- Dutch1
- Frisian
- Saterfrisian
- Afrikaans
-
- Phonology
- Segment inventory
- Phonotactics
- Phonological processes
- Phonology-morphology interface
- Word stress
- Primary stress in simplex words
- Monomorphemic words
- Diachronic aspects
- Generalizations on stress placement
- Default penultimate stress
- Lexical stress
- The closed penult restriction
- Final closed syllables
- The diphthong restriction
- Superheavy syllables (SHS)
- The three-syllable window
- Segmental restrictions
- Phonetic correlates
- Stress shifts in loanwords
- Quantity-sensitivity
- Secondary stress
- Vowel reduction in unstressed syllables
- Stress in complex words
- Primary stress in simplex words
- Accent & intonation
- Clitics
- Spelling
- Morphology
- Word formation
- Compounding
- Nominal compounds
- Verbal compounds
- Adjectival compounds
- Affixoids
- Coordinative compounds
- Synthetic compounds
- Reduplicative compounds
- Phrase-based compounds
- Elative compounds
- Exocentric compounds
- Linking elements
- Separable complex verbs (SCVs)
- Gapping of complex words
- Particle verbs
- Copulative compounds
- Derivation
- Numerals
- Derivation: inputs and input restrictions
- The meaning of affixes
- Non-native morphology
- Cohering and non-cohering affixes
- Prefixation
- Suffixation
- Nominal suffixation: person nouns
- Conversion
- Pseudo-participles
- Bound forms
- Nouns
- Nominal prefixes
- Nominal suffixes
- -aal and -eel
- -aar
- -aard
- -aat
- -air
- -aris
- -ast
- Diminutives
- -dom
- -een
- -ees
- -el (nominal)
- -elaar
- -enis
- -er (nominal)
- -erd
- -erik
- -es
- -eur
- -euse
- ge...te
- -heid
- -iaan, -aan
- -ief
- -iek
- -ier
- -ier (French)
- -ière
- -iet
- -igheid
- -ij and allomorphs
- -ijn
- -in
- -ing
- -isme
- -ist
- -iteit
- -ling
- -oir
- -oot
- -rice
- -schap
- -schap (de)
- -schap (het)
- -sel
- -st
- -ster
- -t
- -tal
- -te
- -voud
- Verbs
- Adjectives
- Adverbs
- Univerbation
- Neo-classical word formation
- Construction-dependent morphology
- Morphological productivity
- Compounding
- Inflection
- Inflection and derivation
- Allomorphy
- The interface between phonology and morphology
- Word formation
- Syntax
- Preface and acknowledgements
- Verbs and Verb Phrases
- 1 Characterization and classification
- 2 Projection of verb phrases I:Argument structure
- 3 Projection of verb phrases II:Verb frame alternations
- Introduction
- 3.1. Main types
- 3.2. Alternations involving the external argument
- 3.3. Alternations of noun phrases and PPs
- 3.3.1. Dative/PP alternations (dative shift)
- 3.3.1.1. Dative alternation with aan-phrases (recipients)
- 3.3.1.2. Dative alternation with naar-phrases (goals)
- 3.3.1.3. Dative alternation with van-phrases (sources)
- 3.3.1.4. Dative alternation with bij-phrases (possessors)
- 3.3.1.5. Dative alternation with voor-phrases (benefactives)
- 3.3.1.6. Conclusion
- 3.3.1.7. Bibliographical notes
- 3.3.2. Accusative/PP alternations
- 3.3.3. Nominative/PP alternations
- 3.3.1. Dative/PP alternations (dative shift)
- 3.4. Some apparent cases of verb frame alternation
- 3.5. Bibliographical notes
- 4 Projection of verb phrases IIIa:Selection of clauses/verb phrases
- 5 Projection of verb phrases IIIb:Argument and complementive clauses
- Introduction
- 5.1. Finite argument clauses
- 5.2. Infinitival argument clauses
- 5.3. Complementive clauses
- 6 Projection of verb phrases IIIc:Complements of non-main verbs
- 7 Projection of verb phrases IIId:Verb clusters
- 8 Projection of verb phrases IV: Adverbial modification
- 9 Word order in the clause I:General introduction
- 10 Word order in the clause II:Position of the finite verb (verb-first/second)
- 11 Word order in the clause III:Clause-initial position (wh-movement)
- Introduction
- 11.1. The formation of V1- and V2-clauses
- 11.2. Clause-initial position remains (phonetically) empty
- 11.3. Clause-initial position is filled
- 12 Word order in the clause IV:Postverbal field (extraposition)
- 13 Word order in the clause V: Middle field (scrambling)
- 14 Main-clause external elements
- Nouns and Noun Phrases
- 1 Characterization and classification
- 2 Projection of noun phrases I: complementation
- Introduction
- 2.1. General observations
- 2.2. Prepositional and nominal complements
- 2.3. Clausal complements
- 2.4. Bibliographical notes
- 3 Projection of noun phrases II: modification
- Introduction
- 3.1. Restrictive and non-restrictive modifiers
- 3.2. Premodification
- 3.3. Postmodification
- 3.3.1. Adpositional phrases
- 3.3.2. Relative clauses
- 3.3.3. Infinitival clauses
- 3.3.4. A special case: clauses referring to a proposition
- 3.3.5. Adjectival phrases
- 3.3.6. Adverbial postmodification
- 3.4. Bibliographical notes
- 4 Projection of noun phrases III: binominal constructions
- Introduction
- 4.1. Binominal constructions without a preposition
- 4.2. Binominal constructions with a preposition
- 4.3. Bibliographical notes
- 5 Determiners: articles and pronouns
- Introduction
- 5.1. Articles
- 5.2. Pronouns
- 5.3. Bibliographical notes
- 6 Numerals and quantifiers
- 7 Pre-determiners
- Introduction
- 7.1. The universal quantifier al 'all' and its alternants
- 7.2. The pre-determiner heel 'all/whole'
- 7.3. A note on focus particles
- 7.4. Bibliographical notes
- 8 Syntactic uses of noun phrases
- Adjectives and Adjective Phrases
- 1 Characteristics and classification
- 2 Projection of adjective phrases I: Complementation
- 3 Projection of adjective phrases II: Modification
- 4 Projection of adjective phrases III: Comparison
- 5 Attributive use of the adjective phrase
- 6 Predicative use of the adjective phrase
- 7 The partitive genitive construction
- 8 Adverbial use of the adjective phrase
- 9 Participles and infinitives: their adjectival use
- 10 Special constructions
- Adpositions and adpositional phrases
- 1 Characteristics and classification
- Introduction
- 1.1. Characterization of the category adposition
- 1.2. A formal classification of adpositional phrases
- 1.3. A semantic classification of adpositional phrases
- 1.3.1. Spatial adpositions
- 1.3.2. Temporal adpositions
- 1.3.3. Non-spatial/temporal prepositions
- 1.4. Borderline cases
- 1.5. Bibliographical notes
- 2 Projection of adpositional phrases: Complementation
- 3 Projection of adpositional phrases: Modification
- 4 Syntactic uses of the adpositional phrase
- 5 R-pronominalization and R-words
- 1 Characteristics and classification
- Phonology
-
- General
- Phonology
- Segment inventory
- Phonotactics
- Phonological Processes
- Assimilation
- Vowel nasalization
- Syllabic sonorants
- Final devoicing
- Fake geminates
- Vowel hiatus resolution
- Vowel reduction introduction
- Schwa deletion
- Schwa insertion
- /r/-deletion
- d-insertion
- {s/z}-insertion
- t-deletion
- Intrusive stop formation
- Breaking
- Vowel shortening
- h-deletion
- Replacement of the glide w
- Word stress
- Clitics
- Allomorphy
- Orthography of Frisian
- Morphology
- Inflection
- Word formation
- Derivation
- Prefixation
- Infixation
- Suffixation
- Nominal suffixes
- Verbal suffixes
- Adjectival suffixes
- Adverbial suffixes
- Numeral suffixes
- Interjectional suffixes
- Onomastic suffixes
- Conversion
- Compositions
- Derivation
- Syntax
- Verbs and Verb Phrases
- Characteristics and classification
- Unergative and unaccusative subjects
- Evidentiality
- To-infinitival clauses
- Predication and noun incorporation
- Ellipsis
- Imperativus-pro-Infinitivo
- Expression of irrealis
- Embedded Verb Second
- Agreement
- Negation
- Nouns & Noun Phrases
- Classification
- Complementation
- Modification
- Partitive noun constructions
- Referential partitive constructions
- Partitive measure nouns
- Numeral partitive constructions
- Partitive question constructions
- Nominalised quantifiers
- Kind partitives
- Partitive predication with prepositions
- Bare nominal attributions
- Articles and names
- Pronouns
- Quantifiers and (pre)determiners
- Interrogative pronouns
- R-pronouns
- Syntactic uses
- Adjective Phrases
- Characteristics and classification
- Complementation
- Modification and degree quantification
- Comparison by degree
- Comparative
- Superlative
- Equative
- Attribution
- Agreement
- Attributive adjectives vs. prenominal elements
- Complex adjectives
- Noun ellipsis
- Co-occurring adjectives
- Predication
- Partitive adjective constructions
- Adverbial use
- Participles and infinitives
- Adposition Phrases
- Characteristics and classification
- Complementation
- Modification
- Intransitive adpositions
- Predication
- Preposition stranding
- Verbs and Verb Phrases
-
- General
- Morphology
- Morphology
- 1 Word formation
- 1.1 Compounding
- 1.1.1 Compounds and their heads
- 1.1.2 Special types of compounds
- 1.1.2.1 Affixoids
- 1.1.2.2 Coordinative compounds
- 1.1.2.3 Synthetic compounds and complex pseudo-participles
- 1.1.2.4 Reduplicative compounds
- 1.1.2.5 Phrase-based compounds
- 1.1.2.6 Elative compounds
- 1.1.2.7 Exocentric compounds
- 1.1.2.8 Linking elements
- 1.1.2.9 Separable Complex Verbs and Particle Verbs
- 1.1.2.10 Noun Incorporation Verbs
- 1.1.2.11 Gapping
- 1.2 Derivation
- 1.3 Minor patterns of word formation
- 1.1 Compounding
- 2 Inflection
- 1 Word formation
- Morphology
- Syntax
- Adjectives and adjective phrases (APs)
- 0 Introduction to the AP
- 1 Characteristics and classification of APs
- 2 Complementation of APs
- 3 Modification and degree quantification of APs
- 4 Comparison by comparative, superlative and equative
- 5 Attribution of APs
- 6 Predication of APs
- 7 The partitive adjective construction
- 8 Adverbial use of APs
- 9 Participles and infinitives as APs
- Nouns and Noun Phrases (NPs)
- 0 Introduction to the NP
- 1 Characteristics and Classification of NPs
- 2 Complementation of NPs
- 3 Modification of NPs
- 3.1 Modification of NP by Determiners and APs
- 3.2 Modification of NP by PP
- 3.3 Modification of NP by adverbial clauses
- 3.4 Modification of NP by possessors
- 3.5 Modification of NP by relative clauses
- 3.6 Modification of NP in a cleft construction
- 3.7 Free relative clauses and selected interrogative clauses
- 4 Partitive noun constructions and constructions related to them
- 4.1 The referential partitive construction
- 4.2 The partitive construction of abstract quantity
- 4.3 The numerical partitive construction
- 4.4 The partitive interrogative construction
- 4.5 Adjectival, nominal and nominalised partitive quantifiers
- 4.6 Kind partitives
- 4.7 Partitive predication with a preposition
- 4.8 Bare nominal attribution
- 5 Articles and names
- 6 Pronouns
- 7 Quantifiers, determiners and predeterminers
- 8 Interrogative pronouns
- 9 R-pronouns and the indefinite expletive
- 10 Syntactic functions of Noun Phrases
- Adpositions and Adpositional Phrases (PPs)
- 0 Introduction to the PP
- 1 Characteristics and classification of PPs
- 2 Complementation of PPs
- 3 Modification of PPs
- 4 Bare (intransitive) adpositions
- 5 Predication of PPs
- 6 Form and distribution of adpositions with respect to staticity and construction type
- 7 Adpositional complements and adverbials
- Verbs and Verb Phrases (VPs)
- 0 Introduction to the VP in Saterland Frisian
- 1 Characteristics and classification of verbs
- 2 Unergative and unaccusative subjects and the auxiliary of the perfect
- 3 Evidentiality in relation to perception and epistemicity
- 4 Types of to-infinitival constituents
- 5 Predication
- 5.1 The auxiliary of being and its selection restrictions
- 5.2 The auxiliary of going and its selection restrictions
- 5.3 The auxiliary of continuation and its selection restrictions
- 5.4 The auxiliary of coming and its selection restrictions
- 5.5 Modal auxiliaries and their selection restrictions
- 5.6 Auxiliaries of body posture and aspect and their selection restrictions
- 5.7 Transitive verbs of predication
- 5.8 The auxiliary of doing used as a semantically empty finite auxiliary
- 5.9 Supplementive predication
- 6 The verbal paradigm, irregularity and suppletion
- 7 Verb Second and the word order in main and embedded clauses
- 8 Various aspects of clause structure
- Adjectives and adjective phrases (APs)
-
- General
- Phonology
- Afrikaans phonology
- Segment inventory
- Overview of Afrikaans vowels
- The diphthongised long vowels /e/, /ø/ and /o/
- The unrounded mid-front vowel /ɛ/
- The unrounded low-central vowel /ɑ/
- The unrounded low-central vowel /a/
- The rounded mid-high back vowel /ɔ/
- The rounded high back vowel /u/
- The rounded and unrounded high front vowels /i/ and /y/
- The unrounded and rounded central vowels /ə/ and /œ/
- The diphthongs /əi/, /œy/ and /œu/
- Overview of Afrikaans consonants
- The bilabial plosives /p/ and /b/
- The alveolar plosives /t/ and /d/
- The velar plosives /k/ and /g/
- The bilabial nasal /m/
- The alveolar nasal /n/
- The velar nasal /ŋ/
- The trill /r/
- The lateral liquid /l/
- The alveolar fricative /s/
- The velar fricative /x/
- The labiodental fricatives /f/ and /v/
- The approximants /ɦ/, /j/ and /ʋ/
- Overview of Afrikaans vowels
- Word stress
- The phonetic properties of stress
- Primary stress on monomorphemic words in Afrikaans
- Background to primary stress in monomorphemes in Afrikaans
- Overview of the Main Stress Rule of Afrikaans
- The short vowels of Afrikaans
- Long vowels in monomorphemes
- Primary stress on diphthongs in monomorphemes
- Exceptions
- Stress shifts in place names
- Stress shift towards word-final position
- Stress pattern of reduplications
- Phonological processes
- Vowel related processes
- Consonant related processes
- Homorganic glide insertion
- Phonology-morphology interface
- Phonotactics
- Morphology
- Syntax
- Afrikaans syntax
- Nouns and noun phrases
- Characteristics of the NP
- Classification of nouns
- Complementation of NPs
- Modification of NPs
- Binominal and partitive constructions
- Referential partitive constructions
- Partitive measure nouns
- Numeral partitive constructions
- Partitive question constructions
- Partitive constructions with nominalised quantifiers
- Partitive predication with prepositions
- Binominal name constructions
- Binominal genitive constructions
- Bare nominal attribution
- Articles and names
- Pronouns
- Quantifiers, determiners and predeterminers
- Syntactic uses of the noun phrase
- Adjectives and adjective phrases
- Characteristics and classification of the AP
- Complementation of APs
- Modification and Degree Quantification of APs
- Comparison by comparative, superlative and equative degree
- Attribution of APs
- Predication of APs
- The partitive adjective construction
- Adverbial use of APs
- Participles and infinitives as adjectives
- Verbs and verb phrases
- Characterisation and classification
- Argument structure
- Verb frame alternations
- Complements of non-main verbs
- Verb clusters
- Complement clauses
- Adverbial modification
- Word order in the clause: Introduction
- Word order in the clause: position of the finite Verb
- Word order in the clause: Clause-initial position
- Word order in the clause: Extraposition and right-dislocation in the postverbal field
- Word order in the middle field
- Emphatic constructions
- Adpositions and adposition phrases
Dutch presents a process of voice assimilation in obstruent clusters which are the result of compounding.
In consonant clusters consisting of two obstruents, the voicing of the two obstruents will always be identical in the surface form, also in cases where these obstruents have different phonological voicing specifications. Yet, depending on the manner of articulation of the obstruents, the outcomes differ: the consonant cluster will be voiced if the second consonant is a voiced plosive; in all other combinations, the resulting consonant cluster surfaces as voiceless. Consider the overview in table 1 below. /b/, /p/, /z/ and /s/ represent voiced or voiceless plosives or voiced or voiceless fricatives, respectively.
These patterns have been attributed to different phonological processes, in particular regressive voice assimilation (RVA) versus progressive voice assimilation/ fricative devoicing.
1st obstruent | 2nd obstruent | Plosive | Fricative | ||
[+voice] | [-voice] | [+voice] | [-voice] | ||
(RVA) | (Final devoicing) | (Final devoicing) | (Final devoicing) | ||
Plosive | [+voice] | /bb/ → [bb] | /bp/ → [pp] | /bz/ → [ps] | /bs/ → [ps] |
[-voice] | /pb/ → [bb] | /pp/ → [pp] | /pz/ → [ps] | /ps/ → [ps] | |
Fricative | [+voice] | /zb/ → [zb] | /zp/ → [sp] | /zz/ → [ss] | /zs/ → [ss] |
[-voice] | /sb/ → [zb] | /sp/ → [sp] | /sz/ → [ss] | /ss/ → [ss] |
Voicing that takes place at the phrase level will be described below in section Fricative Voicing and in the topic about casual speech.
In Dutch, there exists an opposition between voiced and voiceless plosives, and voiced and voiceless fricatives. The feature±voiceis thus distinctive in the class of obstruents. No opposition exists between voiced and voiceless sonorants: all sonorants are phonetically voiced. The feature ±voice is thus not distinctive in the class of sonorants.
Dutch has the following obstruents: /p/, /t/, /k/, /f/, /s/, /x/, /b/, /d/, /v/, /z/, /ɣ/, /h/. These can be subdivided according to voicing:
- -voice: /p/, /t/, /k/, /f/, /s/, /x/ ,
- +voice: /b/, /d/, /v/, /z/, /ɣ/, /h/ .
The glottal fricative /h/ has no voiceless counterpart; furthermore, the voiceless velar plosive /k/ has no voiced counterpart in the native vocabulary, as /g/ only occurs in loanwords:
goal | /gol/ | goal |
oregano | /ɔregano/ | oregano |
The following list shows minimal pairs for plosives and fricatives:
paard | /pard/ | [part] | horse | vs. | baard | /bard/ | [bart] | beard |
pak | /pɑk/ | package | vs. | bak | /bɑk/ | vat | ||
pit | /pɪt/ | kernel | vs. | bit | /bɪt/ | bridle bit | ||
paal | /pal/ | pole | vs. | baal | /bal/ | bale | ||
tak | /tɑk/ | branch | vs. | dak | /dɑk/ | roof | ||
tik | /tɪk/ | tap | vs. | dik | /dɪk/ | fat | ||
top | /tɔp/ | peak | vs. | dop | /dɔp/ | button | ||
taal | /tal/ | language | vs. | daal | /dal/ | decline | ||
c | /se/ | <c> | vs. | zee | /ze/ | sea | ||
faal | /fal/ | fail | vs. | vaal | /val/ | pale |
For some Dutch dialects, amongst others Standard Dutch, the voicing contrast in fricatives appears to be less stable than the voicing contrast in plosives. Many speakers do not make a distinction between /x/ and /ɣ/, and between /f/ and /v/ in word-initial position. The distinction between /s/ and /z/ appears to be the most stable one. In cases of neutralization, both the voiced and the voiceless fricative are realised as voiceless (Collins and Mees 1981; Van de Velde et al. 1996; Kissine et al. 2003). (See also topics about velar fricatives /x/ and /ɣ/ and labiodental fricatives /f/ and /v/.)
Dutch is a so-called pre-voicing language: in word-initial positions, the voicing contrast in stops/plosives rests upon voice onset time (VOT; -70 ms for voiced, 20 ms for voiceless, cf. Lisker and Abramson 1964; Slis and Cohen 1969; -80 ms for voiced, 0-25 ms for voiceless, cf. Kager et al. 2007). So, Dutch distinguishes between phonetically voiced and phonetically voiceless plosives. In this respect, Dutch (together with Yiddish and Afrikaans) differs from the other Germanic languages, which are said to be aspiration languages, i.e. they have a contrast between phonetically voiceless unaspirated and phonetically voiceless aspirated obstruents (Kager et al. 2007; Van Alphen 2007; Kerkhoff 2007).
Dutch also differs from other Germanic languages in that the VOT distinction mentioned above does not hold for all obstruents but primarily for stops. In Dutch fricatives, the phonetic correlates of the contrast are somewhat different from those in plosives: while they are traditionally labelled as +voice, they do not always have phonetic voicing (Slis and Van Heugten 1989). Phonetic voicing thus is not a distinctive feature of phonologically +voice obstruents; yet, as reported in Slis and Cohen (1969), Slis and Van Heugten (1989) and Kissine et al. (2003), there is a significant difference in duration: voiceless (or fortis) fricatives have a significantly longer duration than voiced (or lenis) fricatives. None of the experiments, however, found significant duration differences for the velar fricatives /x/ and /ɣ/.
There are some restrictions on the distribution of voiced versus voiceless fricatives, which do not hold for voiced versus voiceless plosives. Voiced fricatives can only occur after A-class vowels, whereas voiceless fricatives can only occur after B-class vowels:
knuffel | /knʏfəl/ | hug | but | *kneufel | /*knøfəl/ |
heuvel | /høvəl/ | hill | but | *huvvel | /*hœvəl/ |
This restriction does not hold for plosives. Both voiced and voiceless plosives can occur after A-class vowels and B-class vowels:
ratel | /ratəl/ | rattle |
radar | /radɑr/ | radar |
adder | /ɑdər/ | adder |
otter | /ɔtər/ | otter |
For more information see the topic on general co-occurrence restrictions in rhymes.
Regressive voice assimilation (RVA) occurs in consonant clusters where the second obstruent is a voiced plosive. In such cases, the first obstruent of the cluster agrees in voicing with the voiced plosive. Thus, phonologically voiceless coda obstruents become voiced according to RVA, and counter to final devoicing. Some examples are provided below:
strop-das | /strɔp.dɑs/ | [ˈstrɔbdɑs] | tie | ||||
zand-bak | /zɑnd.bɑk/ | [ˈzɑndbɑk] | sandpit | (cf. | zand | [zɑnt] | ) |
lach-bui | /lɑx.bœy/ | [ˈlɑɣbœy] | laughter | ||||
huis-baas | /hœyz.baz/ | [ˈhœyzbas] | landlord | (cf. | huis | [hœys] | ) |
If the second plosive in the cluster is voiceless, the whole cluster always surfaces as voiceless:
ijk-punt | /ɛik.pʏnt/ | [ˈɛikpʏnt] | checkpoint |
bloed-proef | /blud.pruv/ | [ˈblutpruf] | blood test |
druk-fout | /drʏk.fɑut/ | [ˈdrʏkfɑut] | misprint |
From a phonological perspective, it cannot be determined whether this assimilation in voicing quality is a case of RVA, or whether the cluster-initial obstruent surfaces as voiceless due to final devoicing; both processes would lead to the same outcome.
RVA not only applies in complex words but also in underived ones. The effect is visible in loanword adaptation, where combinations of a voiceless obstruent and a voiced plosive are never found, even if these clusters are allowed in the source language:
Lesbos | /lɛs.bɔs/ | [ˈlɛzbɔs] | Lesbos |
asbest | /ɑs.bɛst/ | [ˈɑzbɛst] | asbestos |
anekdote | /anɛk.dotə/ | [anɛgˈdotə] | anecdote |
Sonorant consonants and vowels do not trigger regressive voice assimilation:
zandloper | /zɑnd.lopər/ | [ˈzɑntlopər] | [*zɑndlopər] | sand glass |
goudader | /ɣɑud.adər/ | [ˈɣɑutadər] | [*ɣɑudadər] | gold vein |
In compound words with three-obstruent clusters, consisting of a word-final plosive-fricative cluster and a word-initial voiced plosive, regressive voice assimilation applies as well. The complete plosive-fricative cluster is pronounced as voiced:
fietsbel | /fits.bɛl/ | [fi̬t̬sbɛl] | bell |
Piets deken | /pits.dekən/ | [pi̬t̬sdekən] | national dollar |
If the third consonant of the cluster is a voiceless plosive, the whole cluster will be produced without voicing (regardless of the underlying voice values of this plosive-fricative cluster):
Jaaps tunnel | /japs.tʏnəl/ | [japstʏnəl] | Jaap's tunnel |
In three-consonant clusters where the third consonant is a sonorant consonant, voice assimilation only applies partially: the plosive-fricative cluster carries some voicing. If the plosive-fricative cluster is followed by /h/ or a vowel (phonetically starting with [ʔ], a voiceless stop), voice assimilation does not apply (Jansen 2007).
A final obstruent followed by a major phonological boundary (e.g. intonational phrase) is usually perceived as voiceless. Obstruents followed by a phonological boundary are ‘acoustically relatively long’, and long obstruents ‘tend to be perceived as voiceless’.
In obstruent-fricative clusters in compounds, the voicing of the two members of the consonant cluster is identical in the surface form: such clusters always surface as voiceless, regardless of the underlying voice values of the two members; thus even when both consonants are underlyingly voiced:
As can be deduced from the these patterns, a fricative in the second position of such a cluster always surfaces as voiceless, regardless of its underlying specification for voice. This process is known as fricative devoicing, or progressive voice assimilation. The obstruent preceding the fricative always surfaces as voiceless as well, which can be attributed to final devoicing. From a phonological perspective, voicing of the following voiced fricative does not spread to the preceding obstruent, rather, it is -voiceof the preceding obstruent that spreads to the fricative.
The Dutch past tense suffix surfaces as /-tə/ or /-də/ for the simple past, depending on the voice values of the final phoneme of the verb stem:
Final segment (underlying) | Past tense suffix |
Vowel | /-də/ |
Sonorant consonant | /-də/ |
Voiced obstruent | /-də/ |
Voiceless obstruent | /-tə/ |
A similar pattern holds for the distribution of the present perfect and past perfect circumfix /ɣə-X-t/ or /ɣə-X-d/.
The Dutch past tense suffix surfaces as /-tə/ or /-də/ for the simple past, and as the circumfix /ɣə-X-t/ or /ɣə-X-d/ for the present perfect and past perfect. The choice of which suffix depends on the voice values of the final phoneme of the verb stem. If the verb stem ends in a vowel or sonorant consonant, the simple past suffix will be /-də/ (Zonneveld 1983,2007; Booij 1995; Grijzenhout and Krämer 1999; Ernestus 2000):
noemde | /numdə/ | called | (inf. | noemen | ) |
roerde | /rurdə/ | stirred | (inf. | roeren | ) |
voelde | /vuldə/ | felt | (inf. | voelen | ) |
aaide | /ajdə/ | stroked | (inf. | aaien | ) |
skide | /skidə/ | skied | (inf. | skiën | ) |
If the final phoneme of the verb stem is an obstruent, the choice of /-tə/ or /-də/ depends on the (underlying) voice specification of the stem-final obstruent: the suffix will be /-tə/ if the stem-final obstruent is underlyingly voiceless, and it will be /-də/ if the stem-final obstruent is underlyingly voiced:
klapte | /klɑptə/ | clapped | (inf. | klappen | ) |
lette | /lɛtə/ | watched | (inf. | (op)letten | ) |
jankte | /jɑŋktə/ | cried | (inf. | janken | ) |
fietste | /fitstə/ | cycled | (inf. | fietsen | ) |
mafte | /mɑftə/ | snoozed | (inf. | maffen | ) |
juichte | /jœyxtə/ | cheered | (inf. | juichen | ) |
krabde | /krɑbdə/ | scratched | (inf. | krabben | ) |
redde | /rɛdə/ | saved | (inf. | redden | ) |
reisde | /rɛizdə/ | travelled | (inf. | reizen | ) |
proefde | /pruvdə/ | tasted | (inf. | proeven | ) |
legde | /lɛɣdə/ | layed | (inf. | leggen | ) |
The choice of which suffix to select in the case of the present perfect or past perfect circumfix is made in the same way; however, this is only visible if the verb is adjectivized and followed by a schwa. If used as a verb or in attributive position without a final schwa, the final consonant will always be voiceless: the final /d/ of the circumfix undergoes final devoicing, and thus surfaces as [t]:
genoemd | /ɣənumd/ | [ɣənumt] | called | (inf. | noemen | ) |
geroerd | /ɣərurd/ | [ɣərurt] | stirred | (inf. | roeren | ) |
gevoeld | /ɣəvuld/ | [ɣəvult] | felt | (inf. | voelen | ) |
geaaid | /ɣəajd/ | [ɣəajt] | stroked | (inf. | aaien | ) |
geskid | /ɣəskid/ | [ɣəskit] | skied | (inf. | skiën | ) |
geklapt | /ɣəklɑpt/ | clapped | (inf. | klappen | ) |
gelet | /ɣəlɛt/ | watched | (inf. | letten | ) |
gejankt | /ɣəjɑŋkt/ | cried | (inf. | janken | ) |
gefietst | /ɣəfitst/ | cycled | (inf. | fietsen | ) |
gemaft | /ɣəmɑft/ | snoozed | (inf. | maffen | ) |
gejuicht | /ɣəjœyxt/ | cheered | (inf. | juichen | ) |
gekrabd | /ɣəkrɑbd/ | [ɣəkrɑpt] | scratched | (inf. | krabben | ) |
gered | /ɣərɛd/ | [ɣərɛt] | saved | (inf. | redden | ) |
gereisd | /ɣərɛizd/ | [ɣərɛist] | travelled | (inf. | reizen | ) |
geproefd | /ɣəpruvd/ | [ɣəpruft] | tasted | (inf. | proeven | ) |
gelegd | /ɣəlɛɣd/ | [ɣəlɛxt] | layed | (inf. | leggen | ) |
Phonologically, the circumfix must have a /d/ rather than a /t/, which can be seen if the past participle is used as an adjective (Zonneveld 2007):
genoemde | /ɣənumdə/ | [ɣənumdə] | called |
geroerde | /ɣərurdə/ | [ɣərurdə] | stirred |
gereisde | /ɣərɛizdə/ | [ɣərɛizdə] | travelled |
Fricative voicing is a phonological process at the phrase level: voiceless fricatives that appear at the end of a prosodic word can surface as voiced if they are preceded by a sonorant consonant or vowel, and followed by a vocoid in the following prosodic word (Booij 1995):
pas op | /pɑs-ɔp/ | [pɑzɔp] | watch out |
twaalf uur | /twalf-yr/ | [twalvyr] | twelve o’clock |
was je | /wɑs-jə/ | [wɑzjə] | were you |
wasje | /wɑsjə/ | [wɑsjə] | some laundry |
The examples was je and wasje indicate that the process only applies at the sentence level, i.e. in the two prosodic wordswas je; within the single prosodic word wasje, the rule does not apply.
In intervocalic position, the voiceless fricatives /f/ and /s/ may be realised as voiced (Collins and Mees 1981); this happens much less frequently with the velar fricative /x/(Mees and Collins 1982):
af en toe | /ɑf-ən-tu/ | [ɑfəntu] | [ɑvəntu] | occasionally |
rasecht | /rɑs-ɛxt/ | [rɑsɛxt] | [rɑzɛxt] | pure-bred |
More information about phonological processes at the phrase level can be found in the topic about phonological processes in casual speech.
Clitics in Dutch do not always behave in the same way with respect to voicing. There is a variety of phenomena discussed below; many of the processes are optional.
First, there is a group of clitics that can trigger both regressive voice assimilation and progressive voice assimilation. Van Haeringen (1955) was one of the first to attempt to describe this phenomenon. He argues that the group of words below which can form clitics through attaching to a preceding or following word, triggers progressive voice assimilation, while /d/-initial words usually trigger regressive voice assimilation when preceded by an obstruent:
de | /də/ | the |
dit | /dɪt/ | this |
deze | /dezə/ | this, these |
dat | /dɑt/ | that |
die | /di/ | that, which |
daar | /dar/ | there |
d’r | /dər/ | there, her |
dan | /dɑn/ | than, then |
dus | /dʏs/ | thus |
Zonneveld (1983), Berendsen (1986), Booij (1995) and Ernestus (2000) noticed that these clitics do not only trigger progressive voice assimilation, but also regressive voice assimilation (see sections above). When triggering regressive voice assimilation, the final obstruent of the preceding word surfaces as voiced, even if it is underlyingly voiceless. When triggering progressive voice assimilation, the initial obstruent of the second word, i.e. the clitic, surfaces as voiceless, regardless of the underlying voice values of the preceding obstruent:
lees de | /lez-də/ | [lezdə] | [lestə] | read the |
lees dit | /lez-dɪt/ | [lezdɪt] | [lesdɪt] | read this |
lees deze | /lez-dezə/ | [lezdezə] | [lestesə] | read these |
lees dat | /lez-dɑt/ | [lezdɑt] | [lestɑt] | read that |
op die | /ɔp-di/ | [ɔbdi] | [ɔpti] | on this |
heb daar | /hɛb-dar/ | [hɛbdar] | [hɛptar] | have there |
geef d’r | /ɣev-dər/ | [ɣevdər] | [ɣeftər] | give her |
dat dan | /dɑt-dɑn/ | [dɑdɑn] | [dɑtɑn] | that then |
had dus | /hɑd-dʏs/ | [hɑdʏs] | [hɑtʏs] | had thus |
According to Berendsen (1986) and Booij (1995), the clitic /də/ always surfaces as [tə] when it follows a final /t/:
hij leest de krant | [lest-tə] | → | [lestə] | [*lesd.də] | → | [*lezdə] | he reads the newspaper |
The clitics -ie and -er (variants of die and der) always surface after /t/- and /d/-final words. Die and der can never surface in these contexts:
stond 'ie | [stɔnti] | [*stɔndi] | stood he |
vond d'r | [vɔntər] | [*vɔndər] | found her |
The other consonant-initial clitics of Dutch are only discussed by Berendsen (1986). The obstruent-initial clitics of Dutch are the clitics starting with /d/ (discussed above) and the clitics starting with /z/: -ze (subject use she, or object use them), -zen ( his) and -zich ( him/herself). When these clitics follow an obstruent-final word, they surface with initial [s] (cf. fricative devoicing). When they follow a sonorant consonant or a vowel, they remain /z/(Berendsen 1986):
gaf ze | /ɣɑv-zə/ | [ɣɑfsə] | gave she/ them |
had ze | /hɑd-zə/ | [hɑtsə] | had she/ them |
viel ze | /vil-zə/ | [vilzə] | fell she |
zou ze | /zau-zə/ | [zauzə] | would she |
The sonorant-initial clitics of Dutch are -je ( you), -we ( we), -me (<