In the
Dutch language
Dutch ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language and is the List of languages by total number of speak ...
, the word t () is a
contraction
Contraction may refer to:
Linguistics
* Contraction (grammar), a shortened word
* Poetic contraction, omission of letters for poetic reasons
* Elision, omission of sounds
** Syncope (phonology), omission of sounds in a word
* Synalepha, merged ...
of the
article
Article often refers to:
* Article (grammar), a grammatical element used to indicate definiteness or indefiniteness
* Article (publishing), a piece of nonfictional prose that is an independent part of a publication
Article(s) may also refer to:
...
"het", meaning "the". 't can be found as a ''
tussenvoegsel
In a Dutch name, a (; ) is a family name affix positioned between a person's given name and the main part of their family name. There are similar concepts in many languages, such as Celtic family name prefixes, French particles, and the Germa ...
'', a word that is positioned between a person's first and last
name
A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A person ...
. Careful writers should use an apostrophe () in front of the ''t'' – and not confuse it with a left quotation mark ()
and put a Space (punctuation), space before the apostrophe.
Examples
* Dirk van 't Klooster
* Evert-Jan 't Hoen
* Gerard 't Hooft
* Haas Visser 't Hooft
* in 't Veld (surname)
** Bart Spring in 't Veld (note: surname is "Spring in 't Veld")
** Sophie in 't Veld
* Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff
* John van 't Schip
* Maarten 't Hart
* Tom van 't Hek
* Van 't Hof (surname)
* Van 't Wout (surname)
* Willem Visser 't Hooft
* Youp van 't Hek
See also
* Definite article reduction, a similar contraction in some dialects of English
* N-apostrophe, a similar digraph in Afrikaans.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:t
Dutch language
Dutch grammar