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Vlissingen

Vlissingen

Flushing (Dutch Image:Ltspkr.pngVlissingen) is a municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands on the former island of Walcheren. In the 17th century Flushing was a main harbour for ships of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). It is also known as the birthplace of Admiral Michiel de Ruyter. Flushing is mainly noted for the de Schelde wharves where most of the ships of the Royal Netherlands Navy (Koninklijke Marine) are built.

Population centres


- Oude Stad
- Rosenburg
- Paauwenburg
- Papegaaienburg
- Lammerenburg
- Westerzicht
- Oost-Souburg
- Ritthem (West-Souburg is just a quarter)
- Flushing

The city of Flushing

Having a strategic location between the Scheldt river and the North Sea, Flushing has been an important harbour for centuries. It was granted city rights in 1315.

History of the name 'Vlissingen'

Research still hasn't been able to determine where the name Vlissingen was derived from originally. Most theories however relate the name to the word fles (bottle) in one way or another. One legend states that Bishop Wilibrord landed in Flushing with a bottle in the seventh century. He shared the contents of his bottle with the beggars he found there while trying to convert them. A miracle occurred, because the contents of the bottle did not seem to diminish. When the Bishop realised the beggars did not want to listen to his words, he gave them his bottle. After that, he supposedly called the city Flessinghe. Another source states that the name has its origins in an old ferry-service house, on which a bottle was attached. The monk Jacob van Dreischor, who visited the city in 967, then apparently called the ferry-house het veer aan de Flesse (the ferry at the Bottle). Because many cities in the region later received the appendix -inge, the name gradually could have evolved to Vles-inge. According to another source, the name was derived from the Danish word Vles, which means tides. This could have led to the city's current name.

Famous people

Admiral Michiel Adriaanszoon de Ruijter was born here. Petrus Johannes Van Dierendonck was born here.

Transport

Railway stations: Vlissingen, Vlissingen Souburg. Ferry connection to Breskens

External links


- [http://www.vlissingen.nl Official website (in Dutch, English, and German)]
- [http://www.plattegronden.nl/vlissingen/ Map]
- [http://www.vlissingen.nl/vlissingen/servlet/nl.gx.siteworks.client.http.GetFile?id=334080&filename=Geschiedenis_in_het_Engels.pdf A short history of Flushing]
- Railway station Vlissingen:
  - [http://www.ns.nl/vertrekstaten/vs0.pdf departures (pdf)]
  - [http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/bhftafel.exe/en?evaId=8400652&boardType=dep&time=10:00&productsDefault=1111101000000000&start=yes departures, with stops and arrival times]
  - [http://www.9292ov.nl/data/oisi.wrk/html/vs.htm station facilities] Category:Zeeland Category:Cities in the Netherlands Category:Municipalities of the Netherlands

Dutch language

Dutch () is a West Germanic, Low German language spoken by around 24 million people, mostly in the Netherlands and Belgium. The varieties of Dutch spoken in Belgium are also informally called Flemish (Vlaams). The language is sometimes colloquially called Hollands by native speakers although this is becoming less common today. Usually the language is called Nederlands by the native speakers. Dutch is sometimes called Netherlandic in English.

History

The West Germanic dialects can be divided according to tribe (Frisian, Saxon, Franconian, Bavarian and Swabian), and according to the extent of their participation in the High German consonant shift (Low German against High German). The present Dutch standard language is largely derived from Low Franconian dialects spoken in the Low Countries that must have reached a separate identity no later than about AD 700. An early Dutch recorded writing is: "Hebban olla vogala nestas hagunnan, hinase hic enda tu, wat unbidan we nu" ("All birds have started making nests, except me and you, what are we waiting for"), dating around the year 1100, written by a Flemish monk in a convent in Rochester, England. For a long time this sentence was considered to be the earliest in Dutch, but since its discovery even older fragments were found, such as "Visc flot aftar themo uuatare" ("A fish was swimming in the water") and "Gelobistu in got alamehtigan fadaer" ("Do you believe in God the almighty father"). The latter fragment was written as early as 900. Professor Luc De Grauwe from the University of Ghent disputes the language of these sequences of text, and actually believes them to be Old English, so there is still some controversy surrounding them.
Old English
A process of standardization started in the Middle ages, especially under the influence of the Burgundian Ducal Court in Dijon (Brussels after 1477). The dialects of Flanders and Brabant were the most influential around this time. The process of standardization became much stronger in the 16th century, mainly based on the urban dialect of Antwerp. In 1585 Antwerp fell to the Spanish army: many fled to Holland, strongly influencing the urban dialects of that province. In 1618 a further important step was made towards a unified language, when the first major Dutch bible translation was created that people from all over the United Provinces could understand. It used elements from various (even Low Saxon) dialects, but was mostly based on the urban dialects from Holland. The word Dutch comes from the old Germanic word theodisk, meaning 'of the people', 'vernacular' as opposed to official, i.e. Latin or later French. Theodisk in modern German has become deutsch and in Dutch has become the two forms: duits, meaning German, and diets meaning something closer to Dutch but no longer in general use (see the diets article). Theodisk survives as tedesco ("German") in modern Italian. The English word Dutch has also changed with time. It was only in the early 1600s, with growing cultural contacts and the rise of an independent country, that the modern meaning arose, i.e., 'designating the people of the Netherlands or their language'. Prior to this, the meaning was more general and could refer to any German-speaking area or the languages there (including the current Germany, Austria, and Switzerland as well as the Netherlands). For example:
- William Caxton (c.1422-1491) wrote in his Prologue to his Aeneids in 1490 that an old English text was more like to Dutche than English. In his notes, Professor W.F. Bolton makes clear that this word means German in general rather than Dutch.
- Peter Heylyn, Cosmography in four books containing the Chronography and History of the whole world, Vol. II (London, 1677: 154) contains "...the Dutch call Leibnitz," adding that Dutch is spoken in the parts of Hungary adjoining to Germany.
- To this day, descendants of German settlers in Pennsylvania are known as the "Pennsylvania Dutch". Today some speakers resent the name "Dutch", because of its common root with the name "Deutsch", that is, German.

Classification and related languages

Dutch is a Germanic language, and within this family it is a West Germanic language. Since it did not experience the High German consonant shift (apart from þ→d), it is sometimes classed as a Low German language, and indeed it is most closely related to the Low German dialects of Northern Germany. There is in fact a dialect continuum which blurs any clear boundary between Dutch and Low German, and the Low Franconian rural dialects of the Lower Rhine are much closer to Hollandic than to standard German. Dividing the West Germanic languages into low and high in this way, however, obscures the fact that Dutch is more closely related to modern standard (high) German than to English. Dutch is grammatically similar to German, for example in syntax and verb morphology. (For a comparison of verb morphology in English, Dutch and German, see Germanic weak verb and West Germanic strong verb.) Compare, for example: :De kleinste kameleon is slechts 2 cm groot, de grootste kan wel 80 cm worden. (Dutch) :Das kleinste Chamäleon ist nur 2 cm groß, die größten können auch 80 cm erreichen. (German) Some less common phrasings and word choices have closer cognates in German: :Der kleinste Chamäleon ist nur (schlechthin) 2 cm groß, der größte kann gut 80 cm werden. (less common German) (Which translates as "The smallest Chameleons are just 2 cm big, the biggest can well achieve 80 cm.") Further examples for the close vicinity of Dutch and German: :Op de berg staat een klein huisje (Dutch) - Auf dem Berg steht ein kleines Häuschen (German) (in English: There's a small house on the mountain) :In de stad leven veel mensen (Dutch) - In der Stadt leben viele Menschen (German) (in English: A lot of people live in the town) In some places, German and Dutch are spoken almost interchangeably. Dutch speakers are generally able to read German, and German speakers (who can speak English) are generally able to read Dutch, even if they find the spoken language very amusing. Dutch still has grammatical cases, but these have become almost limited to usage in pronouns and set phrases. Technically there is still a distinction between masculine and feminine, but for most practical purposes in the standard language the gender system has collapsed into a dual system of animate (de) and neuter (het). Thus the system of nouns and noun phrases has been greatly simplified in a manner more akin to English than German. Native Dutch vocabulary (as opposed to loan words) is of common West Germanic stock, and in terms of sound shifts it can be imagined as occupying a position somewhere between English and German. Even when written Dutch looks similar to German, however, the pronunciation may be markedly different. This is true especially of the diphthongs and of the letter , which is pronounced as a velar continuant similar to the in Swiss German. The rhotic pronunciation of causes some English-speakers to believe Dutch sounds similar to a Northern English accent; this is the reason for Bill Bryson's famous remark that when one hears Dutch one feels one ought to be able understand it. Dutch pronunciation is however difficult to master for Anglophones, many of its diphthongs and gutturals being the greatest obstacles. Germans seem to have an advantage with the Dutch grammar, but suffer the same difficulties as the English when dealing with pronunciation. An exception on this all are the North Germans, who can read or understand Dutch after a relatively short period of acclimatisation, speaking however remaining a challenge. Dutch is generally not on the curriculum of German schools, except in some border cities, such as Aachen and Oldenburg.

Geographic distribution

Dutch is spoken by most inhabitants of the Netherlands. It is also spoken by most in the Flemish northern half of Belgium, with the exception of Brussels, where it is spoken by a minority of the population, French being the dominant language. (This minority is typically estimated between 10% and 15%.) In the northernmost part of France, Dutch is spoken by a minority and the language is usually referred to as Vlemsch. On the Caribbean islands of Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles, Dutch is used but less so than Papiamento. Dutch is spoken in Suriname, and there are some speakers of Dutch in Indonesia. In South Africa and Namibia a language related to Dutch called Afrikaans is spoken.

Official status

Dutch is an official language of the Netherlands, Belgium, Suriname, Aruba, and the Netherlands Antilles. The Dutch, Flemish and Surinamese governments coordinate their language activities in the Nederlandse Taalunie ('Dutch Language Union'). Afrikaans is an official language in South Africa. Of the inhabitants of New Zealand, 0.7% say their home language is Dutch (see article on New Zealand). The number of people coming from the Netherlands though is considerably higher but from the second generation on most people changed their language in favour of English. Standaardnederlands or Algemeen Nederlands ('Common Dutch', abbreviated to AN) is the standard language as taught in schools and used by authorities in the Netherlands, Flanders, Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles. The Dutch Language Union defines what is AN and what is not, for example in terms of orthography. Algemeen Nederlands replaced the older name Algemeen Beschaafd Nederlands ('Common Civilized Dutch', abbreviated to ABN) when it was no longer considered politically correct.

Dialects

Flemish is the collective term often used for the Dutch dialects spoken in Belgium. It is not a separate language (though the term is often also used to distinguish the standard Dutch spoken in Flanders from that of the Netherlands) nor are the dialects in Belgium more closely related to each other than to the dialects in The Netherlands. The standard form of Netherlandic Dutch differs somewhat from Belgium Dutch or Flemish: Flemish favours older words and is also perceived as "softer" in pronunciation and discourse than Netherlandic Dutch, and some Dutch find it quaint. In contrast, Netherlandic Dutch is perceived as harsh and guttural to Belgians, and some Belgians perceive it as overly assertive, hostile and even somewhat arrogant. One can draw a parallel with the American and British English differences. Americans and the English use slightly divergent vocabularies, though both officially correct. However, while American is considered by some a poorer derivative of English, Flemish and northern Dutch are historically equal. In Flanders, there are roughly four dialect groups: West Flemish, East Flemish, Brabantian and Limburgish. They have all incorporated French loanwords in everyday language. An example is fourchette in various forms (originally a French word meaning fork), instead of vork. Brussels, especially, is heavily influenced by French because roughly 75% of the inhabitants of Brussels speak French. The Limburgish in Belgium is closely related to Dutch Limburgish. An oddity of West Flemish (and to a lesser extent, East Flemish) is that the pronunciation of the "soft g" sound (the voiced velar fricative) is almost identical to that of the "h" sound (the voiced glottal fricative), thus, the words held (hero) and geld (money) sound nearly the same. Some Flemish dialects are so distinct that they might be considered as separate language variants. West Flemish in particular has sometimes been considered as such. It should also be noted that the dialect borders of these dialects do not correspond to present geopolitical boundaries. They reflect much older medieval divisions. The Brabantian dialect group, for instance, also extends to much of the south of the Netherlands, and so does Limburgish. West-Flemish is also spoken in the Dutch province of Zeeland, in a variant called Zeeuws (or Zealandic, in English) and even in a small part near Dunkirk, France, bordering on Belgium. The Netherlands also has different dialect regions. In the east there is an extensive Low Saxon dialect area: the provinces of Groningen (Gronings), Drenthe and Overijssel are almost exclusively Low Saxon. Zuid-Gelders is a dialect also spoken in the German land of North Rhine-Westphalia. Limburgish (Limburg (Netherlands)) and Brabantian (Noord-Brabant) fade into the dialects spoken in the adjoining provinces of Belgium. Zealandic of most of Zeeland is a transitional regional language between West Flemish and Hollandic, with the exception of the eastern part of Zealandic Flanders where East Flemish is spoken. In Holland proper, Hollandic is spoken, though the original forms of this dialect, heavily influenced by a Frisian substrate, are now relatively rare; the urban dialects of the Randstad, which are Hollandic dialects, do not diverge from standard Dutch very much, but there is a clear difference between the city dialects of Rotterdam, The Hague, Amsterdam or Utrecht. In some rural Hollandic areas more authentic Hollandic dialects are still being used, especially north of Amsterdam. Limburgish and Low Saxon have been elevated by the European Union to the legal status of streektaal (regional language), which causes some native speakers to consider them separate languages. Some dialects are unintelligible to some speakers of Hollandic. Dutch dialects are not spoken as often as they used to be. Nowadays in The Netherlands only older people speak these dialects in the smaller villages, with the exception of the Low Saxon and Limburgish streektalen, which are actively promoted by some provinces and still in common use. Most towns and cities stick to standard Dutch - although many cities have their own city dialect, which continues to prosper. In Belgium dialects are very much alive however; many senior citizens there are unable to speak standard Dutch. In both the Netherlands and Belgium, many larger cities also have several distinct smaller dialects. By many native speakers of Dutch, both in Belgium and the Netherlands, Afrikaans and Frisian are often assumed to be very deviant dialects of Dutch. In fact, they are two different languages, Afrikaans having evolved mainly from Dutch. There is no dialect continuum between the Frisian and adjoining Low Saxon. A Frisian standard language has been developed. Until the early 20th century, variants of Dutch were still spoken by some descendants of Dutch colonies in the United States. New Jersey in particular had an active Dutch community with a highly divergent dialect that was spoken as recently as the 1950s. See Jersey Dutch for more on this dialect.

Accents

In addition to the many dialects of the Dutch language many provinces and larger cities have their own accents, which sometimes are also called dialects. Ethnic communities tend to have varying accents: for example many people from the Dutch Antilles or Suriname speak with a "Surinaams" accent, and the Dutch-Moroccan and Dutch-Turkish youth have also developed their own accents, which in some cases are enhanced by a debased Dutch slang with Arabic or Turkish words thrown in, which serves in making their speech nearly unintelligible to some older speakers of standard Dutch.

Derived languages

Afrikaans, a language spoken in South Africa and Namibia, is derived primarily from 17th century Dutch dialects, and a great deal of mutual intelligibility still exists. One who can speak Dutch is usually very able to read and understand Afrikaans.

Sounds

Vowels

The vowel inventory of Dutch is large, with 14 simple vowels and four diphthongs. The vowels , , are included on the diphthong chart because they are actually produced as narrow closing diphthongs in many dialects, but behave phonologically like the other simple vowels.

Consonants

Where symbols for consonants occur in pairs, the left represents the voiceless consonant and the right represents the voiced consonant. Notes: 1) is not a native phoneme of Dutch and only occurs in borrowed words, like goal. 2) is not a separate phoneme in Dutch, but is inserted before vowel-initial syllables within words after and . 3) In some dialects, the voiced fricatives have almost completely merged with the voiceless ones, and is usually realized as , is usually realized as , and is usually realized as . 4) and are not native phonemes of Dutch, and usually occur in borrowed words, like show and bagage (baggage). However, + phoneme sequences in Dutch are often realized as , like in the word huisje (='little house'). often is realized as . 5) The realization of the phoneme varies considerably from dialect to dialect. In the so-called "standard" Dutch of Amsterdam7, is realized as indicated here—as the voiced uvular fricative . In other dialects, however, it is realized as the uvular trill or as the alveolar trill . 6) The realization of the varies considerably from the Northern to the Southern and Belgium dialects of the Dutch language. In the South, including Belgium, it is realized as . Note that in the South is usually considered an allophone of . 7) The "standard" Dutch is that as spoken in Haarlem, not the Amsterdams dialect. Amsterdams dialect is different from standard Dutch in that is replaced by in nearly all cases. The standard Dutch is more accurately described as the Dutch that is spoken by most people in Amsterdam, and is the dominating accent used on television.

Phonology

Dutch devoices all consonants at the ends of words (e.g. a final d sound becomes a t sound; to become 'ents of worts'), which presents a problem for Dutch speakers when learning English. Because of assimilation, often the initial consonant of the next word is also devoiced, e.g. het vee (the cattle) is . This process of devoicing is taken to an extreme in some regions (Amsterdam, Friesland) with almost complete loss of , and . Further south these phonemes are certainly present in the middle of a word. Compare e.g. logen and loochen vs. . In the South (i.e. Zeeland, Brabant en Limburg) and in Flanders the contrast is even greater because the g becomes a palatal. ('soft g'). The final 'n' of the plural ending -en is normally not pronounced (as in Afrikaans), except in the North East (Low Saxon) and the South West (West Flemish) where the ending becomes a syllabic n sound. Dutch is a stress language, the stress position of words matters. Stress can occur on any syllable position in a word. There is a tendency for stress to be at the beginning of words. In composite words, secondary stress is often present. There are some cases where stress is the only difference between words. For example vóórkomen (occur) and voorkómen (prevent). Marking the stress in written Dutch is optional, never obligatory, but sometimes recommended.

Historical sound changes

Dutch (with the exception of the Limburg dialects) did not participate in the second (High German) sound shifting - compare German machen Dutch maken, English make, German Pfanne , Dutch pan, English pan, German zwei , Dutch twee, English two. It also underwent a few changes of its own. For example, words in -old or -olt lost the l in favor of a diphthong. Compare English old, German alt, Dutch oud. A word like hus with (English "house") first changed to huus with , then finally to huis with a diphthong that resembles the one in French l'oeil. The phoneme /g/ was lost in favor of a (voiced) velar fricative , or a voiced palatal fricative (in the South: Flanders, Limburg).

Grammar

:Main article: Dutch grammar Like all other continental West Germanic languages, Dutch has a word order that is markedly different from English, which presents a problem for some Anglophones learning Dutch. The Dutch written grammar has simplified over the past 100 years: cases are now mainly used for the pronouns, such as ik (I), mij, me (me), mijn (my), wie (who), wiens, wier (whose). Nouns and adjectives are not case inflected (except for the genitive of nouns: -'s or -'). In the spoken language cases and case inflections had already gradually disappeared from a much earlier date on (probably the 15th century) as in many continental West Germanic dialects. Inflection of adjectives is a little more complicated: nothing with indefinite neuter nouns in singular and -e in all other cases: :een mooi huis (a beautiful house) :het mooie huis (the beautiful house) :mooie huizen (beautiful houses) :de mooie huizen (the beautiful houses) :een mooie vrouw (a beautiful woman) More complex inflection is still found in certain lexicalized expressions like de heer des huizes (litt.: the man of the house), etc. These are usually remnants of cases (in this instance, the genitive case which is still used in German, cf. Der Herr des Hauses) and other inflections no longer in general use today. Dutch nouns can take endings for size: -je for singular diminutive and -jes for plural diminutive. Between these suffixes and the radical can come extra letters depending on the ending of the word: :boom (tree) - boompje :ring (ring) - ringetje :koning (king) - koninkje :tien (ten) - tientje Like most Germanic languages, Dutch forms left-branching noun compounds, where the first noun modifies the category given by the second, for example: hondenhok (doghouse). Unlike English, where newer compounds or combinations of longer nouns are often written in open form with separating spaces, Dutch (like the other Germanic languages) always uses the closed form without spaces, for example: boomhuis (eng. tree house). Like English, Dutch allows arbitrarily long compounds, but these are rare. The longest serious entry in the Van Dale dictionary is wapenstilstandsonderhandeling (ceasefire negotiation). Sometimes hottentottensoldatententententoonstellingsterreinen (hottentot soldiers tents exhibition terrains) is jocularly quoted as the longest Dutch word (note the four times consecutive ten), but outside this usage it actually never occurs. One of the clues to recognise that a piece of text is written in Dutch, is the occurrence of many doubled letters. This happens both to vowels and consonants, but is mainly a spelling device to distinguish the many more vowel sounds in the Dutch language, than there are vowel letters in the Latin alphabet. A prime example is the word voorraaddoos (supply box).

Vocabulary

:See the list of Dutch words and list of words of Dutch origin at Wiktionary, the free dictionary and Wikipedia's sibling project Dutch has more French loanwords than German, but much fewer than English. The number of English loanwords in Dutch is substantial and steadily increasing, especially on the streets and some professions. New loanwords are almost never pronounced as the original English word, or are spelled differently. Like English, Dutch has large numbers words of Greek and Latin origin. There are also some German loanwords, like überhaupt and sowieso. Even though few true loanwords are present, German has had a considerable effect upon the lexicon of the language, mainly by the change of German words into words that seem Dutch (so called germanisme), a process probably to be ascribed to the likeness of the two languages. Most of these forms have become so integral to Dutch that few Dutch notice them; they include words like opname (from German Aufnahme), aanstalten (Anstalten) and many more.

Writing system

Dutch is written using the Latin alphabet, see Dutch alphabet. The diaeresis is used to mark vowels that are pronounced separately, and called trema. In the most recent spelling reform, a hyphen has replaced the trema in a few words where it had been previously used: zeeëend (seaduck) is now spelled zee-eend. The acute accent (accent aigu) occurs mainly on loanwords like café, but can also be used for emphasis or to differentiate between two forms. Its most common use is to differentiate between the indefinite article 'een' (a, an) and the numeral 'één' (one). The grave accent (accent grave) is used to clarify pronunciation ('hè' (what?, what the ...?), 'appèl' (call for), 'bèta') and in loanwords ('caissière' (cashier), 'après-ski'). In the recent spelling reform, the accent grave was dropped as stress sign on short vowels in favour of the accent aigu (e.g. 'wèl' was changed to 'wél'). Other diacritical marks such as the circumflex only occur on a few words, most of them loanwords from French. The most important dictionary of the modern Dutch language is the Van Dale groot woordenboek der Nederlandse taal[http://www.vandale.nl], more commonly referred to as the Dikke van Dale ("dik" is Dutch for "fat" or "thick"), or as linguists nicknamed it: De Vandaal (the vandal). However, it is dwarfed by the "Woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal", a scholarly endeavour that took 147 years from initial idea to first edition, resulting in over 45,000 pages. The semi-official spelling is given by the Woordenlijst Nederlandse taal, more commonly known as "het groene boekje" (i.e. "the green booklet", because of its colour.)

Dutch as a foreign language

The number of non native speakers of Dutch who voluntarily learn the language is small. This is partly because Dutch is not geographically widespread and partly because in its home countries of The Netherlands and Belgium many in the population are proficient in other European languages. In The Netherlands German is widely spoken (particularly in the regions bordering onto Germany) and the language is part of the core curriculum in schools for 2-5 years. In Belgium, German is less widely spoken, and not always required, but it still spoken by a lot of people. The French language is also taught (optionally) for 3-6 years in the Netherlands, but it is not as widely spoken as German. In Belgium (Flanders) French is required from age 10 to 18 and is very widely spoken, not least because the southern half of Belgium, Wallonia, is French speaking. In both The Netherlands and Belgium English is taught in schools from a young age - from age 11 or 12 (or earlier) until the completion of secondary education. Most universities in the two countries, recognising the importance of the English language in the modern world, continue to teach the language to those students who need to improve their skills. As a result English is spoken throughout The Netherlands and Belgium with members of the younger generation often being fluent speakers. Some long term non native residents of The Netherlands or Belgium have never learnt to speak Dutch/Flemish - perhaps put off by its guttural sound or by a perception of its difficulties. There is also the problem that because the native Dutch/Flemish speakers themselves are often so linguistically proficient they will try and help a struggling Dutch/Flemish learner by addressing him in his own language! The Dutch often make fun of their own language - for example Tom Meyer, a radio commentator, used to say on air that "Dutch isn't a language; it's a disease of the throat." Pronunciation can be a challenge as many of the Dutch vowel sounds are difficult for non native speakers. Diphthongs such as the "ui" sound in such words as "huis" (house) and "muis" (mouse), the "eu" in sleutel (key), and the "ij" sound in words like "fijn" (fine) or "wijn" (wine) present difficulties and even though some of these words are superficially like their English equivalents the correct sound is very different. Native speakers of German usually find Dutch easy from a grammar and vocabulary point of view but also struggle with the pronunciation. However those residents or visitors who do learn some Dutch will be rewarded, not only by the extra fillip this gives to their understanding of Dutch history and culture, but also because it will enable them to converse with people in areas away from the big cities where other languages are less commonly spoken.

See also


- Bargoens
- Common phrases in different languages
- Dutch grammar
- Dutch spelling
- Dutchism - Dutch loanwords in English
- Gezellig -- One of the ten non-English words that were voted "words hardest to translate" in June 2004 by a British translation company.
- List of languages

Dutch literature

see Dutch literature

External links


- [http://www.linguasphere.net/secure/ip/pdf/zones/52.pdf Linguasphere on dialects of the Dutch language and other languages]
- [http://www.learnonline.nl Online Nederlands leren]
- [http://www.leren.nl/rubriek/talen/nederlands/learn_dutch/ Learn the Dutch Language]
- [http://www.ned.univie.ac.at/publicaties/taalgeschiedenis/en/ History of the Dutch Language]
- [http://www.taalunie.org/ Nederlandse Taalunie] (Dutch Language Union -- in Dutch)
- [http://www.forbeginners.info/dutch/ Dutch for Beginners] (Introduction to Dutch grammar and vocabulary)
- [http://oase.uci.kun.nl/~ans/ Algemene Nederlandse Spraakkunst] (General Dutch Grammar -- in Dutch)
- [http://www.dutchgrammar.com/ Online Dutch Grammar Course] (Dutch Grammar -- in English)
- [http://www.sprachprofi.de.vu/english/nl.htm Free online resources for learners]
- [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=nld Ethnologue report for Dutch]
- [http://www.uoc.es/euromosaic/web/document/neerlandes/an/i1/i1.html Euromosaic - Flemish in France] - The status of Dutch in France
- [http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/sampa/dutch.htm Sampa for Dutch]
- [http://language-directory.50webs.com/languages/dutch.htm List of online Dutch-related resources]
- [http://www.ielanguages.com/dutch.html Dutch Language Tutorial at ielanguages.com]
- [http://homepage.mac.com/schuffelen/index.html Dutch pronounced]
- [http://www.loecsen.com/travel/discover_pop.php?lang=en&to_lang=25&learn-Dutch/ Learn and listen to useful expressions in Dutch] Each expression is presented with an audio recording and an illustration

Dictionaries


- [http://nl.wiktionary.org/ WikiWoordenboek, the Dutch Wiktionary]
- [http://www.dicts.info/dictlist1.php?k1=25 All Dutch free dictionaries]
- [http://blackorwhite.nl/woordenboek/ Online Nederlands Woordenboek]
- [http://www.majstro.com/Web/Majstro/taleninfo/dut_en.php Majstro Dutch-English-Dutch Online Dictionary]
- [http://lookwayup.com/free/DutchEnglishDictionary.htm Lookwayup English-Dutch-English dictionary]
- [http://www.freedict.com/onldict/dut.html Freedict English-Dutch-English dictionary]
- [http://dictionaries.travlang.com/DutchEnglish/ Travlang Dutch-English dictionary]
- [http://www.euroglotonline.nl/ Euroglot] (Translation Dictionary)
- [http://www.vandale.nl/ Van Dale] (Dictionary -- in Dutch)
- [http://www.woorden-boek.nl/ Woorden-Boek] (Online Dictionary -- in Dutch)
- http://www.notam02.no/~hcholm/altlang/ht/Dutch.html - The Alternative Dutch Dictionary
- [http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/Flemish-english/ Flemish - English Dictionary]: from [http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org Webster's Online Dictionary] - the Rosetta Edition.
- [http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/Dutch-english/ Dutch - English Dictionary]: from [http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org Webster's Online Dictionary] - the Rosetta Edition.
- [http://www.woc.science.ru.nl/ A dictionary of Organic Chemistry (in Dutch)]
- Category:Languages of Belgium Category:Languages of the Netherlands Category:Low Germanic languages ko:네덜란드어 ja:オランダ語

Municipality

A municipality or "general-purpose district" (compare with: "special-purpose district") is an administrative local area generally composed of a clearly defined territory and commonly referring to a city, town, or village government. Municipalities are not necessarily the same as townships. In most countries, this is the smallest administrative subdivision that has its own democratically elected representative leadership. In several European countries, municipalities as second level entities are referred to as communes.

Municipalities as second level entities


- In Australia, a municipality is a city, or shire and is a subdivision of a state
- In Austria, a municipality (Gemeinde) is part of a district (Bezirk), which is in turn part of a state (Bundesland).
- In Belgium, a municipality (gemeente/commune) is part of a province (provincie/province)
- In Bosnia and Herzegovina, a municipality (općina or opština) is
  - part of a canton (kanton)
  - a subdivision (grouped in regions)
- In Brazil, a municipality (município) is part of a state (estado)
- In Canada, a municipality is a city, town, township, county, or regional municipality which has been incorporated by statute by the legislatures of the Provinces and territories of Canada. It is also a specific designation for certain municipalities in Quebec and Ontario.
- In Chile, a municipality (comuna) is part of a province (provincia)
- In Croatia, a municipality (općina) is part of a county (županija)
- In Denmark, a municipality (kommune) is part of a county (amt)
- In Finland, a municipality (kunta/kommun) is part of a province (lääni/län)
- In France, a municipality (commune) is part of a department (département)
- In Germany, a municipality (Gemeinde) is part of a district (Kreis). Larger entities of the same level are named town (Stadt).
- In Greece, a municipality is either an urban demoi or rural koinotetes which is then part of a prefecture (nomos) and then a larger region known as a periphery.
- In Italy, a municipality (comune) is part of a province (provincia) which is part of a region (regione).
- In Japan, any government other than the Japanese national government is called a municipality.
- In Mexico, a municipality (municipio) is a subdivision of a state (estado) and a borogh (delegación) is a subdivision of the Federal District (see municipalities of Mexico and Boroughs of the Mexican Federal District).
- In the Netherlands, a municipality (gemeente) is part of a province (provincie).
- Every part of mainland New Zealand is part of either a "city" (mostly urban) or a "district" (mostly rural). The term "municipality" has become rare in New Zealand since about 1979 and has no legal status.
- In Norway, a municipality (kommune) is part of a county (fylke)
- In the Philippines, a municipality (bayan) is part of a province (lalawigan) and is composed of barangays.
- In Poland, a municipality (commune) (gmina) is a part of a county (powiat).
- In Portugal, a municipality (município) is subdivision of a district (distritos).
- In Puerto Rico, a municipality (municipio) is a city. Each municipality has an elected mayor.
- In Romania, a municipality (municipiu) is a town or a city ranked by law at this level. See Municipality in Romania for more information.
- In Serbia, a municipality (opština) is part of a county (okrug)
- In South Africa, municipalities are subdivisions of a province, and are ranked by size. In descending order: metropolitan, district, local.
- In Sweden, a municipality (kommun) is part of a county (län).
- In Switzerland, a municipality (commune/Gemeinde/comune) is part of a canton (canton/Kanton/cantone) and defined by cantonal law.
- In the United States, the entities that have status as a municipality vary from state to state. Cities, towns, boroughs, or villages are common terms for municipalities. Townships, counties, and parishes are not generally considered to be municipalities, although there are exceptions. In some states, towns have a non-municipal status similar to townships.

First level entities and other forms of municipalities


- In the People's Republic of China, a municipality (直辖市 in pinyin: zhíxiéshì) is a city with equal status to a province: Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing (see Municipality of China)
- In the Republic of China on Taiwan, a municipality (直轄市 in Wade-Giles: chi-hsia-shih) is a city with equal status to a province: Taipei and Kaohsiung. (see Municipality of China)
- In Portugal, a municipality (município/concelho) is the primary local administrative unit. Although it is a part of a district (distrito) for certain national administrative purposes, the municipality is not subordinate to the district and decentralization is doing away with the districts. A municipality contains one or more freguesias.
- In Puerto Rico, there are no first order administrative divisions, and the municipalities (municipio) serves as second-order, but first level, administrative divisions.
- In Montenegro, a municipality (opština) is the topmost regional division
- Municipalities of Libya, some very large.
- In Slovenia, a municipality (občina) is the primary local administrative unit. There are 193 of them, 11 of which have a special "Urban" status with additional autonomy.
- In Spain, a municipality (município) is the primary local administrative unit. It is a part of a province (provincia) for all national administrative purposes. A municipality contains one or more parroquias. In the Galiza region, the municipalities are called concellos.

See also


- :Category:Lists of municipalities (with lists for countries)
- Municipal government
- Mayor
- Council-manager government
- Mayor-council government
- Special-purpose district
- Subnational entity
- Political science
- Muni
- Washington city government
- Political subdivisions of New York State
- Municipal services Category:Subnational entities ja:政令指定都市

City

:For alternate meanings see city (disambiguation) A city is an urban area that is differentiated from a town, village, or hamlet by size, population density, importance, or legal status.

Introduction

In most parts of the world, cities are generally substantial and nearly always have an urban core, but in the United States many incorporated areas which have a very modest population, or a suburban or even mostly rural character, are designated as cities. City can also be a synonym for "downtown" or a "city centre". A city usually consists of residential, industrial and business areas together with administrative functions which may relate to a wider geographical area. A large share of a city's area is primarily taken up by housing, which is then supported by infrastructure such roads, streets and often public transport routes such as a subway or a metro rail system. Lakes and rivers may be the only undeveloped areas within the city. The study of cities is covered extensively in human geography. "The city is a human habitat that allows people to form relations with others at various levels of intimacy while remaining entirely anonymous." (This definition was the subject of an exhibition at the Israeli pavilion at the 2000 Venice Biennale of architecture)

The difference between towns and cities

The difference between towns and cities is differently understood in different parts of the English speaking world. There is no one standard international definition of a city: the term may be used either for a town possessing city status; for an urban locality exceeding an arbitrary population size; for a town dominating other towns with particular regional economic or administrative significance. Although city can refer to an agglomeration including suburban and satellite areas, the term is not appropriate for a conurbation (cluster) of distinct urban places, nor for a wider metropolitan area including more than one city, each acting as a focus for parts of the area. In the United Kingdom, a city is a town which has been known as a city since time immemorial, or which has received city status by royal charter — which is normally granted on the basis of size, importance or royal connection (traditional pointers have been whether the town has a cathedral or a university). Some cathedral cities, for example St. David's in Wales, are quite small, and may not be known as cities in common parlance. (See the City status in the United Kingdom.) A similar system existed in the medieval Low Countries where a landlord would grant settlements certain privileges (city rights) that settlements without city rights didn't have. This include the privilege to put up city walls, hold markets or set up a judicial court. In Australia and New Zealand, city is used to refer both to units of local government, and as a synonym for urban area. For instance the [http://www.southperth.wa.gov.au City of South Perth] is part of the urban area known as Perth, commonly described as a city. On the other hand, Gisborne in New Zealand is known as the first city to see the sun, despite being administered by a district council, not a city council. An interesting phenomenon in American English is the generalisation of the term city to all settlements. Britons may be bemused by forms with fields headed, not Town and Postal code, but City and ZIP, even though the person needing to fill it in could be living in a city, a town without city status, or even a village or hamlet. In turn, many Americans often talk of "City Halls" when referring to town halls in quite small European towns and villages. Strangely, even though Americans are well aware that "village" means something smaller than a town, the word has often been co-opted by enterprising developers to make their projects sound welcoming and friendly. The result are so-called villages with 20 and 30-story high-rises, like Westwood Village in Los Angeles.

Geography

Westwood Village, of around 1550. The city is completely surrounded by a city wall and defensive canal. The square shape is inspired by Jerusalem.]] The geographies of cities, both physical and human, are diverse. Often cities will either be coastal and have a harbour or be situated near a river giving economic advantage. Water transports on rivers and oceans were (and in most cases still are) cheaper and more efficient than road transport over long distances. Older European cities often have historically intact central areas where the streets are jumbled together, seemingly without a structural plan. This quality is a legacy of earlier unplanned or organic development, and is often perceived by today's tourists to be picturesque. Modern city planning has seen many different schemes for how a city should look. The most commonly seen pattern is the grid, almost a rule in parts of the United States, and used for thousands of years in China. Derry was the first ever planned city in Ireland, begun in 1613, with the walls being completed 5 years later in 1618. The central diamond within a walled city with four gates was thought to be a good design for defence. The grid pattern chosen was subsequently much copied in the colonies of British North America [http://worldfacts.us/UK-Londonderry.htm]. However, the grid has been used for a long time in history. The Greeks gave their colonies around the Mediterranian often with a grid. One of the best examples around is the city of Priene. This city even had it's different districts. Much like modern city planning today. Also in de Medival times we see a preference for lineair planning. Good examples are the cities establish in the south of France by various rulers. And city expantions in old Dutch and Flanders cities. Other forms may include a radial structure in which main roads converge on a central point, often the effect of successive growth over long time with concentric traces of town walls and citadels - recently supplemented by ring-roads that take traffic around the edge of a town. Many Dutch cities are structured that way: a central square surrounded by a concentric canals. Every city expansion would imply a new circle (canals + town walls). In cities like Amsterdam and Haarlem this pattern is still clearly visible.

History of cities

Towns and cities have a long history, although opinions vary on whether any particular ancient settlement can be considered to be a city. The first true towns are sometimes considered to be large settlements where the inhabitants were no longer simply farmers of the surrounding area, but began to take on specialized occupations, and where to trade, food storage and power was centralized. Societies that live in cities are often called civilizations. By this definition, the first towns we know of were located in Mesopotamia, such as Ur, and along the Nile, the Indus Valley Civilization and China. Before this time it was rare for settlements to reach significant size, although there were exceptions such as Jericho, Çatalhöyük and Mehrgarh. The growth of ancient and medieval empires led to ever greater capital cities and seats of provincial administration, with ancient Rome, its eastern successor Constantinople and successive Chinese and later Indian capitals approaching or exceeding the half-million population level. It is estimated that ancient Rome population exceeded one million people by the end of the last century BCE, which is considered the only city to reach that number until the Industrial Revolution, however, Alexandria population was close to one million at the same time. Similar large administrative, commercial, industrial and ceremonial centres emerged in other areas, though on a smaller scale. During the European Middle Ages, a town was as much a political entity as a collection of houses. City residence brought freedom from customary rural obligations to lord and community: "Stadtluft macht frei" ("City air makes you free") was a saying in Germany. In Continental Europe cities with a legislature of their own wasn't unheard of, the laws for towns as a rule other than for the countryside, the lord of a town often being another than for surrounding land. In the Holy Roman Empire (i.e. medieval Germany and Italy) some cities had no other lord than the emperor. In exceptional cases like Venice, Genoa or Lübeck, cities themselves became powerful states, sometimes taking surrounding areas under their control or establishing extensive maritime empires. Similar phenomena existed elsewhere, as in the case of Sakai, which enjoyed a considerable autonomy in late medieval Japan. Most towns remained far smaller places, so that in 1500 only some two dozen places in the world contained more than 100,000 inhabitants: as late as 1700 there were fewer than forty, a figure which would rise thereafter to 300 in 1900. A small city of the early modern period might contain as few as 10,000 inhabitants, a town far fewer still. While the city-states, or poleis, of the Mediterranean and Baltic Sea languished from the 16th century, Europe's larger capitals benefited from the growth of commerce following the emergence of an Atlantic economy fuelled by the silver of Peru. By the 18th century, London and Paris rivalled the well-developed regionally-traditional capital cities of Baghdad, Beijing, Istanbul, Kyoto and Venice. The growth of modern industry from the late 18th century onward led to massive urbanization and the rise of new great cities, first in Europe and then in other regions, as new opportunities brought huge numbers of migrants from rural communities into urban areas. In the Great Depression of the 1930s cities were hard hit by unemployment, especially those with a base in heavy industry. Today the world's population is about half urban, with millions still streaming annually into the growing cities of Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Modern conceptions

Traditional approach

A universal linear approach to cities has been in place and accepted for a long time. As this approach falls short of explaining a number of aspects of city life, such as the diversity between cities, new ways have been sought. Influenced by post-structuralist thinking a new approach was born: using spatial thinking it is possible to not only fill the gaps, but indeed replace the old completely. Three characteristics have been identified as defining a city: the number of people to area (density), the networks of the city, as well as a particular way of life. None of these characteristics alone is enough to make a place a city. Until recently cities were almost exclusively viewed as part of a single, linear line of development. Starting with the Greek city-state, this linear approach placed each city somewhere, and it was believed that it was only a matter of time until the next stage along the prescript path of advancement was reached. For each stage an exemplar was identified. Step by step from Athens onwards to Venice and London, Los Angeles seemed to be the ultimate stage of a postmodern city. Such an approach regarded a city as a single static entity, which could be studied disconnected in time and space. This leads to a theoretical framework with little connection to real cities, but these were simply seen as less clear examples. In spite of apparent shortcomings, this approach is still very commonplace in respected and popular publications.

Shortcomings

Despite its wide acceptance this traditional approach to cities had serious shortcomings. Firstly, leaving the latest stage aside, it was completely eurocentric. It was believed that every city in the world could be compared with a past stage in the history of one European city. Secondly, there was no real explanation when and how changes occurred, how another stage in the line of development was achieved. There seemed no need to follow the changes of one city, but instead attention was turned to another exemplar. Thirdly, the disconnected view of cities is problematic. It implies that history, culture and connections of a place do not influence a place, which is questionable. Some thinkers argue that a history ignoring connections is necessary incomplete. Fourthly, the traditional approach failed to define what makes a city. It is unclear why one place is regarded as a city while another one is not. Lewis Mumford argued in 1937 for a social dimension, describing cities as geographical plexuses. Finally, viewing cities as a single body misses modern conceptions that there is more than one story to a place. The city of an aristocrat will surely differ from that of a slave. This also reflects a shift away from one single history of the powerful élites (often referred to as city élites) to a multidimensional perception of history. The notion of city rhythms has been introduced to highlight the different aspects of city life... The term city can be used to mean either an area of contiguous urbanization or a particular municipality (an [http://www.demographia.com/db-world-muni.htm area within the political borders of an incorporated municipality]). There is a substantial variation in municipalities around the world. The largest municipality, Chongqing, is approximately the same size as the state of Indiana and contains much more rural territory than continuous urbanization. In most cases, however, the continuous urbanization popularly thought of as the city extends well beyond the boundaries of the core incorporated city.

Modern approach

As a modern approach to cities, urban thinking analyzes various issues that arise in urban areas. It focuses largely upon connections and internal divisions which helps create a better understanding of the dynamics of cities. Using such spatial thinking, it is possible to understand various aspects for which the traditional approach did not provide an adequate explanation. One important aspect of spatial thinking is looking at the connections of a city. Such connections allow one to understand the unique character of a place. Rather than treating all cities the same, places are seen as interconnected through networks of culture, economics, trade or history. So while London and Tokyo are economically linked through stock markets, Graz and Stockholm are linked via the Cultural Capital of Europe. These networks overlap and are concentrated in cities. Arguably this concentration of networks creates a unique feeling of a place. Such networks, however, do not only link cities with cities, but also a city to its surroundings. The notion of a city footprint reflects the idea that a city on its own is not sustainable: it depends on produce from its surroundings, it needs trade links and other connections for economic viability. Looking at networks, it becomes possible to explain the rise and fall of cities. This has to do with the changing importance of connections and is maybe best illustrated with the arrival of Spanish colonizers in America. Within a short time, connections to Madrid became more important than connections to the former centre Tenochtitlán. The concentration of networks in cities can be used as an explanation of urbanization. It is the access to certain networks that attracts people. As various networks spatially run together in a confined area, people gather in cities. At the same time, this concentration of people means the introduction of new networks, such as social links, increasing the creation of new possibilities within cities. Urban social movements are a direct result of this possibility of making new connections. It is this openness to new connections that makes cities both attractive and to a certain degree unpredictable. Another important aspect of modern urban thinking is looking at the divisions within a city. This internal differentiation is linked to the external connections of a city. As places of meeting histories, cities are hybrid and heterogeneous. Hybrid they are as the connections which link places are bilateral, involving giving and taking in both directions. Heterogeneous they are because of the dynamism of cities. New encounters are ongoing processes where social relations and differences are constantly negotiated and shaped, reflecting the unequal power involved. Neither the internal differentiations nor the connections and networks of a place on their own define a city. Internal divisions are caused by external links, while at the same time connections to the outside open up the possibility of new social divisions. Divisions and connections in every city are intertwined, and only by considering both aspects of spatial thinking the complexity of cities is approachable. Immigration illustrates this interconnection of external networks and internal divisions well. The networks concentrated in the core of the city attract immigrants. As they immigrate, the newcomers bring along their histories, bringing new networks or enforcing existing ones. At the same time, their history offers opportunities to identify with or likewise exclude. Division and connection come hand in hand. Rather than attempting to eradicate such tensions and contradictions in the theoretical framework, modern urban thinking – influenced by poststructuralist thought – accounts for both sides. Static universal bodies are replaced by multidimensional networks, allowing for fluidity and dynamism.

Global cities

A global city, also known as a world city, is a prominent centre of trade, banking, finance, innovations, and markets. The term "global city", as opposed to megacity, was coined by Saskia Sassen in a seminal 1991 work. Whereas "megacity" refers to any city of enormous size, a global city is one of enormous power or influence. Global cities, according to Sassen, have more in common with each other than with other cities in their host nations. Bangkok, Beijing, Brussels, Chicago, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, London, Moscow, Mumbai, New York, Los Angeles, Paris, São Paulo, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, and Toronto are commonly referred to as global cities, however, the term is also applied to other cities. The notion of global cities regards the power of cities as contained within cities. The city is seen as a container where skills and resources are concentrated. The more successful city is able to concentrate more of these skills and resources. This makes the city itself more powerful in terms that it can influence what is happening around the world. Following this view of cities, it is possible to rank the world's cities hierarchically (John Friedmann and Goetz Wolff, "World City Formation: An Agenda for Research and Action," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 6, no. 3 (1982): 319.). Critics of the notion point out to the different realms of power. The term global city narrowly focuses on economics. Cities like Rome are powerful in religious terms. Additionally, it has been questioned whether the city itself can be regarded as an actor. In 1995 Kanter argued that successful cities can be identified by three elements. To be successful, a city needs to have good thinkers (concepts), good makers (competence) or good traders (connections). The interplay of these three elements, Kanter argued, means that good cities are not planned but managed.

Environmental effects

Modern cities are known for creating their own microclimates. This is due to the large clustering of hard surfaces that heat up in sunlight and that channel rainwater into underground ducts. As a result, city weather is often windier and cloudier than the weather in the surrounding countryside. Conversely, because these effects make cities warmer (urban heat shield or urban heat islands) than the surrounding area, tornadoes tend to go around cities. Additionally towns can cause significant downstream weather effects. Garbage and sewage are two major problems for cities, as is air pollution coming from internal combustion engines (see public transport). The impact of cities on places elsewhere, be it hinterlands or places far away, is considered in the notion of city footprinting (ecological footprint).

Inner city

Main article: Inner city In the United States, United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, the term "inner city" is sometimes used with the connotation of being an area, perhaps a ghetto, where people are less educated and wealthy and where there is more crime. These connotations are less common in other Western countries, as deprived areas are located in varying parts of other Western cities. In fact, with the gentrification of some formerly run-down central city areas the reverse connotation can apply - in Australia the term "outer suburban" applied to a person implies a lack of sophistication. For instance, in Paris the inner city is the richest part of the metropolitan area, where housing is the most expensive, and where elites and high-income individuals dwell. The United States, in particular, suffers from a culture of anti-urbanism that some say dates back as far as Thomas Jefferson who wrote that "The mobs of great cities add just so much to the support of pure government as sores do to the strength of the human body." On the businessmen who brought manufacturing industry into cities and hence increased the population density necessary to supply the workforce, he wrote "the manufactures of the great cities... have begotten a depravity of morals, a dependence and corruption, which renders them an undesirable accession to a country whose morals are sound." Modern anti-urban attitudes are to be found in America in the form of a planning profession that continues to develop land on a low-density suburban basis, where access to amenities, work and shopping is provided almost exclusively by car rather than on foot. However, there is a growing movement in North America called "New Urbanism" that calls for a return to traditional city planning methods where mixed-use zoning allows people to walk from one type of land-use to another. The idea is that housing, shopping, office space, and leisure facilities are all provided within walking distance of each other, thus reducing the demand for road-space and also improving the efficiency and effectiveness of mass transit.

See also

Lists


- List of cities by country
- List of cities by latitude
- List of metropolitan areas by population
- Thirty most populous cities in the world
- List of city nicknames
- List of fictional cities

Miscellaneous


- City status in Sweden
- City status in the United Kingdom
- benign neglect
- The City
- County
- Independent city
- Megacity
- municipal government
- global city
- planned city
- urban geography
- urban planning
- Ville
- Burning Man, a week-long festival as a temporary city (housing 35,000 residents in 2004)
- SimCity, a popular series of city simulators, sometimes used in education.
- Freedom Ship, concept for a floating city

References


- Toynbee, Arnold (ed), Cities of Destiny, New York: McGraw-Hill, 1967. Pan historical/geographical essays, many images. Starts with "Athens", ends with "The Coming World City-Ecumenopolis".

External links


- [http://www.populationdata.net/palmaresvilles.html All 1M+ major urban areas]
- [http://www.p.lodz.pl/I35/personal/jw37/EUROPE/europe.html Place Names of Europe]
- [http://www.tageo.com/index.htm Place Names of the world - Index of 2M cities]
- [http://www.nationmaster.com/graph-T/geo_lar_cit&int=-1&b_ac=1 Most populous city of each country]
- [http://www.world-gazetteer.com/st/statb.htm For all countries, number of cities per size category]
- [http://www.nationmaster.com/graph-T/geo_lar_cit_pop_cap&int=-1 For each country, part of its population that lives in its most populous city] (with some odd figures due to the comparison of data of different years)
- [http://www.nlc.org/nlc_org/site/ The National League of Cities] (United States)
- [http://www.innercitypress.org Inner City Press] (Weekly publication on cities, United States)
- [http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/cgi-local/DHI/dhi.cgi?id=dv1-52 Dictionary of the History of ideas:] The City
- [http://www.morganquitno.com/cit05list.htm Morgan Quinto's 11th Annual America's Safest (and Most Dangerous) Cities]
- [http://www.skyscraperpage.com A friendly website designed by skyscraper enthusiasts featuring diagrams and descriptions of the buildings of cities around the world.]
- [http://www.bifurcaciones.cl bifurcaciones.cl, urban cultural studies journal]
- [http://worldheritage-forum.net/de/ Worldheritage-Forum] Weblog and Informationen on UNESCO World Heritage topics (with focus on cities) Category:Urban studies and planning Category:Cities ja:都市 ja:市 nb:By simple:city th:เมือง

Netherlands

The Netherlands (Dutch: Nederland; IPA pronunciation: /"ne:dərlant/) is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands that is formed by the Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba. (Dutch: Koninkrijk der Nederlanden). The Netherlands is a parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarch, located in northwestern Europe. It borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east. In many countries, the Netherlands is often referred to by the name Holland, and even within the Netherlands itself this name is occasionally used as an acceptable translation of the country's name. However widespread, this usage is technically incorrect, as "Holland" is actually a region in the central-western part of the Netherlands, divided into two provinces. Also, the English plural form 'the Netherlands' is a remnant from times when the country was not yet independent and united. See below under 'naming conventions'. The Netherlands is one of the most densely populated and geographically low-lying countries in the world (its name literally means "low country") and is famous for its dikes, windmills, wooden shoes, tulips, bicycles and social tolerance. Its liberal policies (towards drugs and prostitution among other things) receive international attention. The country is host to the International Court of Justice. The English adjective and noun for "of or relating to the Netherlands" is "Dutch," which is also the name of the Dutch language. In the Netherlands, "Netherlands" is sometimes used as an adjective. The origin of this local usage may be that the Dutch word for "Dutch" is Nederlands and to avoid confusion with the words "Duits" (in Dutch) and "Deutsch" (in German) that refer to the country Germany and its language.

Capital

Amsterdam is the hoofdstad ("capital city"), where according to the constitution, the sovereign must be sworn in. The Hague is the Netherlands regeringszetel or residentie (seat of government, residence of the monarch). It is the seat of government, the home of the monarch, and the location of most foreign embassies.

History

:For more details on this topic, see History of the Netherlands and Dutch monarchy. Under Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and king of Spain, the region was part of the Seventeen Provinces of the Netherlands, which also includes most of present-day Belgium, Luxembourg, and some land of France and Germany. In 1568 the Eighty Years' War started after the entire population had been condemned to death by the Holy See and confirmed by the king, and in 1579, the northern half of the Seventeen Provinces declared itself independent and formed the Union of Utrecht, which is seen as the foundation of the modern Netherlands. Philip II, the son of Charles V, was not prepared to let them go that easily. It would not be until 1648 that Spain would recognize Dutch independence. After gaining formal independence from the Spanish Empire under King Philip IV, the Dutch grew to become one of the major seafaring and economic powers of the 17th century during the period of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. In the era, referred to as the Dutch Golden Age, colonies and trading posts were established all over the globe. (See Dutch colonial empire) Many economic historians regard the Netherlands as the first thoroughly capitalist country in the world. In early modern Europe it featured the wealthiest trading city (Amsterdam) and the first full-time stock exchange. The inventiveness of the traders led to insurance and retirement funds as well as such less benign phenomena as the boom-bust cycle, the world's first asset-inflation bubble, the tulip mania of 1636-1637, and according to Murray Sayle, the world's first bear raider - Isaac le Maire, who forced prices down by dumping stock and then buying it back at a discount ("Japan Goes Dutch", London Review of Books [April 5, 2001]: 3-7). After briefly being incorporated in the First French Empire under Napoleon, the Kingdom of the Netherlands was formed in 1815, consisting of the present day Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. In addition, the king of the Netherlands became hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg. Belgium rebelled and gained independence in 1830, while the personal union between Luxembourg and the Netherlands was severed in 1890 as a result of ascendancy laws which prevented Queen Wilhelmina from becoming Grand Duke. The Netherlands possessed several colonies, most notably the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) and Suriname (the latter was traded with the British for New Amsterdam, now known as New York). These 'colonies' were first administered by the Dutch East India Company and the Dutch West India Company, both collective private enterprises. Three centuries later these companies got into financial trouble and the territories in which they operated were taken over by the Dutch government (in 1815 and 1791 respectively). Only then did they become official colonies. During the 19th century, The Netherlands was slow to industrialize compared to neighboring countries, mainly due to its unique infrastructure of waterways and reliance on wind power. After remaining neutral in World War I, over 100,000 Dutch Jews were murdered in the Holocaust of World War II, along with significant numbers of Dutch Roma (gypsies). After the war, the Dutch economy prospered again, being a member of the Benelux (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg) and European Economic Community unions. The Netherlands was among the twelve founding members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and among the six founding members of the European Coal and Steel Community, which would later evolve into the European Union.

Naming conventions

The name Holland is often used, incorrectly, for The Netherlands, especially in other languages. The origin of the misnomer lies in the fact that the region of Holland was the economic powerhouse during the time of the United Provinces (1581-1795). After the Napoleonic era, Holland became a mere province of the Kingdom and was split into North and South Holland in 1840. Many people, especially from the northern and southern provinces, object to the use of the name Holland for The Netherlands. But to avoid confusion when addressing other nationals, the Dutch themselves often use the name 'Holland'. The plural "Netherlands" is actually an archaic term, referring to the time when it was a collection of regions that were not yet fully united. In The Netherlands itself the country is called Nederland (literally meaning "low country"), the people are called Nederlanders ("Dutch" in English) and the language is called Nederlands (again, "Dutch" in English); the -s in Nederlands is not a plural ending, but rather is cognate to the English suffix -ish. The English word "Dutch" is akin to the German word Deutsch, which originally meant "(Language) of the (common) people" in contrast with the medieval elite who spoke Latin. An old term for the language of The Netherlands is Diets or Nederdietsch. All these terms derive from what in Latin was known as Theodisca, from Germanic
- Þeudiskaz.

Politics

The Netherlands has been a parliamentary democracy since 1848 and a constitutional monarchy since 1815; before that it had been a republic from 1581 to 1806 (it was occupied by France between 1806 and 1815). The pro forma head of state, since 1980, is Queen Beatrix of the House of Orange-Nassau. The Dutch monarch has little political power, but serves mostly as a ceremonial figurehead to represent the nation. Dutch governments always consist of a coalition, as there is not (and has never been) a single political party large enough to get the majority vote. Formally, the queen appoints the members of the government. In practice, once the results of parliamentary elections are known, a coalition government is formed (in a process of negotiations that can take several months), after which the government formed in this way is officially appointed by the queen. The head of the government is the Prime Minister, in Dutch Minister President or Premier, a primus inter pares who is usually also the leader of the largest party in the coalition. The degree of influence the queen has on actual government decision making is a topic of ongoing speculation. The parliament consists of two houses. The 150 members of the Lower House (Tweede Kamer, or Second Chamber) are elected every four years in direct elections. The provincial parliaments are directly elected every 4 years as well. The members of the provincial parliaments vote (indirectly) for the less important Senate (Eerste Kamer, or First Chamber). Together, the First and Second Chamber are known as the Staten Generaal, the States General. Political scientists consider The Netherlands a classic example of a consociational state, at least in part caused by the necessity in the Netherlands since the middle ages for different cities to cooperate in order to fight the water (different cities were at the time like different countries by today's standards, and often at war). This necessity to reach an agreement despite differences is called the polder model in Dutch. Also, the Netherlands has long been a nation of traders and for international trade one has to be tolerant of the other person's culture. The Netherlands is a neutral country in most international affairs and thus managed to keep out of World War I (although this did not work in World War II). As a result, the Dutch have a 'friendly' reputation in other countries, to the point that bearers of a Dutch passport often have relatively little difficulty getting into other countries, for visits or even for emigration purposes. However, the early years of the 21st century have seen a political change with the right wing in politics gaining on the left. This is illustrated by the quick rise (and fall) of the LPF. Pim Fortuyn, its founder, held former cabinets responsible for the failing integration of immigrants. The present government is led by the cabinet Balkenende II. This cabinet got some critique about economic reforms and the immigration policies. On June 1 2005 the Dutch electorate voted in a referendum against the proposed EU Constitution by a majority of 61.6%, three days after the French had also voted against. See also: Prime Minister of the Netherlands, List of Prime Ministers of the Netherlands

Provinces

List of Prime Ministers of the Netherlands The Netherlands is divided into twelve administrative regions, called provinces, each under a Governor, who is called Commissaris van de Koningin (Commissionair of the Queen).
- Friesland - north west; capital Leeuwarden
- Groningen - north east; capital Groningen
- Drenthe - south of Groningen; capital Assen
- Overijssel - east central, south of Drenthe; capital Zwolle
- Flevoland - central, north of Utrecht; capital Lelystad
- Gelderland - east central, south of Overijssel; capital Arnhem
- Utrecht - central; capital Utrecht
- North Holland - (Noord-Holland) north west (including Amsterdam); capital Haarlem
- South Holland - (Zuid-Holland) west central, south of North Holland (including Rotterdam); capital The Hague (s-Gravenhage or Den Haag)
- Zeeland - south west; capital Middelburg
- North Brabant - (Noord-Brabant) south central; capital 's-Hertogenbosch (or Den Bosch)
- Limburg - south east; capital Maastricht. All provinces are divided into municipalities (gemeenten), together 467; see Municipalities in the Netherlands, and also List of cities in the Netherlands by province. The country is also subdivided in water districts, governed by a water board (waterschap or hoogheemraadschap), each having authority in matters concerning water management. As of 1 January 2005 there are twenty seven. The creation of water boards actually pre-dates that of the nation itself, the first appearing in 1196. In fact, the Dutch water boards are one of the oldest democratic entities in the world still in existence. See also: Ranked list of Dutch provinces.

Geography

Ranked list of Dutch provinces Ranked list of Dutch provinces A remarkable aspect of the Netherlands is the flatness of the country. About half of its surface area is less than 1 m above sea level, and large parts of it are actually below sea level (see [http://www.minbuza.nl/default.asp?CMS_ITEM=MBZ302750 map showing these areas]). An extensive range of dikes and dunes protect these areas from flooding. Numerous massive pumping stations keep the ground water level in check. The highest point, the Vaalserberg, in the south-eastern most point of the country, is 321 m above sea level. A substantial part of the Netherlands, for example, all of Flevoland and large parts of Holland, has been reclaimed from the sea. These areas are known as polders. This has led to the saying "God created the world, but the Dutch created the Netherlands." In years past, the Dutch coastline has changed considerably due to human intervention and natural disasters. Most notable in terms of land loss are the 1134 storm, which created the archipelago of Zeeland in the south west, and the 1287 storm, which killed 50,000 people and created the Zuyderzee (now dammed in and renamed the IJsselmeer - see below) in the northwest, giving Amsterdam direct access to the sea. The St. Elizabeth flood of 1421 and the mismanagement in its aftermath destroyed a newly reclaimed polder, replacing it with the 72 km² Biesbosch tidal floodplains in the southcentre. The most recent parts of Zeeland were flooded during the North Sea Flood of 1953 and 1,836 people were killed, after which the Delta Plan was executed. The disasters were partially man-made; the people drained relatively high lying swampland for use as farmland. This drainage caused the fertile peat to compress and the ground level to drop, locking the land users in a vicious circle whereby they would lower the water level to compensate for the drop in ground level, causing the underlying peat to compress even more. The vicious circle is unsolvable and remains to this day. Up until the 19th century peat was dug up, dried, and used for fuel, further adding to the problem. To guard against floods, a series of defences against the water were contrived. In the first millennium, villages and farmhouses were built on man-made hills called terps. Later these terps were connected by dikes. In the 12th century, local government agencies called "waterschappen" (English "waterbodies") or "hoogheemraadschappen" ("high home councils") started to appear, whose job it was to maintain the water level and to protect a region from floods. (The waterbodies are still around today performing the exact same function.) As the ground level dropped, the dikes by necessity grew and merged into an integrated system. In the 13th century, windmills came into use to pump water out of the areas by now below sea level. The windmills were later used to drain lakes, creating the famous polders. In 1932, the Afsluitdijk (English "Closure Dike") was completed, blocking the former Zuyderzee (Southern Sea) off from the North Sea and thus creating the IJsselmeer (IJssel Lake). It became part of the larger Zuiderzee Works in which four polders totalling 1,650 km² were reclaimed from the sea. After the 1953 disaster, the