science

Opperlandse taal- & letterkunde

Opperlandse taal- & letterkunde is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Opperlandse taal- & letterkunde rather than just read about it. In short: Opperlandse taal- & letterkunde (written in 1981) is a book dedicated to peculiarities of the Dutch language. It was written by "Battus", one of many pseudonyms used by Hugo Brandt Corstius.

Key takeaways

Opperlandse taal- & letterkunde belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Opperlandse taal- & letterkunde to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Opperlandse taal- & letterkunde from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Opperlandse taal- & letterkunde (written in 1981) is a book dedicated to peculiarities of the Dutch language. It was written by "Battus", one of many pseudonyms used by Hugo Brandt Corstius. The title means "Upperlandic Language and Linguistics", where "Upperlandic" is word play on "Netherlandic".

Intended confusion The book has ten chapters, numbered 0 through 9, which use the Dutch language in a humorous way. Chapters are interleaved, with all odd-numbered pages belonging to different chapters than the adjacent even-numbered pages. This confusion is intentional. The two sets of pages are printed in different fonts. Chapter 0, titled "Programme and Constitution of Upperlandic" explains that "Upperlandic is Dutch on vacation. Upperlandic is Dutch without the awful utility generally attached to that language. Upperlandic words and sentences look like their Dutch counterparts at first glance. But then, Upperlandic is meant for the second glance." Other chapters of the book include various forms of word play such as palindromes, spoonerisms, the shortest possible sentence to include all letters, the shortest and longest possible words (Dutch allows for word-chaining), chessboard poetry, anagrams, lengthy pieces of prose containing no vowel other than the e, or containing no "tall" letters as on a typewriter (e.g. oeain but not j or b), and so forth.

Sequels In 2002, a sequel Opperlans! [sic] Taal- & letterkunde appeared. Because the chapters in this new version were even more mystifying, another book, Opperlans woordenboek, was released in 2007 to let readers identify the actual question. It is in fact a list of Upperlandic words with references to the big book – and a number of new words.

References

The complete Dutch text of the book appears in Digitale Bibliotheek voor de Nederlandse Letteren (Digital Library of Dutch Literature). Retrieved 29 May 2018.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Opperlandse taal- & letterkunde

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Opperlandse taal- & letterkunde claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Opperlandse taal- & letterkunde before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Opperlandse taal- & letterkunde ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Opperlandse taal- & letterkunde

In research: Opperlandse taal- & letterkunde appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Opperlandse taal- & letterkunde in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Opperlandse taal- & letterkunde is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1981 non-fiction books, Dutch-language non-fiction books, Dutch non-fiction books, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Opperlandse taal- & letterkunde outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Opperlandse taal- & letterkunde in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Opperlandse taal- & letterkunde means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Opperlandse taal- & letterkunde out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Opperlandse taal- & letterkunde in simple terms?

Opperlandse taal- & letterkunde (written in 1981) is a book dedicated to peculiarities of the Dutch language. It was written by "Battus", one of many pseudonyms used by Hugo Brandt Corstius.

Why does Opperlandse taal- & letterkunde matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Opperlandse taal- & letterkunde?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Opperlandse taal- & letterkunde.