Language 101 and my wild Dutch classes

Sorry I've been missing in action the last couple of days. I am SWAMPED at work and in life. Everything is happening all at once and going by with blistering speed.

I meant to post something last night but then I had my Nederlandse klasse at the Embassy, went home and then got all tied up with things and before I knew it bedtime had arrived. I mean yesterday was a blur - I do remember what I learned in class though. I love Dutch - why didn't I learn this language before?!?! It is so cool - and so easy to learn - though the pronounciation is a lil hard at times (thankfully the Flemish accent is a little easier than that of the one in Holland - of course I most want to speak Dutch in Holland so I will have to learn both!) Generally though you have to get used to the idea that the nothing is as it appears - especially with regard to spelling. They key is to hear the word first or as you read it. There are some obvious clues but it's hard not to try to pronounce it like you would in English (though in my case I default to French pronunciation - don't ask me why!) What I have discovered though...

Trying to say words with 'g' in it can be hard. In linguistics terms it is a "voiceless velar fricative" which is represented by an "x" in the Int'l Phonetic alphabet. In lay terms it is like "clearing your throat" or the sound you make when you say "L'chaim" in Hebrew...

In short - the way I have learn to cope with this hard-to-make sound (the sound itself isn't hard to make, it is just to hard to integrate with other sounds to form a word!):

1) Give up control - you can't force it, no matter how much you try, relax and be natural
2) Just do it - take a deep breath, resolve not to get all bound up in trying to get it perfect the first time
3) Use your tongue - LOL sounds dirty be don't be afraid to put your tongue in new places! Heh heh. No really - each language is different. To make certain sounds in English your tongue and lips may need to placed a certain way - but in French, Dutch or any other language other positions/combinations etc may be needed to make the sound correctly. I'll spare you the super technical and boring explanation which I know as "sophmore year core linguistics classes" needed to graduate!
4) Have fun!

I want to write more but I'm on my way out again! It's taken all day to write this much!