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Most materials used in Dutch research are written in Dutch, but you do not need to speak or read Dutch to do research in records of the Netherlands. However, you will need to know some key words and phrases to understand the records.
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== Netherlands Languages  ==
===Word Lists===
This list summarizes what languages are used in different records. For word lists and help with using Dutch in genealogical records, see [[Dutch Genealogical Word List]]


Because of the presence of several different religions, including Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Walloon (French Reformed) and Portuguese Jewish, you will find several other languages in Dutch records. These include Latin, German, French, and Portuguese.
Click on the languages for a Word List:


Dutch grammar and customs may affect the way names appear in genealogical records. For example, your ancestor’s name may vary between records in Dutch. For help in understanding name variations, see the "[[Netherlands Names, Personal|Names, Personal]]" section.
'''[[Dutch Genealogical Word List|Dutch]]''': Used in Dutch Reformed Church records and [[Netherlands Civil Registration|Civil Registration]] after 1813. Used for any other government records. In most of the country except Frisian it was the commonly spoken  language. <br>'''Frisian''': This was the commonly spoken language in the province of Friesland and some neighbouring areas. Some records in those areas will use Frisian but more often Dutch will be used. <br>'''[[Latin Genealogical Word List|Latin]]''': Used in Catholic Church records <br>'''[[German Genealogical Word List|German]]''': Used in Lutheran Church records <br>'''[[French Genealogical Word List|French]]''': Used in Wallonia Reformed Church records, and in pre-1813 Civil Registration <br>'''[[Portuguese Genealogical Word List|Portuguese]]''': Used in some Sephardi Jewish records


=== Language Aids ===
For word lists and the basic grammar needed for genealogical research using documents of these languages, click on the links for each language, which will bring a page on the wiki devoted to that language. 
===Classes and Handouts===
====Dutch====
*{{LearningCenter2|93|'''Reading Dutch Handwritten Records Lesson 1: The Dutch Alphabet'''}}.
*{{LearningCenter2|94|'''Reading Dutch Handwritten Records Lesson 2: Dutch Words and Dates'''}}.
*{{LearningCenter2|95|'''Reading Dutch Handwritten Records Lesson 3: Reading Dutch Records'''}}.
*[[Media:1-NL Civil Registration Birth Records-Instruction.pdf|Reading Dutch Birth Records]]
*[[Media:1-NL Marriage Records in Paragraph Format-Instruction.pdf|Reading Dutch Marriage Records]]
*[[Media:1-NL Civil Registration Death Records-Instruction.pdf|Reading Dutch Death Records]]


The Family History Library has genealogical word lists for Dutch, French, German, Latin, and Portuguese. The Dutch Word list is found below at the end of this section.
====Latin====
*[https://www.familysearch.org/help/helpcenter/lessons/latin-for-genealogists Latin for Genealogists]
*[https://www.familysearch.org/help/helpcenter/lessons/latin-for-genealogists Latin for Genealogists]


The Family History Library’s separate Germany Research Outline includes an example of the German (Gothic) alphabet in print and handwriting.  Also go to "[http://www.familysearchwiki.org/resolveuid/f0de3ec2a56034debe13cb0ac6e46037 Germany Handwriting]."
====German====
*[https://www.familysearch.org/help/helpcenter/lessons/old-german-script-part-1 Old German Script Part 1]
*[https://www.familysearch.org/help/helpcenter/lessons/old-german-script-part-2 Old German Script Part 2] 
*[https://www.familysearch.org/help/helpcenter/lessons/old-german-script-german-church-and-civil-records-part-3 Old German Script (German Church and Civil Records) Part 3]
*{{LearningCenter2|38|'''Reading German Handwritten Records Lesson 1: Kurrent Letters'''}}
*{{LearningCenter2|39|'''Reading German Handwritten Records Lesson 2: Making Words in Kurrent'''}}
*{{LearningCenter2|40|'''Reading German Handwritten Records Lesson 3: Reading Kurrent Documents'''}}. In this lesson, you will explore several types of German genealogical records, including birth, baptismal, marriage, and death records.
*[https://script.byu.edu/german-handwriting/introduction '''German Script Tutorial''']
This converter will show you how any phrase or name might look in German script:
*[http://www.kurrentschrift.net/index.php?s=schreiben: Kurrentschrift Converter] (enter German genealogical word, click on "convert", view your word in Kurrentschrift (Gothic handwriting)


The following books and English–Dutch dictionaries can also aid your research. You can find these and similar material at many research libraries.
====French====
*Reading French Handwritten Records
**[https://script.byu.edu/french-handwriting/alphabet/alphabet French Alphabet],
**[https://script.byu.edu/french-handwriting/tools/genealogical-glossary Genealogical Glossary]
*[https://cfhg-permanent-web-files.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Script/ExtractionGuides/French_Extraction_Guide/French+Records+Extraction+Guide-Full.pdf '''French Records Extraction Manual''']. The full manual or individual lesson chapters are downloadable from this webpage. A number of helpful lessons are available here, but the first five lessons are especially useful.
**Chapter 1: Old Records
**Chapter 2: Christening, Marriage, and Other Entries
**Chapter 3: Marriage
**Chapter 4: Other Entries
**Chapter 5: French Handwriting and Spelling


''Cassell’s English–Dutch Dutch–English Dictionary.'' 36th ed. New York: Macmillan, 1981. (FHL book 439.31321 Ca272.)


Stierp–Impink, A. C. ''Practisijns Woordenboekje, of Verzameling van Meest alle de Woorden in de Rechtskunde Gebruikelijk (Lawyer’s Dictionary, or List of Most Words Used in Legal Documents).'' Alkmaar: A. C. Stierp–Impink, 1985. (FHL book 949.2 P26s.) This legal dictionary, originally created in 1785, identifies words found in court, land, notarial, and guardianship records.
[[Category:Netherlands_Language_and_Handwriting]]
 
Verdam, J. ''Middelnederlandsch Handwoordenboek (Middle Dutch Dictionary).'' ’s-Gravenhage: Martinus Nijhoff, 1964. (FHL book 439.317 V582m; film 1045404 item 2.) This dictionary will help with most archaic words found in documents before 1811.
 
Additional language aids, including dictionaries of various dialects and time periods, are listed in the Place search of the Family History Library Catalog under:
 
NETHERLANDS – LANGUAGE AND LANGUAGES
 
NETHERLANDS, [PROVINCE] – LANGUAGE AND LANGUAGES
 
or in the "Subject Search" under:
 
DUTCH LANGUAGE – DICTIONARIES
 
=== Dutch Word List  (31030) ===
 
This list contains Dutch words with their English translations. The words included here are those that you are likely to find in genealogical sources. If the word you are looking for is not on this list, please consult a Dutch-English dictionary. (See the "Additional Resources" section below.)
 
Dutch is a Germanic language derived from Old Saxon. Many of the words resemble German and English words. Latin also sometimes appears in older Dutch records. See the Italy [[Latin Genealogical Word List]] . For a time, Dutch records were written in French. See the [[France Language and Languages]].
 
Dutch is spoken in the Netherlands, northern Belgium, the Netherlands Antilles in the Caribbean, and Suriname. Flemish, which is spoken in Belgium, is a major dialect (regional variation) of Dutch. It uses words similar to the words on this list. Africaans, which is spoken in South Africa, is a different language that is similar to Dutch. Frisian, which is spoken in the Dutch province of Friesland, is a different language from Dutch. The "Additional Resources" section below will tell you how to use the Family History Library Catalog to find dictionaries of the various dialects and related languages.
 
In addition, Dutch is found in some early records of the United States (mostly in New York, New Jersey, Michigan, and Iowa) and in South Africa, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, and Taiwan.
 
=== LANGUAGE CHARACTERISTICS ===
 
Dutch words for nouns (persons, places, and things) are classified as either common or neuter.
 
'''Variant Forms of Words'''
 
In Dutch, as in English, the forms of some words will vary according to how they are used in a sentence. Who—whose—whom, or marry—marries—married are examples of words in English with variant forms. This word list gives the standard form of each Dutch word. As you read Dutch records, you will need to be aware that some words vary with usage.
 
The prefix 't is equal to the Dutch word het, which means the. The prefix 's- is a part of many place-names and means des (of the). All prefixes are disregarded in alphabetized lists, except in Flemish records.
 
The endings of words in a document may differ from what you find in this list. For example, the document may use the word jonger, but you will find it in this word list as jong. In addition, the suffixes -je, -tje,-tien, or -ke are often added to words to indicate "little." These suffixes can also indicate the feminine version of a name. Therefore, the word zoontje means "little" or "young (tje) son (zoon)." The ending -sdr means "daughter of."
 
Plural forms of Dutch words usually add -en or -s to the singular word. Thus ''boer'' (farmer) becomes ''boeren'' (farmers), and ''tafel'' (table or index) becomes ''tafels'' (tables or indexes).
 
In Dutch, many words are formed by joining two or more words together. Very few of these compound words are included in this list. You will need to look up each part of the word separately. For example, ''geboortedag'' is a combination of two words, ''geboorte''(birth) and ''dag'' (day).
 
'''Alphabetical Order'''
 
In the Dutch language, the letter combination ij is considered a single letter. It has the same value as y, and it is usually alphabetized as if it were a y. Some Dutch dictionaries and indexes use the following alphabetical order:
 
a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v, w, x, ij (or y), z
 
Some Dutch dictionaries alphabetize the letter ij under i then j.
 
This word list follows the standard English alphabetical order. However, when working with alphabetized Dutch records, use the Dutch alphabetical order.
 
When the Dutch alphabetize names of places or surnames, prefixes such as van der, de, or ter are not considered in the alphabetization.
 
Example:
 
ten Brock
 
van der Graf
 
's- Gravenhage
 
van Hijden
 
de Jong
 
van Leeuwen
 
ter Pelkwijk
 
van IJlst
 
't Zandt
 
'''Spelling '''
 
Spelling rules were not standardized in earlier centuries. Writers often failed to dot the ij, so that it looks like a y. The letter y was not used in older records. In Dutch, the following spelling variations are common.
 
y used for ij
 
g used for ch
 
d and t used interchangeably
 
j and i used interchangeably
 
Example:
 
echt spelled as egt
 
overlijden spelled as overlyden
 
Arie spelled as Arij
 
Marietje spelled as Marietie
 
=== ADDITIONAL RESOURCES ===
 
This word list includes only the words most commonly found in genealogical sources. For further help, use a Dutch-English dictionary. Several Dutch-English dictionaries are available at the Family History Library. These are in the European collection. Their call numbers begin with 439.31321.
 
The following dictionary is available on microfilm for use in Family History Centers:
 
''Dutch-English, English-Dutch Van Goor Dictionary''. 's-Gravenhage: G. B. Van Goor, 1938. (FHL film 1183584 item 2.)
 
Additional dictionaries are listed in the Subject search of the Family History Library Catalog under DUTCH LANGUAGE - DICTIONARIES or in the Place search under NETHERLANDS - LANGUAGE AND LANGUAGES. These include dictionaries of various dialects and time periods.
 
=== KEY WORDS ===
 
To find and use specific types of Dutch records, you will need to know some key words in Dutch. This section lists key genealogical terms in English and the Dutch words with the same or similar meanings.
 
For example, in the first column you will find the English word marriage. In the second column you will find Dutch words with meanings such as marry, marriage, wedding, wedlock, unite, legitimate, joined, and other words used in Dutch records to indicate marriage.
 
{| class="plain"
! English
! Dutch
| baptism
| dopen, doop, gedoopt
|-
| birth
| geboren, geboorte
|-
| burial
| begraven, begraaf
|-
| Catholic
| rooms katholiek, oud katholiek
|-
| census
| volkstelling, bevolking
|-
| child, children
| kind, kinderen
|-
| christening (see baptism)
|
|-
| civil registry
| burgerlijke stand
|-
| death
| overleden, overlijden, gestorven
|-
| father
| vader
|-
| husband
| echtgenoot, man
|-
| index
| tafel, klapper, fiche
|-
| Jewish
| joods
|-
| marriage(s)
| huwelijk(en), trouwen, echt, gehuwden, getrouwd
|-
| military
| militaire, landweer, krijgsmacht
|-
| month
| maand
|-
| mother
| moeder
|-
| name, given
| voornaam, eerste naam
|-
| name, surname
| achternaam, familienaam, bijnaam, toenaam
|-
| parents
| ouders
|-
| parish
| parochie, gemeente
|-
| Protestant
| protestant
|-
| supplement
| bijlage
|-
| town, village
| stad, gemeente, dorp
|-
| wife
| huisvrouw, vrouw, echtgenote
|-
| year
| jaar
|}
 
'''   '''

Latest revision as of 19:37, 20 March 2024


Netherlands Wiki Topics
Flag of Netherlands
Netherlands Beginning Research
Record Types
Netherlands Background
Netherlands Genealogical Word Lists
Cultural Groups
Local Research Resources

Netherlands Languages

Word Lists

This list summarizes what languages are used in different records. For word lists and help with using Dutch in genealogical records, see Dutch Genealogical Word List

Click on the languages for a Word List:

Dutch: Used in Dutch Reformed Church records and Civil Registration after 1813. Used for any other government records. In most of the country except Frisian it was the commonly spoken language.
Frisian: This was the commonly spoken language in the province of Friesland and some neighbouring areas. Some records in those areas will use Frisian but more often Dutch will be used.
Latin: Used in Catholic Church records
German: Used in Lutheran Church records
French: Used in Wallonia Reformed Church records, and in pre-1813 Civil Registration
Portuguese: Used in some Sephardi Jewish records

For word lists and the basic grammar needed for genealogical research using documents of these languages, click on the links for each language, which will bring a page on the wiki devoted to that language.

Classes and Handouts

Dutch

Latin

German

This converter will show you how any phrase or name might look in German script:

  • Kurrentschrift Converter (enter German genealogical word, click on "convert", view your word in Kurrentschrift (Gothic handwriting)

French

  • Reading French Handwritten Records
  • French Records Extraction Manual. The full manual or individual lesson chapters are downloadable from this webpage. A number of helpful lessons are available here, but the first five lessons are especially useful.
    • Chapter 1: Old Records
    • Chapter 2: Christening, Marriage, and Other Entries
    • Chapter 3: Marriage
    • Chapter 4: Other Entries
    • Chapter 5: French Handwriting and Spelling
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