Hi,
I’m looking for Flemish specific content. Podcasts, audio books, etc. If anyone has any suggestions or links, please let me know.
Thank you,
Ian
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Do you mean content for beginners or advanced learners? Some Flemish radio stations and tv stations have podcasts. Advanced content would be easy to find since I’m a native speaker.
Edit:
Here’s one: Stream Podvis music | Listen to songs, albums, playlists for free on SoundCloud
Podcasts by a Belgian radio station: https://radio1.be/de-podcasts-van-radio1
Site listing Flemish podcasts: https://vlaamsepodcasts.be/
I am looking for more of the beginner to intermediate level. I could understand it and speak some when I was a kid but I’ve forgotten most of it. I wouldn’t be opposed to taking a look at advanced stuff either, if that’s all you have.
Because Flemish is a dialect of Dutch, it’s hard to find any sources that are aimed at people who want to learn Belgian Dutch. I tried to find some easy Flemish podcasts but didn’t find any so far.
Thanks for the link!
Yes, my father is Flanders and I spent some time there when I was young. It’s been really difficult trying to find Flemish learning resources. For the past six months I’ve been watching 1-2 hours a day of Flemish TV shows on Belgian Netflix with Dutch/Flemish subtitles and I listen to VBRO too when I can, which has helped me quite a bit.
If you ever come across a Flemish podcast that has the text available with it too, or any other Flemish book, program, etc., don’t hesitate to let me know!
Ian,
What you’re doing is great. There are a number of top-rate Belgian Dutch TV shows on Netflix: Tabula Rasa, (Hotel) Beau Séjour, Undercover, De Bende van Jan de Lichte. (Some of the best shows I’ve seen in any language.) Several of my favorite Belgian Dutch actors are on these shows. My favorite character is Vronsky on Tabula Rasa, played by Peter Van den Begin. I managed to download the text to Tabula Rasa from a web site that no longer exists. It is written for the most part in Standard Dutch, with a few Belgian expressions thrown in for good measure, so it doesn’t follow the script exactly, but it is still a great reference. If I had a way to send it to you, I would. There are also old episodes of the Belgian soap opera Thuis on YouTube, but unfortunately no subtitles, just the auto CC subtitles that are not even worth turning on. It’s still worth listening to, just to tune your ear to what a Flemish dialect sounds like. There are many, many dialects of Dutch, both north and south, so there isn’t any single dialect to learn. The best you can do from a distance is to try to learn a semblance of Standard Dutch, but if you end up in Belgium, then I would suggest the obvious: go for learning the local dialect of whatever city or dorp you end up in, from locals who are willing to help you. In the meantime if you learn Standard Dutch, it will help you immensely. I’ve been learning Dutch for quite some time now, so if there’s anything I can help you with, just ask and ik zal mijn best doen.
Currently you can find 8 seasons of Thuis here: Throwback THUIS - YouTube
Best of luck, but most of all, have fun learning Dutch!
Bruce
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Thanks for the comment Bruce!
Yup, I’ve seen all those shows that you mentioned. If you use a VPN, you can get access to a lot more Flemish shows on Netflix. Some of them even have Flemish specific subtitles.
Yup, I do the know the show Thuis. My great-aunt here used to watch it. Where I live in Ontario, there is a sizable Flemish farming community, mainly in Tobacco (the industry used to be much bigger than it is now.) Most of the families are from West and East Flanders, but there are some from Antwerp province too that I know. Half of my family is from West Flanders and the other half is from East Flanders but right on the West Flemish border. So, I am very familiar with those accents. But with all of the shows on Netflix that I’ve been watching, it’s helped me better recognize the other Flemish accents too. Most of the Flemish here in this area are now third and fourth generation, so not a lot of them speak it anymore. But there are still some.
Yeah, I’ve been doing some study of A.B.N. It certainly helps.
I just found this podcast yesterday, it’s a technology podcast. I listened to one episode so far, and to my surprise I understood quite a bit of it, more than I thought I would.
I found some language schools in Flanders where you can do a six week immersion course. So, if I do that I think I will be doing alright. Obviously, I would like to improve as much as I can before I go back.
Thanks again for the comment and the encouragement!
Ian
After more searching, I found this: https://www.goestingintaal.com/luistermateriaal.html The transcript is also provided.
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Sounds like you’re way beyond beginner level. You should take this test, just to see at what level you are, but I have a feeling you probably already have:
https://altissia.org/nl/gratis-taaltest-nederlands-online/
Still it can’t hurt to watch kinderprogramma’s like Piet Piraat, just to pick up vocabulary that you might have easily missed as an older learner.
Thanks for the links Bruce. I’ve never taken that test. I’ll give it a go though.
I can definitely understand much more than I can speak. Going over the children’s shows is a good idea.
That’s awesome!
Thanks a lot eh!!
Thanks a lot! Great resource.
I found this webiste with links to a bunch of Flemish podcasts, if anyone is interested.