Spelling debates

Tussen-n, koppelteken and dt

• Tussen-n (official rules since 1995, revised in 2005): write -en- when the first part is a noun whose only plural ends in -en: pannenkoek, boekenkast, paardenbloem. That is why pannekoek became pannenkoek in 1995, to the irritation of many.
• Write -e- without n when the first part has no plural, also has a plural in -s, or is unique: rijstebrij, gedachtegang (gedachten/gedachtes), zonnebloem (there is only one sun), Koninginnedag.
• Compounds are written as one word, even with English parts: fulltimebaan, babyboom. A hyphen (koppelteken) is used after abbreviations (cd-speler) and when vowels would clash: auto-ongeluk, zee-egel. Inside a word the trema marks a new syllable: zeeën, ruïne, geïnteresseerd.
• The infamous dt-fout: Hij wordt vijftig, but with inversion and jij/je the t drops: Word jij ook vijftig? Watch out: in Wordt je broer vijftig?, je means “your”, so the t stays.
• The official word list is the Groene Boekje of the Taalunie, the Dutch-Flemish language union. It is binding for government and education; elsewhere it is the generally followed norm.