The Dutch alphabet has a letter ij, not a y. Dutch names with a ij typically get spelled with a y in English, for example Dijkstra/Dykstra, Wijnveen/Wynveen. Next time you’re having problems finding a person in a Dutch search engine, check that you’ve used the Dutch spelling.
Thank you so much for this information, it certainly clears up a lot of confusion, and has been most helpful to me.
I was so glad to learn this, a few years ago. It cleared up how to say Winterswijk! One time when I was a tourist in England I met other tourists from the Netherlands, and in making small talk, they wanted to know where my Dutch ancestors were from. I told them I didn’t know how to say it, and when they insisted, I stumbled over Winterswijk. I remember when they finally figured out what I was trying to say, they said the name correctly, but I wasn’t sure we were talking about the same place. What they said sounded so different than the spelling looked to me!
If I had only known this tip, then.
🙂
Ever been making a frozen daiquiri and forgot to take the spoon out when you turned on the blender ? The Dutch can translate that sound. SXM
Strange as y is used with great enthusiasm in Friesian and Afrikaans!I had assumed that English got it’s y’s from French but then I see it’s used a lot in Friesian so it might come from both sources as well as Norse and Danish?