#1
|
|||
|
|||
Dutch culture
Goede Morgen :-)
Reading a book about Dutch culture last night there was this passage about Dutch cycling. http://www.simonmason.karoo.net/zdutch.htm -- Simon M. |
Ads |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
Dutch culture
"Simon Mason" wrote in message ...
Goede Morgen :-) Reading a book about Dutch culture last night there was this passage about Dutch cycling. Brings back happy memories of many enjoyable cycling tours there, the only place other than on the London-Brighton I have ever been in a bike-jam ;-) |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
Dutch culture
Nice quote Simon,
What was the book and who is it by? This is also interesting. It was on the net but now has gone. It is by the author of http://www.kung-foo.tv/ 'The Dutch thrive on "gezelligheid". It is such a highly valued and aspired concept that there is no foreign word that equals it. Roughly, it means a warm, cosy and homely feeling that you are doing the right thing by contributing to the wellbeing of one and all. As such, it applies to any context where you and/or your companions feel like you're just created a safe and warm home, a place where you are feeling happy and comfortable with the present companions, just for that single moment. Gezelligheid does not depend on wealth, a comfortable place, warmth, or what not. You can hear the phrase "He! Wat gezellig!" (Hey! How "cosy" it is!) in the weirdest situations. Sitting on the porch of a 'losmen' (lodgement) in Pangandaran, Indonesia, in the late afternoon, looking at the rain pouring down while drinking coffee "toebroek" can make you and your friend sigh and exclaim simultaneously: "He! Wat gezellig!". Even a junkie in a squatter's house at one of the Amsterdam canals can go like "He, gezellig!", when, with his friends passed out on the floor, the sun is breaking through the window and the smell of fresh bread from the baker at the corner of the street is seeping through the cracks of the floors. Gezelligheid is a state of mind.' |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
Dutch culture
"Howard" wrote in message
om... Nice quote Simon, What was the book and who is it by? This is also interesting. It was on the net but now has gone. It is by the author of http://www.kung-foo.tv/ 'The Dutch thrive on "gezelligheid". It is such a highly valued and aspired concept that there is no foreign word that equals it. Sorry, bad news for you: the literal translation is "fellowship". Roughly, it means a warm, cosy and homely feeling that you are doing the right thing by contributing to the wellbeing of one and all. Yes, indeed. -- Mark South Citizen of the World, Denizen of the Net Tiens! Ce poulet a une grenade! |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
Dutch culture
|
#7
|
|||
|
|||
Dutch culture
"Marten Hoffmann" wrote in message
... lid schreef ... "Howard" wrote in message om... Nice quote Simon, What was the book and who is it by? This is also interesting. It was on the net but now has gone. It is by the author of http://www.kung-foo.tv/ 'The Dutch thrive on "gezelligheid". It is such a highly valued and aspired concept that there is no foreign word that equals it. Sorry, bad news for you: the literal translation is "fellowship". We interrupt this message with the following: the literal translation of 'gezelligheid' is not 'fellowship'. Being Dutch, I should know ..... The description by the previous poster is more accurate. 'Gezelligheid' is not translatable (is that correct English?). This is beginning to sound like the German claim that "gemuetlich" (content) is untranslatable. In other words, you are claiming that your nation has something that no other has. You should be aware that every nation has such a set of self-myths. So what's The Fellowship of the Ring called in Dutch? Roughly, it means a warm, cosy and homely feeling that you are doing the right thing by contributing to the wellbeing of one and all. Yes, indeed. True. In England this would probably be more likely to be described as "parliamentarianism" :-( -- "To live in San Francisco and just not care that there are naked triathletes running across your lawn, that's just a waste of exhibitionism." - Kibo |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
Dutch culture
In article ,
Marten Hoffmann writes: We interrupt this message with the following: the literal translation of 'gezelligheid' is not 'fellowship'. Being Dutch, I should know ..... Not being dutch I wouldn't know. OTOH my knowledge of other languages (excluding dutch) leads me to suggest "companionship". But I also understand it's a word that carries meaning over and above the literal to native speakers. I wonder if it's a rather good expression of something that's well-known to open-source software developers? -- Nick Kew |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
Dutch culture
On Wed, 19 May 2004 23:58:49 +0200, Mark South wrote:
"Marten Hoffmann" wrote in message ... lid schreef ... "Howard" wrote in message om... Nice quote Simon, What was the book and who is it by? This is also interesting. It was on the net but now has gone. It is by the author of http://www.kung-foo.tv/ 'The Dutch thrive on "gezelligheid". It is such a highly valued and aspired concept that there is no foreign word that equals it. Sorry, bad news for you: the literal translation is "fellowship". We interrupt this message with the following: the literal translation of 'gezelligheid' is not 'fellowship'. Being Dutch, I should know ..... The description by the previous poster is more accurate. 'Gezelligheid' is not translatable (is that correct English?). This is beginning to sound like the German claim that "gemuetlich" (content) is untranslatable. In other words, you are claiming that your nation has something that no other has. You should be aware that every nation has such a set of self-myths. So what's The Fellowship of the Ring called in Dutch? I think it's 'de Reisgenoten' (travelling companions?) bimbw. I don't understand your reference to the German 'gemuetlich' (content). 'Gemuetlich' often translates as 'cosy' or 'snug' and isn't very different to gezellig although my German-Dutch dictionary doesn't translate 'gemuetlich' as 'gezellig' or vice versa. Translation isn't as simple as you imply. One-to-one correspondence between words in different languages is often lacking. This doesn't necessarily mean that one nation has something another doesn't. It may just mean that speakers of one language haven't found it necessary to invent a word to communicate something represented by a single word in another language. Both the German words 'Schadenfreude' and 'Zeitgeist' have been imported into English because there are no single word equivalents. -- Michael MacClancy Random putdown - "I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it." -Groucho Marx www.macclancy.demon.co.uk www.macclancy.co.uk |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
Dutch culture
"Howard" wrote in message om... Nice quote Simon, What was the book and who is it by? It was this one. Actually there is a much better one that I read in Holland when staying with friends, but I can't for the life of me remember what it was called. http://www.ovalbooks.com/xeno/Dutch.html -- Simon M. |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Dutch Bikes, Literally | Elisa Francesca Roselli | General | 12 | November 5th 03 11:19 AM |
Dutch cycling song | Simon Mason | UK | 9 | September 19th 03 09:38 AM |