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Online resources for
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DutchIn the 1600's the Dutch language was beginning to modernize. The Republic shed Spain finally in 1648 with the Peace of Munster and was recognized not only as an independent country but also as a world power. Growing consciousness of Dutch as a shared language was a crucial part of that process. Antony van Leeuwenhoek wrote in what we now call Modern Dutch, so an understanding of today's Dutch lets you read most of the writing of van Leeuwenhoek and his contemporaries. Other than the idioms, the biggest difference is the spelling. The biggest challenge, even for those who know the language, is van Leeuwenhoek's discursive writing style. Sentences get extended with dashes and colons and then lose their syntactical focus. The Wikipedia has a useful overview in English of the history of the Dutch language to get you started. Also helpful is short online history of Dutch (in Dutch), especially the 16th and 17th centuries. Also in 1648, Hendrick Hexham, an ex-soldier, published Het Groot Woordenboeck, the first Dutch-English / English-Dutch dictionary, including a grammar.
This invaluable tool is currently available as one big .pdf file online from the Stichting Instituut voor Nederlandse Lexicologie. A group there is busy digitizing it. The best discussions of Leeuwenhoek's use of Dutch: B.C. Damsteegt's "Language and Leeuwenhoek", in Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, 1632 - 1723: studies on the life and work of the Delft scientist commemorating the 350th anniversary of his birthday, edited by L. C. Palm and H. A. M. Snelders in 1982. Dobell, C. "Leeuwenhoek's Language", part ii (pp. 305 - 313) of the Elucidations and Annotations in Antony van Leeuwenhoek and his "Little animals. London: Constable and Company Limited, 1932.
Translating the Dutch Van Leeuwenhoek saw things that did not have names or had common names that have in the last three hundred years been replaced by more "scientific" names. Often, van Leeuwenhoek made a noun from a verb. For example, he saw that between a muscle and a bone is another structure involved in moving the bone, which in Dutch is uytrekkende. He then called it a trekker. The literal translation is "puller"; we now call it a tendon. Should a translation preserve the old-fashioned flavor or be more scientifically current? This example is complicated by the translation of an earlier letter (get ref), when van Leeuwenhoek used trekker and it appears in Philosophical Transactions as "puller". I decided on the former option, to preserve the old-fashioned flavor. The first time each of the following words appears in one of the Send-Brieven / Epistle summaries, I put the modern term in brackets. Diertjens is the word van Leeuwenhoek used to describe micro-organisms: bacteria, protozoa, and sperm. In Philosophical Transactions, the translators used "animalcules", which works better for bacteria and protozoa, which are independent organisms. A sperm cell, while "living", is not the same order of animal as bacteria and protozoa, so I have used the more literal translation of "little animals". While I had native Dutch speakers help with some of the idioms, I take full responsibility for these translations and welcome any corrections or suggestions.
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Dutch dictionary / grammar
Van Dale dictionary
Donaldson grammar I use and recommend these books, though I use the computer version of the Van Dale.
Dutch Grammar OnlineTheir is a wide variety available to accommodate many learning styles. These are sites that I found most useful as an independent learner. Wikibooks' Dutch is an open-content textbook of the Dutch language. Virtual Dutch has helpful reference grammars, both beginning and advanced. At DutchGrammar.com's Learning Dutch grammar, the discussion forums are especially helpful for usage distinctions.
Dr. Pierre Godin's Basisgrammatica van het Nederlands Taalhuis's online Dutch course Dutch Today has helpful exercises and tutorials.
Leren.nl has an annotated list of Dutch language resources.
Onze Taal is an online magazine about the Dutch language. |
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Word list for translating For the translations of the inhoudsopgaven, summaries of the Send-Brieven / Epistles, I tried to use the following terms consistently. I used Hexham's Woordenboek, the most recent Van Dale, and in some cases, prior translations of van Leeuwenhoek's letters. I am happy to hear from anyone who wants to suggest alternate translations. aangetoont - demonstrate, prove, reveal, show beginsel - beginning (Hexham: commencement, beginning, undertaking) deeltjes - parts, particles gemelde - mentioned hoorn-vlies - cornea inkrimpingen - ridges klapperboom - coconut-palm tree ledekens - little limbs maaksel - form, fashion, or shape (van Dale: make, product) naar de kunst uytgerekent - ? ommetrekken - contours poot - leg, sometimes foot or paw ringsgewyse - circular, ringlike schors - bark of tree or rind of fruit teykenaar - draftsman uytgestooten - expelled vernoegen - to content or satisfy zaadhuysen - seed casings |
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free to download, is a quick word look-up with both directions (Dutch-English and English-Dutch) in the same interface. It is weak on usage examples but strong on plurals, gender indications, and verb forms. For example, if you enter the 3rd-person singular past tense of an irregular (strong) verb, you will get the infinitive.
For verb forms, 
tried dozens of Dutch language sites, and these are the three I returned to most often.
than listen online, I download them as podcasts, so that I can replay parts.
site est: June 2009 / page last modified: September 1, 2009
by Douglas Anderson / © 2009
http://LensOnLeeuwenhoek.net/dutch.htm