The Medusa Fora

I've just founded a band this weekend. It's called ''Dag Des Oordeels'', which means ''Day of Judgement'' in Dutch. We're not really a Pogues-inspired band, despite me being a loyal Pogues fan and doing plenty of covers, but since I've been a member of this forum for a while I thought it might be relevant. I've just fixed the MySpace, but I've got to upload some songs.

Also, if you're in the Tennessee area and want to join, send me a PM here or on MySpace. Currently we need drums, guitar (lead mostly, but rhythm is acceptable) and bass. The lyrics will mostly be in Dutch or smadgering of Latin chants, but no actual knowledge of Dutch or Latin is recquired to play an instrument or sing back-up vocals.

Without any further ado, I give you Dag Des Oordeels!

Hah so it was you who added us. I was thinking what *** would start a Dutch-orientated band inthe US

Wie? Een mafketal zoals 'k.

Hehe, good luck with the band, bokkelul!

Dankjewel, paardelul!

According to new spelling it is 'bokkeNlul' and 'paardeNlul' and it is mafketel

The new spelling? From het Groene Bookje or het Witte Boekje?

Edit: Actually, to hell with the new spelling. I'm bringing back the case system from Middle Dutch, baby. Lul des boks!

TheIrishRover wrote:The new spelling? From het Groene Bookje or het Witte Boekje?

Edit: Actually, to hell with the new spelling. I'm bringing back the case system from Middle Dutch, baby. Lul des boks!

The green book of course! The white book is for smartass Dutchmen!

Hraah hedaan oh ja ja ja g is een h en h is heen letter! Oh ja ja ja.

West Vlaamse freaks

TheIrishRover wrote:Hraah hedaan oh ja ja ja g is een h en h is heen letter! Oh ja ja ja.

West Vlaamse freaks

Haha! This has nothing to do with dialects. The white book was written by a couple of Dutch journalists who didn't agree with the changes in the new spelling.
By the way, it's West-Vlaams.

But what discussion of anything related to the Dutch language can really be considered complete without a bit of dialect bashing? I mean, come on, it's the trans-national passtime for Dutch-speaking countries.

Funny idea. But why??

People ask me the same when I ramble on in Middle English. The standard reply: why not?


For a more serious answer: I've been corrupted by bands like Elakelaiset and that punk outfit from America who sing in Scots-Gaelic. My first attempt at something similar was solo Irish-British folk songs translated into Middle English. I've moved onto Dutch now, because it's even more obscure. My outdated usage of Dutch noun inflection in the music will also be obscure to varying degrees even to its target audience. So, really, this isn't anything new to me.

Also, I've found that novelty bands like this can also help promote the language they use. Being a strong proponent of multilingualism, multiculturalism, culture-sharing and so forth, this is a natural extension of my beliefs. While it can be seen in a comedic light, and I'm proud of the band's somewhat comedic nature, but it's also really useful. Dutch isn't a commonly-taught language really, and this is an effort to preserve it. While I think Dutch is in no immediate threat for survival, things such as this can introduce it to a wider audience, encourage its use/learning and help ensure Dutch remains a strong, active language so that future generations won't have to worry about its survival. Remember, just because its status is safe for our generation doesn't mean it will be so for our kids and grandkids, so this helps preserve it even more so that it shan't ever share the fate of many languages.

One other motivation is my process of learning Dutch also. Using Dutch to sing and write songs will help me as well by strengthening my grammar and building vocabulary in a new and exciting way.

TheIrishRover wrote:While I think Dutch is in no immediate threat for survival, things such as this can introduce it to a wider audience, encourage its use/learning and help ensure Dutch remains a strong, active language so that future generations won't have to worry about its survival.

Then why do you use this old case system?

Using any form of Dutch is enough to strike the interest of a non-native speaker. I doubt my music is going to be the primary form of instruction in Dutch, so I can't see how it's harmful. It's more of a curiosity-striking thing. Once their curiosity in Dutch is sparked, they'll hopefully learn it somewhere.

Also, I've found that many native speakers I know don't even know much about the old case system, and I've even had people mistake it for German. It can be benificial to them also to learn more about their language's history.

I can't see how it's harmful though.