Madurodam
Making things small
Madurodam
Madurodam is a unique miniature park located in The Hague, Netherlands. It offers a detailed representation of a Dutch city on a 1:25 scale, featuring miniaturized versions of Dutch landmarks, historic cities, and major projects. Visitors can see sites such as the Rijksmuseum, the Binnenhof, and the Port of Rotterdam, all recreated with astonishing precision.
Madurodam: showing the oldest building of our government (the Hague). The brown building is called "de Ridderhof". It was built between 1248 and 1280.
the Netherlands
The allure of Madurodam lies in the opportunity it provides to experience the entirety of the Netherlands in miniature form. It’s a fascinating attraction for both children and adults.
the language
This love for miniaturization extends beyond Madurodam and is deeply integrated in Dutch culture, particularly in the language. The Dutch frequently use extensions to words such as "-je" or "-tje", thereby making them smaller. For instance, "huis" (house) becomes "huisje" (little house) and "boek" (book) becomes "boekje" (little book). This linguistic feature also reflects a broader cultural characteristic by making things small and approachable. Even if a house is big, people still may speak of "huisje".
Now we will focus on these extensions.
-je: used for words ending in a vowel.
For instance words ending with s or g
The construction with -je is the most common construction.
1 big small
2 house, small house, box, small box
3 knife, small knife
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The ending -tje is used for instance with words ending with a l and sometimes an n if the sound before the last n is a sound of combination of two vowels.
1 big small
2 table, big table, chair, small chair
3 train, small train
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This ending is used for instance with words that ends on a n or a m.
1 big small
2 pan, small pan, bomb, small bomb
3 sheep, small sheep
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test
1 ?
2 ?
3 ?
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2 ?
3 ?
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2 ?
3 ?
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