# UI in Belgian Flemish



## merquiades

Hello everyone,
I thought that the UI combination in _huis, tuin, muis _was to be pronounced as a diphthong, something similar to _oy_ in _boy_ or the _oei_ in _oeil_ but I have heard it pronounced simply about like ʌ in _but_, no diphthong at all.  So hʌs, tʌn, mʌs.  Is this so, or did I mishear?   If not what is the expected pronunciation of UI in Belgium?   If it depends on regions, what is the Brabant pronuciation?
Thanks in advance!


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## Peterdg

You are absolutely right. We (I) don't pronounce it with a diphthong. (and I don't know if the actually do pronounce it with a diphthong in the Netherlands; I assume they do, but I'm not sure).

We also don't pronounce 'ei' and 'ij" as diphthongs (but they do in the Netherlands).

You can check the pronunciation here: (ignore Laura; I don't know where they got that from, but that's no Dutch pronunciation at all). Select Dutch as language and "thuis" as word to pronounce. It usually gives very good results.

I don't notice diphthongs with any of the speakers for "thuis".


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## eno2

*de ui*
 Uitspraak:  [œy]
*het huis*
Uitspraak:  [hœys]

huis Nederlands woordenboek - Woorden.org

Google translate microfoontje heeft het correct. Google translate microphone has it correctly. 
Ui as in tuin is a diphthong.


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## merquiades

Peterdg said:


> You are absolutely right. We (I) don't pronounce it with a diphthong. (and I don't know if the actually do pronounce it with a diphthong in the Netherlands; I assume they do, but I'm not sure).
> 
> We also don't pronounce 'ei' and 'ij" as diphthongs (but they do in the Netherlands).
> 
> You can check the pronunciation here: (ignore Laura; I don't know where they got that from, but that's no Dutch pronunciation at all). Select Dutch as language and "thuis" as word to pronounce. It usually gives very good results.
> 
> I don't notice diphthongs with any of the speakers for "thuis".


Thanks for the confirmation. Nice tool  What I've always wanted.  Ellen seems to pronounce without diphthongs.

@enon  I think that describes pronunciation in the Netherlands which is what I wanted to avoid.


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## eno2

merquiades said:


> @enon  I think that describes pronunciation in the Netherlands which is what I wanted to avoid.


Not at all. I'm Flemish. West-Flanders.

If you mean the pronunciation in some dialects: =>

in West- Flanders, we say 'andjoen' for ui. In Flanders we say Ajuin for Ui.
Teure noa joen 'huus' for huis.  =>Go home.
Mien huus zit vul muuzen. =>My house is full of mice.
'uu' ongeveer, approximately, I don't know exactly how to transcribe dialect sounds like that.  But I'm looking for it (edit) Het Vlaams Woordenboek geeft geen fonetische transcripties.. The Flemish dictionary doesn't offer phonetic transcriptions. 

You used the transcription hʌs, tʌn, mʌs.
The ʌ stands for  a pronunciation like
lul IPA(key): /lʌl/
Lul=> penis

We do not say huis tuin muis like that...like  hʌs, tʌn, mʌs

I found it sound ridiculous, even.

Or did I misunderstand something in #1 and #2?


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## Hans Molenslag

merquiades said:


> I think that describes pronunciation in the Netherlands which is what I wanted to avoid.


The sounds spelled as ui, ei/ij and au/ou are definitely diphthongs in standard Dutch in both the Netherlands and Belgium. However, they are monophthongs in several southern dialects, notably those in the provinces of Flemish Brabant and Antwerp, and in surrounding areas. Some city dialect in the Netherlands are known for monophthongized ei/ij too, e.g. The Hague.

In everyday life, many Flemish people only speak their dialects or other regional varieties of Dutch, which often will affect their pronunciation of standard Dutch. In other words, when they speak standard Dutch, they do so with a recognizable local accent. But those of us who are used to speaking standard Dutch on a daily basis, do pronounce or at least will try to pronounce ui, ei/ij and au/ou as diphthongs. I for one most certainly do.


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## dwanawijaya

Uitspraak van muis: Hoe wordt muis uitgesproken in het Nederlands, Afrikaans, Vlaams  There are four pronunciations in Dutch, and one of them is Belgian Dutch.  You can also search for other word pronunciations in the great forvo site.


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## Red Arrow

merquiades said:


> Hello everyone,
> I thought that the UI combination in _huis, tuin, muis _was to be pronounced as a diphthong, something similar to _oy_ in _boy_ or the _oei_ in _oeil_ but I have heard it pronounced simply about like ʌ in _but_, no diphthong at all.  So hʌs, tʌn, mʌs.  Is this so, or did I mishear?   If not what is the expected pronunciation of UI in Belgium?   If it depends on regions, what is the Brabant pronuciation?
> Thanks in advance!


I agree with what Hans Molenslag says, but here are a few clarifications.

In Limburg and most of the Netherlands, [œi ~ œy] is used pretty much all the time. There are some older people who still say [y:] in their dialect, but most people say the diphthong.
luis [lœys]
bui [bœi ~ bœy]
buien [bœjən ~ bœ(y)wən] (the second pronunciation is quite "Northern")

In West-Flanders, ui is pronounced [y:] in the dialects, but [œi ~ œy] in the Standard language. There is a tendency in the younger generations to say [œi ~ œy] all the time.

In Antwerp and Flemish Brabant, ui is pronounced [œ:] in the dialects, and often also in the Standard language. Most people here don't know it isn't the standard. However, news anchors from these regions are asked to say [œi ~ œy]. In Den Hague, people also say [œ:], but not in the Standard language.

East-Flanders a province between West-Flanders and Antwerp. Some say [y:], some say [œ:], some say [œi ~ œy].
----------------------------------------------------------------
As for the pronunciations themselves.

[y:] like the French vowel in pure
[œ:] like the French vowel in sœur
[œi] like French œil
[œy] like this: Pronunciations for kuil in Dutch (from kuil to kuil)


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