern part of the Dutch language area in Europe namely:
- The Netherlands
- Provinces of Limburg and North Brabant.
- Parts of the province of Gelderland namely the Bommelerwaard, Betuwe, the region surrounding and including Nijmegen, Land van Maas en Waal, the southern part of the Veluwe and the Achterhoek.
- Southeastern part of the province of Utrecht.
- Dutch-speaking Belgium, excluding most dialects of West Flanders and East Flanders.