Dutch · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "de computer" in Dutch?

Q: How do you pronounce de computer in Dutch?

de computer is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /də kɔmˈpjutər/. It means “computer.” duh kom-PYOO-tur — borrowed from English but with Dutch vowels and a real t.

duh kom-PYOO-tur — borrowed from English but with Dutch vowels and a real t.

de computer /də kɔmˈpjutər/

Stress on the second syllable, following the English original. What Dutch changed is not the rhythm but the details: a fuller first vowel, a real t, and a much weaker final r than English gives it.

Listen: de computer

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Sound it out

com- Short rounded o plus m, unstressed. Dutch gives this syllable a proper rounded vowel where English reduces it to a schwa.

pu The English "pyoo" survives the borrowing intact, complete with its y-glide — one of the rare places a Dutch u is pronounced this way rather than as the front rounded vowel.

t A genuine stop, released cleanly. American English flaps this t into a d; Dutch does not, which is the clearest sign the word has been naturalised.

er Schwa plus a very light r, reduced almost to a breath at the end.

Hear it in a sentence

Mijn computer is kapot.

My computer is broken.

Listen: Mijn computer is kapot.

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"Mijn computer is kapot" ends on "kapot," a two-syllable adjective with end-stress and a devoiced final t. So the sentence has two mid-word peaks in a row, which is an unusual rhythm for Dutch.

Where English speakers slip

English speakers simply say the English word, which imports the flapped t and the heavy final r. Dutch keeps a crisp t and lets the ending fade. The first vowel is also fuller in Dutch than the reduced English "kum-." These are small adjustments, but they are what separates a borrowed word from an unassimilated one.