Lesson 104B2

Society & Public Life

Public-affairs Dutch is dominated by abstract nouns built with -heid, -ing and -schap, and by compounds that stack three or four elements. Once you can parse the suffixes, most of this vocabulary decodes itself.

Grammar Comparison

-heid, -ing and -schap build the abstract vocabulary

Dutch

de ongelijkheid, de wetgeving, de maatschappij

English

inequality, legislation, society

-heid turns an adjective into an abstract noun and is always de: de ongelijkheid, de veiligheid, de duurzaamheid. -ing turns a verb into a process noun, also de: de wetgeving, de bezuiniging. -schap gives a state or collective and can be de or het: de vriendschap but het genootschap. Because the suffix fixes the gender, these words never pose an article problem.

Policy compounds stack from the right

Dutch

het overheidsbeleid, de arbeidsmarkt, de woningnood

English

government policy, the labour market, the housing shortage

Public-affairs terms are compounds with a linking -s-: overheid + s + beleid, arbeid + s + markt. Split from the right to find the head, which supplies the meaning and the gender: het beleid gives het overheidsbeleid. This stacking is why Dutch newspaper headlines can be one word where English needs four.

Fixed phrases for rights and obligations

Dutch

de vrijheid van meningsuiting, het recht op onderwijs, verplicht zijn tot

English

freedom of expression, the right to education, to be obliged to

Rights take recht op, freedoms take vrijheid van, and obligations take verplicht zijn tot or verplicht zijn te. These prepositions are fixed and differ from the English ones in places — English says 'right to' and Dutch agrees with op, but 'freedom of speech' becomes vrijheid van meningsuiting, where the noun itself is a compound of mening ('opinion') and uiting ('expression').

Vocabulary

de samenlevingduh SAH-men-lay-ving

English: society

de overheidduh OH-ver-hayt

English: the government / authorities

het beleidhet buh-LAYT

English: the policy

de wetgevingduh VET-khay-ving

English: the legislation

de ongelijkheidduh on-khe-LAYK-hayt

English: inequality

de verantwoordelijkheidduh ver-ahnt-VOHR-de-lik-hayt

English: responsibility

de belastingduh buh-LAHS-ting

English: the tax

de arbeidsmarktduh AHR-bayts-mahrkt

English: the labour market

de vrijheid van meningsuitingduh VRAY-hayt vahn MAY-nings-ow-ting

English: freedom of expression

de verkiezingenduh ver-KEE-zing-en

English: the elections

Dutch	Pronunciation	English
de samenleving	duh SAH-men-lay-ving	society
de overheid	duh OH-ver-hayt	the government / authorities
het beleid	het buh-LAYT	the policy
de wetgeving	duh VET-khay-ving	the legislation
de ongelijkheid	duh on-khe-LAYK-hayt	inequality
de verantwoordelijkheid	duh ver-ahnt-VOHR-de-lik-hayt	responsibility
de belasting	duh buh-LAHS-ting	the tax
de arbeidsmarkt	duh AHR-bayts-mahrkt	the labour market
de vrijheid van meningsuiting	duh VRAY-hayt vahn MAY-nings-ow-ting	freedom of expression
de verkiezingen	duh ver-KEE-zing-en	the elections

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