The INT is committed to reaching a broad audience, from language enthusiasts to teachers and students of Dutch language and culture. We connect with people through our website, our newsletters, social media, podcasts and by being present at conferences, festivals, exhibitions and fairs.
Website
The website ivdnt.org features weekly publications of popular-scientific columns about words. Examples include ‘Nieuw woord van de week’ (neologisms), ‘Terug in de taal’ (historical words), ‘Uit de streek’ (dialectal words) and ‘Grammaticasafari’ (fun facts about the General Dutch Grammar). We also publish a monthly feature called ‘Woordpeiling’, wherein we discuss the most distinctive words present in the Dutch newspapers of that month. The ‘woordpeiling’ is based on a data-analysis of about ten million newspaper articles from the Corpus of Contemporary Dutch (Corpus Hedendaags Nederlands – CHN). The website woordpeiler.ivdnt.org visualizes the words and their usage trends. Additionally, we regularly publish mini-dictionaries called ‘gelegenheidswoordenboekjes’. These are dedicated to special events such as sports tournaments, jubilee years or interesting recent affairs. The website also has a separate ‘Education’ section dedicated to teachers, pupils and students.
Newsletters and the Press
The INT sends out a general newsletter to subscribers at least six times a year. An additional newsletter dedicated to terminology is published four times a year. Anyone who is interested can subscribe to these newsletters via our website. Using our press distribution list, we also regularly send out news and reports intended for a general audience to journalists and programme producers.
Social Media
We use the social media platforms LinkedIn, Facebook, Mastodon, Bluesky and Instagram to share news and messages. LinkedIn and Instagram are our two most frequently used and active platforms.
Podcasts
The INT produces two separate podcasts: ‘Over taal gesproken’ and ‘Waar komt pindakaas vandaan?‘. ‘Over taal gesproken’ is the go-to podcast for people interested in the Dutch language. Every episode, we speak to an expert about a Dutch language-related topic, such as dialects, the importance of terminology or the origin of new words. ‘Waar komt pindakaas vandaan?’ is a podcast series consisting of short episodes that discuss the surprising origins of everyday words. In episodes of about ten minutes, we discuss words that you might encounter in everyday situations, such as in a bar, in your fruit bowl, or in popular expressions. For example, does the name ‘cocktail’ have anything to do with the tails of our feathered crowing friends? Are there grapes in ‘grapefruits’? And how literal is the word ‘literally’? These podcasts are made in cooperation with the association Genootschap Onze Taal, and they are published in-house.
Other Popular-Scientific Activities
Every year in October, the INT contributes to the Week of the Dutch Language; a week wherein several organisations work together to highlight the versatility of the Dutch language through a variety of activities. Additionally, our staff members regularly give lectures, appear on radio shows and write books and articles aimed at everyone in the general public who is interested in language in general and Dutch in particular.