115-509: Lodewijk Frederik Ottens (21 June 1926 – 6 March 2021), known as Lou Ottens , was a Dutch engineer and inventor , best known as the inventor of the cassette tape , and for his work in helping to develop the compact disc . Ottens was employed by Philips for the entirety of his career. Ottens was born in Bellingwolde on 21 June 1926. Ottens showed an interest in technology and tinkering from an early age. While in his teens, during
230-401: A Mozart concerto without having to flip over multiple, four-minute-per-side 78s, and that pop music fans, who were used to listening to one song at a time, would find the shorter time of the 10-inch LP sufficient. As a result, the 12-inch format was reserved solely for higher-priced classical recordings and Broadway shows . Popular music continued to appear only on 10-inch records. However, by
345-616: A drafting technician for an X-ray technology factory. He graduated in 1952. In 1952, Ottens was hired by Philips . He started in the mechanization department of the Main Industry Group in Eindhoven . In 1957, he transferred to a newly opened Philips factory in Hasselt , Belgium. At the time, this factory mainly produced audio equipment, including turntables , tape recorders , and loudspeakers . In 1960, Ottens became
460-453: A 12-inch diameter record to less than five minutes per side. The new product was a 12- or 10-inch (30 or 25 cm) fine-grooved disc made of PVC ("vinyl") and played with a smaller-tipped "microgroove" stylus at a speed of 33 + 1 ⁄ 3 rpm. Each side of a 12-inch LP could play for about 25 minutes, allowing for a total runtime of approximately 50 minutes. Despite some earlier experiments and attempts at commercial marketing,
575-469: A 1970 inquiry, West Frisians identified themselves more with the Dutch than with East Frisians or North Frisians . A study in 1984 found that 39% of the inhabitants of Friesland considered themselves "primarily Frisian," although without precluding also being Dutch. A further 36 per cent claimed they were Dutch, but also Frisian, the remaining 25% saw themselves as only Dutch. A 2013 study showed that 45% of
690-499: A 30 cm diameter flexible plastic disc, with a duration of about ten minutes playing time per side. Victor's early introduction of a long-playing record was a commercial failure for several reasons including the lack of affordable, consumer playback equipment and consumer rejection during the Great Depression . These "Program Transcription" discs, as Victor called them, played at 33 + 1 ⁄ 3 rpm and used
805-614: A Dutch surname is never capitalised (e.g. V an d en Berg ). The first affix in a Dutch surname is only capitalised if it is not preceded by a first name, initial or other surname. For example Vincent v an Gogh , V. v an Gogh, mr. V an Gogh, V an Gogh and V. v an Gogh- v an d en Berg are all correct, but Vincent V an Gogh is wrong. Many surnames of Dutch diaspora (mainly in the English-speaking world and Francophonie ) are adapted, not only in pronunciation but also in spelling. For example, by merging and capitalising
920-614: A brief period during the 13th or 14th century it lay more towards the east, when various eastern towns and cities aligned themselves with the emerging Hanseatic League . The entire Northern Dutch cultural area is located in the Netherlands , its ethnically Dutch population is estimated to be just under 10,000,000. Northern Dutch culture has been less under French influence than the Southern Dutch culture area. Frisians, specifically West Frisians , are an ethnic group present in
1035-481: A congregation, Protestant-(influenced) values and customs are present. Generally, it can be said that the Northern Dutch are more pragmatic , favor a direct approach, and display a less-exuberant lifestyle when compared to Southerners. On a global scale, the Northern Dutch have formed the dominant vanguard of the Dutch language and culture since the fall of Antwerp , exemplified by the use of "Dutch" itself as
1150-516: A dialect still closely resembling Common Germanic . Following the end of the migration period in the West around 500, with large federations (such as the Franks , Vandals , Alamanni and Saxons ) settling the decaying Roman Empire , a series of monumental changes took place within these Germanic societies. Among the most important of these are their conversion from Germanic paganism to Christianity ,
1265-465: A difference in religious situations. Contemporary Dutch, according to a 2017 study conducted by Statistics Netherlands, are mostly irreligious with 51% of the population professing no religion. The largest Christian denomination with 24% are the Roman Catholics , followed by 15% Protestants . Furthermore, there are 5% Muslims and 6% others (among others Buddhists). People of Dutch ancestry in
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#17327870774761380-409: A few relatively minor refinements and the important later addition of stereophonic sound in 1957, it remained the standard format for record albums during a period in popular music known as the album era . LP was originally a trademark of Columbia and competed against the smaller 7-inch sized "45" or "single" format by RCA Victor , eventually ending up on top. Today in the vinyl revival era,
1495-450: A large majority of records are based on the LP format and hence the LP name continues to be in use today to refer to new records. At the time the LP was introduced, nearly all phonograph records for home use were made of an abrasive (and therefore noisy ) shellac compound, employed a much larger groove, and played at approximately 78 revolutions per minute (rpm), limiting the playing time of
1610-563: A lengthy and complex process. Though the majority of the defining characteristics (such as language, religion, architecture or cuisine) of the Dutch ethnic group have accumulated over the ages, it is difficult (if not impossible) to clearly pinpoint the exact emergence of the Dutch people. In the first centuries CE, the Germanic tribes formed tribal societies with no apparent form of autocracy (chiefs only being elected in times of war), had religious beliefs based on Germanic paganism and spoke
1725-461: A majority of Catholics. Linguistic (dialectal) differences (positioned along the Rhine/Meuse rivers) and to a lesser extent, historical economic development of both regions are also important elements in any dissimilarity. On a smaller scale cultural pluriformity can also be found; be it in local architecture or (perceived) character. This wide array of regional identities positioned within such
1840-622: A much quieter playing surface. These records could hold up to 15 minutes per side. Beethoven's Fifth Symphony , performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra under Leopold Stokowski , was the first 12-inch recording issued. Compton Pakensham, reviewing the event in The New York Times , wrote, "What we were not prepared for was the quality of reproduction ... incomparably fuller." CBS Laboratories head research scientist Peter Goldmark led Columbia's team to develop
1955-594: A national level. This is partly caused by the popular stereotypes in the Netherlands as well as Flanders, which are mostly based on the "cultural extremes" of both Northern and Southern culture, including in religious identity. Though these stereotypes tend to ignore the transitional area formed by the Southern provinces of the Netherlands and most Northern reaches of Belgium, resulting in overgeneralisations. This self-perceived split between Flemings and Dutch, despite
2070-449: A pair of 2-LP sets, Puccini 's La Bohème (SL-1) and Humperdinck 's Hansel and Gretel (SL-2). All 12-inch pressings were of 220 grams vinyl. Columbia may have planned for the Bach album ML 4002 to be the first since the releases came in alphabetical order by composer (the first 54 LPS, ML 4002 thru ML 4055, are in order from Bach to Tchaikovsky ) Nathan Milstein was very popular in
2185-413: A phonograph record that would hold at least 20 minutes per side. Although Goldmark was the chief scientist who selected the team, he delegated most of the experimental work to William S. Bachman, whom Goldmark had lured from General Electric, and Howard H. Scott . Research began in 1939, was suspended during World War II , and resumed in 1945. Columbia Records unveiled the LP at a press conference in
2300-474: A relatively small area, has often been attributed to the fact that many of the current Dutch provinces were de facto independent states for much of their history, as well as the importance of local Dutch dialects (which often largely correspond with the provinces themselves) to the people who speak them. Northern Dutch culture is marked by Protestantism , especially Calvinism . Though today many do not adhere to Protestantism anymore, or are only nominally part of
2415-650: A replacement for the VCR, called the Video 2000 . This was a new video cassette system that they had developed in collaboration with Grundig . Each company released separate versions of this recorder, with Ottens responsible for the Philips version. Ottens was confronted with many technical problems very early after the release of the product. Within a few months of the products release, a majority of devices were returned to Philips for repair. In addition to this, production costs of
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#17327870774762530-546: A series of sound shifts. The Anglo-Frisian nasal spirant law and Anglo-Frisian brightening resulted in certain early Germanic languages evolving into what are now English and West Frisian, while the Second Germanic sound shift resulted in what would become (High) German. Dutch underwent none of these sound changes and thus occupies a central position in the West Germanic languages group. Standard Dutch has
2645-532: A set of demands. The subsequently issued Great Privilege met many of these demands, which included that Dutch, not French, should be the administrative language in the Dutch-speaking provinces under Burgundian rule (i.e. Flanders, Brabant and Holland) and that the States-General had the right to hold meetings without the monarch's permission or presence. The overall tenor of the document (which
2760-571: A seven-person team of technicians with experience in digital technology, two of whom came from the Natlab. In 1977, this team developed the first test model of the digital disc. This prompted enthusiasm from Ottens and led to his formation of a dedicated development lab for the project, which he called the Compact Disc Development lab. A small production facility for test discs was created for the development lab. The first full model
2875-461: A somewhat finer and more closely spaced groove than typical 78 rpm records. They were to be played with a special "Chromium Orange" chrome-plated steel needle. The 10-inch discs, mostly used for popular and light classical music, were normally pressed in shellac, but the 12-inch discs, mostly used for "serious" classical music, were pressed in Victor's new vinyl-based "Victrolac" compound, which provided
2990-644: A sound inventory of thirteen vowels, six diphthongs and twenty-three consonants, of which the voiceless velar fricative ( hard ch ) is considered a well known sound, perceived as typical for the language. Other relatively well known features of the Dutch language and usage are the frequent use of digraphs like Oo , Ee , Uu and Aa , the ability to form long compounds and the use of slang, including profanity . The Dutch language has many dialects. These dialects are usually grouped into six main categories; Hollandic , West-Flemish / Zeelandic , East Flemish , Brabantic and Limburgish . The Dutch part of Low Saxon
3105-457: A starting point. Ottens started the design of the cassette by cutting a block of wood to fit into his jacket pocket. This wood block would become the model for what became the first portable cassette recorder, the EL 3300. Ottens managed a team of ten or twelve workers who had experience in designing gramophones and tape recorders to develop the cassette and its equipment. While developing the cassette,
3220-523: A way to reduce the size of their device. The companies agreed on joint development and set a universal standard. Upon returning from his trip to Japan, Ottens became technical director of Philips Video Main Industry Group. This division was much larger than the audio division, and was a major player in the TV set business at the time. In his first year in this role, the video division started to develop
3335-541: Is a West Germanic language spoken by around 29 million people. Old Frankish, a precursor of the Dutch standard language, was first attested around 500, in a Frankish legal text, the Lex salica , and has a written record of more than 1500 years, although the material before around 1200 is fragmentary and discontinuous. As a West Germanic language, Dutch is related to other languages in that group such as West Frisian , English and German . Many West Germanic dialects underwent
3450-522: Is also referred to by the colloquialism " below/above the great rivers " as the rivers Rhine and Meuse roughly form a natural boundary between the Northern Dutch (those Dutch living North of these rivers), and the Southern Dutch (those living South of them). The division is partially caused by (traditional) religious differences, with the North used to be predominantly Protestant and the South still having
3565-431: Is an analog sound storage medium , specifically a phonograph record format characterized by: a speed of 33 + 1 ⁄ 3 rpm ; a 12- or 10-inch (30- or 25-cm) diameter; use of the "microgroove" groove specification; and a vinyl (a copolymer of vinyl chloride acetate) composition disk. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire US record industry and, apart from
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3680-422: Is often referred to with the terms autochtoon and allochtoon . These legal concepts refer to place of birth and citizenship rather than cultural background and do not coincide with the more fluid concepts of ethnicity used by cultural anthropologists. As did many European ethnicities during the 19th century, the Dutch also saw the emerging of various Greater Netherlands - and pan -movements seeking to unite
3795-553: Is sometimes also viewed as a dialect of Dutch as it falls in the area of the Dutch standard language. Of these dialects, Hollandic and Dutch Low Saxon are solely spoken by Northerners. Brabantic, East Flemish, West-Flemish / Zeelandic and Limburgish are cross border dialects in this respect. Lastly, the dialectal situation is characterised by the major distinction between 'Hard G' and 'Soft G' speaking areas (see also Dutch phonology ). Some linguists subdivide these into approximately 28 distinct dialects. Dutch immigrants also exported
3910-461: The Roelantslied and Van den vos Reynaerde (1200) were widely enjoyed. The various city guilds as well as the necessity of water boards (in charge of dikes, canals, etc.) in the Dutch delta and coastal regions resulted in an exceptionally high degree of communal organisation. It is also around this time, that ethnonyms such as Diets and Nederlands emerge. In the second half of
4025-594: The Dutch Revolt . The Dutch provinces, though fighting alone now, for the first time in their history found themselves fighting a common enemy. This, together with the growing number of Dutch intelligentsia and the Dutch Golden Age in which Dutch culture , as a whole, gained international prestige, consolidated the Dutch as an ethnic group. By the middle of the 16th century an overarching, 'national' (rather than 'ethnic') identity seemed in development in
4140-633: The Dutch language . Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Aruba , Suriname , Guyana , Curaçao , Argentina , Brazil , Canada , Australia , South Africa , New Zealand and the United States . The Low Countries were situated around the border of France and the Holy Roman Empire , forming a part of their respective peripheries and
4255-622: The European Union , and the Union of South American Nations (due to Suriname being a member). In South Africa and Namibia , Afrikaans is spoken, a daughter language of Dutch, which itself was an official language of South Africa until 1983. The Dutch, Flemish and Surinamese governments coordinate their language activities in the Nederlandse Taalunie (' Dutch Language Union '), an institution also responsible for governing
4370-881: The Frankish Empire of Charlemagne . However, the population make-up of the Frankish Empire, or even early Frankish kingdoms such as Neustria and Austrasia , was not dominated by Franks. Though the Frankish leaders controlled most of Western Europe, the Franks themselves were confined to the Northwestern part (i.e. the Rhineland , the Low Countries and Northern France ) of the Empire. Eventually,
4485-581: The Franks , themselves a union of multiple smaller tribes (many of them, such as the Batavi , Chauci , Chamavi and Chattuarii , were already living in the Low Countries prior to the forming of the Frankish confederation), began to incur the northwestern provinces of the Roman Empire . Eventually, in 358, the Salian Franks , one of the three main subdivisions among the Frankish alliance, settled
4600-616: The German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II , he constructed a radio that he would use to secretly listen to Radio Oranje broadcasts. In order to avoid Nazi German jammers , Ottens constructed the radio with a primitive directional antenna . After the war, Ottens began attending the Delft University of Technology , where he studied mechanical engineering . While attending university, Ottens worked part time as
4715-487: The Philips Natuurkundig Laboratorium (NatLab) for video records could also be used to make improvements in the field of audio. With contactless laser readout for audio, the issue of wear and tear that was common with vinyl records and tapes would no longer be a problem. The requirements and implementation of this technology to audio differed greatly from video, and research for this technology
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4830-668: The Southern Netherlands . Apart from a brief reunification from 1815 until 1830, within the United Kingdom of the Netherlands (which included the Francophones / Walloons ) the Dutch have been separated from the "Flemings" to this day. The border between the Netherlands and Belgium is purely contingent, simply reflecting the 1648 cease-fire line. There is a perfect dialect continuum. The Dutch colonial empire ( Dutch : Het Nederlandse Koloniale Rijk ) comprised
4945-752: The Union of Utrecht , which roughly corresponded to the Dutch-speaking part of the Spanish Netherlands, was unreachable. The Northern provinces were free, but during the 1580s the South was recaptured by Spain, and, despite various attempts, the armies of the Republic were unable to expel them. In 1648, the Peace of Münster , ending the Eighty Years' War , acknowledged the independence of the Dutch Republic , but maintained Spanish control of
5060-491: The Waldorf Astoria on June 21, 1948, in two formats: 10 inches (25 centimetres) in diameter, matching that of 78 rpm singles, and 12 inches (30 centimetres) in diameter. The initial release of 133 recordings were: 85 12-inch classical LPs (ML 4001 to 4085), 26 10-inch classics (ML 2001 to 2026), eighteen 10-inch popular numbers (CL 6001 to 6018), and four 10-inch juvenile records (JL 8001 to 8004). According to
5175-589: The demonym for the country in which they form a majority; the Netherlands . Linguistically, Northerners speak any of the Hollandic , Zeelandic , and Dutch Low Saxon dialects natively, or are influenced by them when they speak the Standard form of Dutch. Economically and culturally, the traditional centre of the region have been the provinces of North and South Holland , or today; the Randstad , although for
5290-474: The 11th and 12th centuries, were instrumental in breaking down the already relatively loose local form of feudalism. As they became increasingly powerful, they used their economic strength to influence the politics of their nobility. During the early 14th century, beginning in and inspired by the County of Flanders, the cities in the Low Countries gained huge autonomy and generally dominated or greatly influenced
5405-609: The 14th century, the dukes of Burgundy gained a foothold in the Low Countries through the marriage in 1369 of Philip the Bold of Burgundy to the heiress of the Count of Flanders. This was followed by a series of marriages, wars, and inheritances among the other Dutch fiefs and around 1450 the most important fiefs were under Burgundian rule, while complete control was achieved after the end of the Guelders Wars in 1543, thereby unifying
5520-688: The 1940s, however, so his performance of the Mendelssohn concerto was moved to ML 4001. When the LP was introduced in 1948, the 78 was the conventional format for phonograph records. By 1952, 78s still accounted for slightly more than half of the units sold in the United States, and just under half of the dollar sales. The 45 , oriented toward the single song, accounted for just over 30% of unit sales and just over 25% of dollar sales. The LP represented not quite 17% of unit sales and just over 26% of dollar sales. Ten years after their introduction,
5635-588: The 1949 Columbia catalog, issued September 1948, the first twelve-inch LP was Mendelssohn 's Concerto in E Minor by Nathan Milstein on the violin with the New York Philharmonic , conducted by Bruno Walter (ML 4001). Three ten-inch series were released: 'popular', starting with the reissue of The Voice of Frank Sinatra (CL 6001); 'classical', numbering from Beethoven's 8th symphony (ML 2001), and 'juvenile', commencing with Nursery Songs by Gene Kelly (JL 8001). Also released at this time were
5750-447: The 1990s. The King Biscuit Flower Hour is a late example, as are Westwood One 's The Beatle Years and Doctor Demento programs, which were sent to stations on LP at least through 1992. In September 1931, RCA Victor launched the first commercially available vinyl long-playing record, marketed as "Program-Transcription" records. These revolutionary discs were designed for playback at 33 + 1 ⁄ 3 rpm and pressed on
5865-428: The 19th and 20th centuries never really caught on in the Netherlands. The (re)definition of Dutch cultural identity has become a subject of public debate following the increasing influence of the European Union and the influx of non-Western immigrants in the post- World War II period. In this debate typically Dutch traditions have been put to the foreground. In sociological studies and governmental reports, ethnicity
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#17327870774765980-464: The 2010s and US vinyl sales in 2017 reached 15.6 million and 27 million for 2020. In 2022, US vinyl sales reached 41 million units, surpassing sales of the Compact Disc for the first time since 1987, once again making the LP the highest selling physical format there. Reel-to-reel magnetic tape recorders posed a new challenge to the LP in the 1950s, but the higher cost of pre-recorded tapes
6095-467: The Dutch Standard language, for example in matters of orthography . The origins of the word Dutch go back to Proto-Germanic, the ancestor of all Germanic languages, * theudo (meaning "national/popular"); akin to Old Dutch dietsc , Old High German diutsch , Old English þeodisc and Gothic þiuda all meaning "(of) the common ( Germanic ) people". As the tribes among
6210-402: The Dutch is Christianity , encompassing both Catholicism and Protestantism . However, in contemporary times, the majority no longer adhere to a particular Christian denomination. Significant percentages of the Dutch are adherents of humanism , agnosticism , atheism or individual spirituality . As with all ethnic groups, the ethnogenesis of the Dutch (and their predecessors) has been
6325-504: The Dutch language. Dutch was spoken by some settlers in the United States as a native language from the arrival of the first permanent Dutch settlers in 1615, surviving in isolated ethnic pockets until about 1900, when it ceased to be spoken except by first generation Dutch immigrants. The Dutch language nevertheless had a significant impact on the region around New York . For example, the first language of U.S. president Martin Van Buren
6440-558: The Dutch people. However, the centralist policies of Burgundy in the 14th and 15th centuries, at first violently opposed by the cities of the Low Countries, had a profound impact and changed this. During Charles the Bold 's many wars, which were a major economic burden for the Burgundian Netherlands, tensions slowly increased. In 1477, the year of Charles' sudden death at Nancy , the Low Countries rebelled against their new liege, Mary of Burgundy , and presented her with
6555-404: The Dutch-speaking peoples across the continent, while trying to counteract Pan-Germanic tendencies. During the first half of the 20th century, there was a prolific surge in writings concerning the subject. One of its most active proponents was the historian Pieter Geyl , who wrote De Geschiedenis van de Nederlandsche stam ('The History of the Dutch tribe/people') as well as numerous essays on
6670-631: The English language used (the contemporary form of) Dutch to refer to any or all of the Germanic speakers on the European mainland (e.g. the Dutch, the Frisians and the Germans). Gradually its meaning shifted to the Germanic people they had most contact with, both because of their geographical proximity, but also because of the rivalry in trade and overseas territories: the people from the Republic of
6785-713: The Franks in Northern France were assimilated by the general Gallo-Roman population, and took over their dialects (which became French ), whereas the Franks in the Low Countries retained their language, which would evolve into Dutch. The current Dutch-French language border has (with the exception of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais in France and Brussels and the surrounding municipalities in Belgium) remained virtually identical ever since, and could be seen as marking
6900-419: The Germanic peoples began to differentiate its meaning began to change. The Anglo-Saxons of England for example gradually stopped referring to themselves as þeodisc and instead started to use Englisc , after their tribe. On the continent * theudo evolved into two meanings: Diets or Duuts meaning "Dutch (people)" (archaic) and Deutsch ( German , meaning "German (people)"). At first
7015-488: The Habsburg Netherlands, when inhabitants began to refer to it as their 'fatherland' and were beginning to be seen as a collective entity abroad; however, the persistence of language barriers, traditional strife between towns, and provincial particularism continued to form an impediment to more thorough unification. Following excessive taxation together with attempts at diminishing the traditional autonomy of
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#17327870774767130-551: The LP as a form—as an artistic entity, as they used to say—has complicated how we perceive and remember what was once the most evanescent of the arts", Robert Christgau wrote in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981). "The album may prove a '70s totem—briefer configurations were making a comeback by decade's end. But for the '70s it will remain the basic musical unit, and that's OK with me. I've found over
7245-604: The Long Play format did not begin to enjoy commercial popularity until the early 1950s. Starting in 1926, the Edison Records company experimented with issuing Edison Disc Records in long play format of 24 minutes per side. The system and playback system (still mostly wind-up phonographs ) proved unreliable and was a commercial failure. By mid-1931 all motion picture studios were recording on optical soundtracks , but sets of soundtrack discs, mastered by dubbing from
7360-508: The Netherlands and Belgium have a number of common characteristics, with a mostly shared language , some generally similar or identical customs , and with no clearly separate ancestral origin or origin myth . However, the popular perception of being a single group varies greatly, depending on subject matter, locality, and personal background. Generally, the Flemish will seldom identify themselves as being Dutch and vice versa, especially on
7475-727: The Netherlands were now part of the Habsburg lands. Further centralised policies of the Habsburgs (like their Burgundian predecessors) again met with resistance, but, peaking with the formation of the collateral councils of 1531 and the Pragmatic Sanction of 1549 creating the Seventeen Provinces , were still implemented. The rule of Philip II of Spain sought even further centralist reforms, which, accompanied by religious dictates and excessive taxation, resulted in
7590-414: The Netherlands, an oft-used adage used for indicating this cultural boundary is the phrase boven/onder de rivieren (Dutch: above/below the rivers), in which 'the rivers' refer to the Rhine and the Meuse . Southern Dutch culture has been influenced more by French culture, as opposed to the Northern Dutch culture area. Within the field of ethnography , it is argued that the Dutch-speaking populations of
7705-435: The Netherlands, the Dutch. In the Dutch language , the Dutch refer to themselves as Nederlanders . Nederlanders derives from the Dutch word Neder , a cognate of English Nether both meaning " low ", and " near the sea " (same meaning in both English and Dutch), a reference to the geographical texture of the Dutch homeland; the western portion of the North European Plain . Although not as old as Diets ,
7820-431: The Philips system were moderately high when compared to similar systems. Under Ottens' direction, a second version of the system was developed with new running gear. This system was more compact and reliable, and had shorter start and stop times. It also featured a smaller footprint, lighter weight, and a SCART port, which had not been implemented in the previous version. Further development efforts were made, and by 1984,
7935-413: The Republic the first series of large-scale Dutch migrations outside of Europe took place. The traditional arts and culture of the Dutch encompasses various forms of traditional music , dances , architectural styles and clothing, some of which are globally recognisable. Internationally, Dutch painters such as Rembrandt , Vermeer and Van Gogh are held in high regard. The predominant religion among
8050-399: The United States and South Africa are generally more religious than their European counterparts; for example, the numerous Dutch communities of western Michigan remain strongholds of the Reformed Church in America and the Christian Reformed Church , both descendants of the Dutch Reformed Church . One cultural division within Dutch culture is that between the formerly Protestant North and
8165-449: The Video 2000 had reliable stereo sound. Also in 1984, Ottens had his factory produce VHS machines that were practically identical to the Video 2000. These machines would end up replacing the Video 2000, which ultimately failed to catch on and was officially cancelled in 1985. After retiring, Ottens remained active in the field of technology for many years. He became chairman of the Dutch Association for Logistics Management in 1988. Ottens
8280-480: The advent of sound film or "talkies", the need for greater storage space made 33 + 1 ⁄ 3 rpm records more appealing. Soundtracks – played on records synchronized to movie projectors in theatres – could not fit onto the five minutes per side that 78s offered. They were not an immediate success, however, as they were released during the height of the Great Depression, and seemed frivolous to
8395-565: The affixes and main parts of the surnames (e.g. A. van der Bilt becomes A . Vanderbilt ). Dutch names can differ greatly in spelling. The surname Baks , for example is also recorded as Backs , Bacxs , Bax , Bakx , Baxs , Bacx , Backx , Bakxs and Baxcs . Though written differently, pronunciation remains identical. Dialectal variety also commonly occurs, with De Smet and De Smit both meaning Smith for example. There are several main types of surnames in Dutch: Prior to
8510-443: The area's Southern lands as foederati ; Roman allies in charge of border defense. Linguistically Old Frankish gradually evolved into Old Dutch , which was first attested in the 6th century, whereas religiously the Franks (beginning with the upper class ) converted to Christianity from around 500 to 700. On a political level, the Frankish warlords abandoned tribalism and founded a number of kingdoms, eventually culminating in
8625-423: The arrival of Christianity, the ancestors of the Dutch adhered to a form of Germanic paganism augmented with various Celtic elements . At the start of the 6th century, the first ( Hiberno-Scottish ) missionaries arrived. They were later replaced by Anglo-Saxon missionaries , who eventually succeeded in converting most of the inhabitants by the 8th century. Since then, Christianity has been the dominant religion in
8740-406: The cities and estates in the Low Countries, followed by the religious oppression after being transferred to Habsburg Spain , the Dutch revolted, in what would become the Eighty Years' War . For the first time in their history, the Dutch established their independence from foreign rule. However, during the war it became apparent that the goal of liberating all the provinces and cities that had signed
8855-472: The common language, may be compared to how Austrians do not consider themselves to be Germans , despite the similarities they share with southern Germans such as Bavarians . In both cases, the Catholic Austrians and Flemish do not see themselves as sharing the fundamentally Protestant-based identities of their northern counterparts. LP record The LP (from long playing or long play)
8970-499: The current CBS definition (both parents born in the Netherlands), resulting in an estimated 16,000,000 Dutch people, or by the sum of all people worldwide with both full and partial Dutch ancestry , which would result in a number around 33,000,000. Approximate distribution of native Dutch speakers worldwide. People of (partial) Dutch ancestry outside the Netherlands. Dutch is the main language spoken by most Dutch people. It
9085-523: The emergence of a new political system, centered on kings, and a continuing process of emerging mutual unintelligibility of their various dialects. The general situation described above is applicable to most if not all modern European ethnic groups with origins among the Germanic tribes , such as the Frisians, Germans, English and the Nordic (Scandinavian) peoples. In the Low Countries, this phase began when
9200-696: The end of the Dutch Revolt, it became clear the Habsburgs were unable to reconquer the North, while the North's military was too weak to conquer the South, which, under the influence of the Counter-Reformation , had started to develop a political and cultural identity of its own. The Southern Dutch, including Dutch Brabant and Limburg, remained Catholic or returned to Catholicism. The Dutch dialects spoken by this group are Brabantic , Kleverlandish , Limburgish and East and West Flemish . In
9315-503: The entire Nazi occupation, the Germans denied any assistance to Greater Dutch ethnic nationalism , and, by decree of Hitler himself, actively opposed it. The 1970s marked the beginning of formal cultural and linguistic cooperation between Belgium (Flanders) and the Netherlands on an international scale. The total number of Dutch can be defined in roughly two ways. By taking the total of all people with full Dutch ancestry, according to
9430-420: The fiefs of the Low Countries under one ruler. This process marked a new episode in the development of the Dutch ethnic group, as now political unity started to emerge, consolidating the strengthened cultural and linguistic unity. Despite their growing linguistic and cultural unity, and (in the case of Flanders , Brabant and Holland ) economic similarities, there was still little sense of political unity among
9545-472: The furthest pale of gallicisation among the Franks. A dialect continuum remaining with more eastern Germanic populations, a distinct identity in relation to these only gradually developed, largely based on socio-economic and political factors. Large parts of the present Netherlands have populations using Saxon and Frisian dialects. The medieval cities of the Low Countries, especially those of Flanders, Brabant and Holland, which experienced major growth during
9660-461: The group often utilized resources and knowledge from the nearby Eindhoven location. In 1963, Philips decided to publicly introduce the cassette system at IFA Berlin . This introduction was not immediately very widely received and did not spark much interest among those in the audio world. However, some photos were taken of the system, which would later be used in the production of Japanese copies of Ottens' system, which were notably larger in size than
9775-470: The head of the new product development department in Hasselt. While in this position, he led the development of Philips' first portable tape recorder, the EL 3585. This project proved to be quite successful, with over 1 million units being sold. Building on the success of the EL 3585, Philips Hasselt started working on plans to develop a portable cassette recorder . The goal for this "pocket recorder," as it
9890-455: The language or inhabitants of the Frisian part of the country. Historically the whole Dutch North Seacoast was known as Frisia. The Southern Dutch sphere generally consists of the areas in which the population was traditionally Catholic. During the early Middle Ages up until the Dutch Revolt , the Southern regions were more powerful, as well as more culturally and economically developed. At
10005-411: The many impoverished of the time. It was not until "microgroove" was developed by Columbia Records in 1948 that Long Players (LPs) reached their maximum playtime, which has continued to modern times. Economics and tastes initially determined which kind of music was available on each format. Recording company executives believed upscale classical music fans would be eager to hear a Beethoven symphony or
10120-405: The mid-1950s, the 10-inch LP, like its similarly sized 78 rpm cousin, lost the format war and was discontinued. The close spacing of the spiral groove that allowed more playing time on a 33 + 1 ⁄ 3 rpm microgroove LP also allowed a faint pre-echo of upcoming loud sounds. The cutting stylus unavoidably transferred some of the subsequent groove's signal to the previous groove. It
10235-460: The north of the Netherlands, mainly concentrated in the province of Friesland . Culturally, modern Frisians and the (Northern) Dutch are rather similar; the main and generally most important difference being that Frisians speak West Frisian, one of the three sub-branches of the Frisian languages , alongside Dutch, and they find this to be a defining part of their identity as Frisians. According to
10350-552: The nowadays Catholic South, which encompasses various cultural differences between the Northern Dutch on one side and the Southern Dutch on the other. This subject has historically received attention from historians, notably Pieter Geyl (1887–1966) and Carel Gerretson (1884–1958). The historical pluriformity of the Dutch cultural landscape has given rise to several theories aimed at both identifying and explaining cultural divergences between different regions. One theory, proposed by A.J. Wichers in 1965, sees differences in mentality between
10465-439: The optical tracks and scaled down to 12 inches to cut costs, were made as late as 1936 for distribution to theaters still equipped with disc-only sound projectors. Unless the quantity required was very small, pressed discs were a more economical medium for distributing high-quality audio than tape, and CD mastering was, in the early years of that technology, very expensive, so the use of LP-format transcription discs continued into
10580-618: The original. Wilhelmus F.A. Heylands, a Dutch civil engineer and inventor in Ottens' team at Philips Hasselt, who graduated from TH Aachen (Germany), often explained that the reason for Philips' breakthrough with the Compact Cassette , was the fact that they offered this patent and invention for free to other manufacturers of similar hardware such as National and Sony. Without this, the Compact Cassette would have never become
10695-629: The overseas territories and trading posts controlled and administered by Dutch chartered companies (mainly the Dutch West India Company and the Dutch United East India Company ) and subsequently by the Dutch Republic (1581–1795), and by the modern Kingdom of the Netherlands after 1815. Many Dutch people ( Nederlanders ) will object to being called Hollanders as a national denominator on much
10810-530: The population of Friesland saw themselves as "primarily Frisian", again without precluding the possibility of also identifying as Dutch. Frisians are not disambiguated from the Dutch people in Dutch official statistics . In the Netherlands itself "West-Frisian" refers to the Hollandic dialect, with a Frisian substrate, spoken in the northern part of the province of North-Holland known as West-Friesland, as well as "West-Frisians" referring to its speakers, not to
10925-623: The rebellion and make the Low Countries a Catholic region once more. The Protestants in the southern Low Countries fled North en masse . Most of the Dutch Protestants were now concentrated in the free Dutch provinces north of the river Rhine , while the Catholic Dutch were situated in the Spanish-occupied or -dominated South. After the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, Protestantism did not spread South, resulting in
11040-532: The region. In the early 16th century, the Protestant Reformation began to form and soon spread in the Westhoek and the County of Flanders, where secret open-air sermons were held, called hagenpreken (' hedgerow orations ') in Dutch. The ruler of the Dutch regions, Philip II of Spain , felt it was his duty to fight Protestantism and, after the wave of iconoclasm , sent troops to crush
11155-529: The same grounds as many Welsh or Scots would object to being called English instead of British , as the Holland region only comprises two of the twelve provinces, and 40% of the Dutch citizens. The same holds for the country being referred to as Holland instead of The Netherlands . In January 2020, the Dutch government officially dropped its support of the word Holland for the whole country. The ideologies associated with (Romantic) Nationalism of
11270-475: The share of unit sales for LPs in the US was almost 25%, and of dollar sales 58%. Most of the remainder was taken up by the 45; 78s accounted for only 2% of unit sales and 1% of dollar sales. The popularity of the LP ushered in the " album era " of English-language popular music, beginning in the late 1950s, as performers took advantage of the longer playing time to create coherent themes or concept albums. "The rise of
11385-914: The size even further, to 11.5 cm, so that the discs would be compatible with existing car radio systems. The laser for the ALP also had to be modified from what was used in VLP's, as the VLP laser was too large for the design that Ottens envisioned. Using resources from the NatLab, a new solid state laser was developed that was smaller and more suitable for Ottens design. However, after years of experimentation, Ottens and his team determined that analog technology would cause too much background noise and would not be able to compete with gramophone records. They subsequently decided to start development on new digital technology. As Philips' audio division did not have adequate in-house knowledge for developing this technology, Ottens formed
11500-501: The southeastern, or 'higher', and northwestern, or 'lower' regions within the Netherlands, and seeks to explain these by referring to the different degrees to which these areas were feudalised during the Middle Ages. Another, more recent cultural divide is that between the Randstad , the urban agglomeration in the West of the country, and the other provinces of the Netherlands. In Dutch, the cultural division between North and South
11615-561: The subject. During World War II, when both Belgium and the Netherlands fell to German occupation , fascist elements (such as the NSB and Verdinaso ) tried to convince the Nazis into combining the Netherlands and Flanders . The Germans however refused to do so, as this conflicted with their ultimate goal, the Neuordnung ('New Order') of creating a single pan-Germanic racial state. During
11730-704: The term Nederlands has been in continuous use since 1250. Dutch surnames (and surnames of Dutch origin) are generally easily recognisable. Many Dutch surnames feature a tussenvoegsel ( lit. ' between-joiner ' ), which is a family name affix positioned between a person's given name and the main part of their family name . The most common tussenvoegsels are van (e.g. A. van Gogh "from/of"), de / der / den / te / ter / ten (e.g. A. de Vries , "the"), het / ’t (e.g. A. ’t Hart , "the"), and van de / van der / van den (e.g. A. van den Berg , "from/of the"). These affixes are not merged, nor capitalised by default. The second affix in
11845-493: The top-selling format, over cassettes, in 1992. Along with phonograph records in other formats, some of which were made of other materials, LPs are now widely referred to simply as "vinyl". Since the late 1990s there has been a vinyl revival . Demand has increased in niche markets, particularly among audiophiles, DJs, and fans of indie music, but most music sales as of 2018 came from online downloads and online streaming because of their availability, convenience, and price. With
11960-442: The various political affairs of the fief, including marriage succession. While the cities were of great political importance, they also formed catalysts for medieval Dutch culture. Trade flourished, population numbers increased dramatically, and (advanced) education was no longer limited to the clergy. Flanders, Brabant and Holland began to develop a common Dutch standard language . Dutch epic literature such as Elegast (1150),
12075-496: The various territories of which they consisted had become virtually autonomous by the 13th century. Under the Habsburgs , the Netherlands were organised into a single administrative unit, and in the 16th and 17th centuries the Northern Netherlands gained independence from Spain as the Dutch Republic . The high degree of urbanisation characteristic of Dutch society was attained at a relatively early date. During
12190-586: The world standard. In 1969, Ottens became Director of Philips Hasselt. Under his directions, the Hasselt factory would focus primarily on producing Philips cassette systems, with the popularity of general compact cassettes growing. With a growing demand for compact cassettes, Philips Hasselts grew larger, reaching an employee count of over 5000. In 1972, Ottens became technical director of Philips Main Industry Group Audio. While in this position, Ottens realized that laser technology being researched in
12305-432: The years that the long-playing record, with its twenty-minute sides and four-to-six compositions/performances per side, suits my habits of concentration perfectly." Although the popularity of LPs (as well as 45s) began to decline in the late 1970s with the advent of Compact Cassettes , and later compact discs , the LP survives as a format to the present day. Vinyl LP records enjoyed a resurgence in popularity throughout
12420-486: Was Dutch. Most of the Dutch immigrants of the 20th century quickly began to speak the language of their new country. For example, of the inhabitants of New Zealand, 0.7% say their home language is Dutch, despite the percentage of Dutch heritage being considerably higher. Dutch is currently an official language of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Netherlands, Aruba , Sint Maarten , and Curaçao ), Belgium, Suriname ,
12535-613: Was among the interviewees in director Zack Taylor's 2016 documentary film, Cassette: A Documentary Mixtape , and appeared at the East End Film Festival world premiere screening in London on June 24, 2016. Ottens died in Duizel on 6 March 2021, aged 94. Dutch people The Dutch ( Dutch : Nederlanders ) are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands . They share a common ancestry and culture and speak
12650-485: Was declared void by Mary's son and successor, Philip IV ) aimed for more autonomy for the counties and duchies, but nevertheless all the fiefs presented their demands together, rather than separately. This is evidence that by this time a sense of common interest was emerging among the provinces of the Netherlands. The document itself clearly distinguishes between the Dutch speaking and French speaking provinces. Following Mary's marriage to Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor ,
12765-495: Was finalized by March 1979. It was presented by project lead Joop Sinjou at a two-day press conference in Eindhoven to over 300 journalists. Immediately after the conference, Ottens and Sinjou traveled to Japan, wanting to gain support for the compact disc and make it a world standard. While on the trip, they reached an agreement with Sony, who was ahead of Philips in digital development and optical recording, but had not yet found
12880-515: Was greatly improved by better tape formulations and noise-reduction systems. By 1983, cassettes were outselling LPs in the US. The Compact Disc (CD) was introduced in 1982. It offered a recording that was, theoretically, almost noiseless and not audibly degraded by repeated playing or slight scuffs and scratches. At first, the much higher prices of CDs and CD players limited their target market to affluent early adopters and audiophiles ; but prices came down, and by 1988, CDs outsold LPs. The CD became
12995-404: Was nicknamed, was to be inexpensive and small, with low battery consumption but reasonable sound quality. Originally, Philips planned on working with RCA and using their RCA tape cartridge system cassette, but Ottens found that the dimensions and tape speed of the set made it not suitable for their desired product. Philips eventually decided to develop their own cassette, with RCA's cassette as
13110-400: Was one of several factors that confined tape to a niche market. Cartridge and cassette tapes were more convenient and less expensive than reel-to-reel tapes, and they became popular for use in automobiles beginning in the mid-1960s. The LP was not seriously challenged as the primary medium for listening to recorded music at home until the 1970s, however, when the audio quality of the cassette
13225-652: Was split into two projects: Video Long Play and Audio Long Play. The development of the Audio Long Play, or ALP, required major changes in design when compared to the Video Long Play. The VLP, being the size of an LP , had space for 48 hours of music. However, Ottens recognized that this was not a practical amount of playing time, and in 1972, he commissioned technicians to start testing with smaller discs. The technicians originally experimented with 17.8 cm plates, and when those proved successful, reduced
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