Hard and soft G in Dutch

For the usage in other languages, see Hard and soft G.

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 palatal fricatives ([ʝ] and [ç]), 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 [ʝ], a voiced palatal fricative
  • ⟨ch⟩ represents [ç], voiceless palatal fricative

Examples

Symbol	Example
IPA		orthography	Gloss
[x] / [χ] (Hard G)	[ɑxt] / [ɑχt]	acht	'eight'
[ç] (Soft G)	[ɑçt]
[ɣ] / [x] / [χ] (Hard G)	[ɣaːn] / [xaːn] / [χaːn]	gaan	'to go'
[ʝ] (Soft G)	[ʝaːn]

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. Those dialects, as well as the ones of Zeeland, realize both ⟨g⟩ and ⟨ch⟩ as [x].

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.

See also

• Dutch phonology