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Keelhauling

Keelhauling

Keelhauling, from Dutch language kielhalen ('to drag along the keel') was a severe form of corporal punishment meted out to sailors at sea. The sailor was tied to a rope that looped beneath the vessel, thrown overboard on one side of the ship, dragged under the keel, then up the other side. Alternatively the sailor was dragged from bow to stern. Keelhauling along the length of the hull was generally a death sentence since it could take as long as three minutes, and perhaps longer, to walk the ropes all the way back to the stern, resulting in death by drowning. Often the ropes caught and dragged on barnacles on the ship's hull: the barnacles ripped the victim's clothing and skin to shreds as he was dragged along. In most cases, this was not an official punishment but a customary one imposed by the captain. It is alleged that this was common for pirates. Keelhauling was legally permitted as a punishment in the Dutch Navy. The process used was to draw the offender under the keel from side to side. This was done at a steady pace, fast enough to avoid drowning but slow enough that he was dragged against the hull and severely hurt by the barnacles. The punishment could be repeated several times if the ship's surgeon agreed. The earliest official mention of keelhauling is a Dutch ordinance of 1560: the practice was not formally abolished until 1853. It was also practiced in the British and French navies until approx. 1720 - 1750. Common alternative naval corporal punishments included, as in the British Navy, forms of flagellation (by cat o' nine tails, birching), sometimes to death, caning and hanging from a mast. Execution by walking the plank was rare, possibly it's even a mere legend from pirate stories. Category: Death penalty Category:Corporal punishments

Dutch language

Dutch () is a West Germanic, Low German language spoken by around 24 million people, mostly in the Netherlands and Belgium. The varieties of Dutch spoken in Belgium are also informally called Flemish (Vlaams). The language is sometimes colloquially called Hollands by native speakers although this is becoming less common today. Usually the language is called Nederlands by the native speakers. Dutch is sometimes called Netherlandic in English.

History

The West Germanic dialects can be divided according to tribe (Frisian, Saxon, Franconian, Bavarian and Swabian), and according to the extent of their participation in the High German consonant shift (Low German against High German). The present Dutch standard language is largely derived from Low Franconian dialects spoken in the Low Countries that must have reached a separate identity no later than about AD 700. An early Dutch recorded writing is: "Hebban olla vogala nestas hagunnan, hinase hic enda tu, wat unbidan we nu" ("All birds have started making nests, except me and you, what are we waiting for"), dating around the year 1100, written by a Flemish monk in a convent in Rochester, England. For a long time this sentence was considered to be the earliest in Dutch, but since its discovery even older fragments were found, such as "Visc flot aftar themo uuatare" ("A fish was swimming in the water") and "Gelobistu in got alamehtigan fadaer" ("Do you believe in God the almighty father"). The latter fragment was written as early as 900. Professor Luc De Grauwe from the University of Ghent disputes the language of these sequences of text, and actually believes them to be Old English, so there is still some controversy surrounding them.
Old English
A process of standardization started in the Middle ages, especially under the influence of the Burgundian Ducal Court in Dijon (Brussels after 1477). The dialects of Flanders and Brabant were the most influential around this time. The process of standardization became much stronger in the 16th century, mainly based on the urban dialect of Antwerp. In 1585 Antwerp fell to the Spanish army: many fled to Holland, strongly influencing the urban dialects of that province. In 1618 a further important step was made towards a unified language, when the first major Dutch bible translation was created that people from all over the United Provinces could understand. It used elements from various (even Low Saxon) dialects, but was mostly based on the urban dialects from Holland. The word Dutch comes from the old Germanic word theodisk, meaning 'of the people', 'vernacular' as opposed to official, i.e. Latin or later French. Theodisk in modern German has become deutsch and in Dutch has become the two forms: duits, meaning German, and diets meaning something closer to Dutch but no longer in general use (see the diets article). Theodisk survives as tedesco ("German") in modern Italian. The English word Dutch has also changed with time. It was only in the early 1600s, with growing cultural contacts and the rise of an independent country, that the modern meaning arose, i.e., 'designating the people of the Netherlands or their language'. Prior to this, the meaning was more general and could refer to any German-speaking area or the languages there (including the current Germany, Austria, and Switzerland as well as the Netherlands). For example:
- William Caxton (c.1422-1491) wrote in his Prologue to his Aeneids in 1490 that an old English text was more like to Dutche than English. In his notes, Professor W.F. Bolton makes clear that this word means German in general rather than Dutch.
- Peter Heylyn, Cosmography in four books containing the Chronography and History of the whole world, Vol. II (London, 1677: 154) contains "...the Dutch call Leibnitz," adding that Dutch is spoken in the parts of Hungary adjoining to Germany.
- To this day, descendants of German settlers in Pennsylvania are known as the "Pennsylvania Dutch". Today some speakers resent the name "Dutch", because of its common root with the name "Deutsch", that is, German.

Classification and related languages

Dutch is a Germanic language, and within this family it is a West Germanic language. Since it did not experience the High German consonant shift (apart from þ→d), it is sometimes classed as a Low German language, and indeed it is most closely related to the Low German dialects of Northern Germany. There is in fact a dialect continuum which blurs any clear boundary between Dutch and Low German, and the Low Franconian rural dialects of the Lower Rhine are much closer to Hollandic than to standard German. Dividing the West Germanic languages into low and high in this way, however, obscures the fact that Dutch is more closely related to modern standard (high) German than to English. Dutch is grammatically similar to German, for example in syntax and verb morphology. (For a comparison of verb morphology in English, Dutch and German, see Germanic weak verb and West Germanic strong verb.) Compare, for example: :De kleinste kameleon is slechts 2 cm groot, de grootste kan wel 80 cm worden. (Dutch) :Das kleinste Chamäleon ist nur 2 cm groß, die größten können auch 80 cm erreichen. (German) Some less common phrasings and word choices have closer cognates in German: :Der kleinste Chamäleon ist nur (schlechthin) 2 cm groß, der größte kann gut 80 cm werden. (less common German) (Which translates as "The smallest Chameleons are just 2 cm big, the biggest can well achieve 80 cm.") Further examples for the close vicinity of Dutch and German: :Op de berg staat een klein huisje (Dutch) - Auf dem Berg steht ein kleines Häuschen (German) (in English: There's a small house on the mountain) :In de stad leven veel mensen (Dutch) - In der Stadt leben viele Menschen (German) (in English: A lot of people live in the town) In some places, German and Dutch are spoken almost interchangeably. Dutch speakers are generally able to read German, and German speakers (who can speak English) are generally able to read Dutch, even if they find the spoken language very amusing. Dutch still has grammatical cases, but these have become almost limited to usage in pronouns and set phrases. Technically there is still a distinction between masculine and feminine, but for most practical purposes in the standard language the gender system has collapsed into a dual system of animate (de) and neuter (het). Thus the system of nouns and noun phrases has been greatly simplified in a manner more akin to English than German. Native Dutch vocabulary (as opposed to loan words) is of common West Germanic stock, and in terms of sound shifts it can be imagined as occupying a position somewhere between English and German. Even when written Dutch looks similar to German, however, the pronunciation may be markedly different. This is true especially of the diphthongs and of the letter , which is pronounced as a velar continuant similar to the in Swiss German. The rhotic pronunciation of causes some English-speakers to believe Dutch sounds similar to a Northern English accent; this is the reason for Bill Bryson's famous remark that when one hears Dutch one feels one ought to be able understand it. Dutch pronunciation is however difficult to master for Anglophones, many of its diphthongs and gutturals being the greatest obstacles. Germans seem to have an advantage with the Dutch grammar, but suffer the same difficulties as the English when dealing with pronunciation. An exception on this all are the North Germans, who can read or understand Dutch after a relatively short period of acclimatisation, speaking however remaining a challenge. Dutch is generally not on the curriculum of German schools, except in some border cities, such as Aachen and Oldenburg.

Geographic distribution

Dutch is spoken by most inhabitants of the Netherlands. It is also spoken by most in the Flemish northern half of Belgium, with the exception of Brussels, where it is spoken by a minority of the population, French being the dominant language. (This minority is typically estimated between 10% and 15%.) In the northernmost part of France, Dutch is spoken by a minority and the language is usually referred to as Vlemsch. On the Caribbean islands of Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles, Dutch is used but less so than Papiamento. Dutch is spoken in Suriname, and there are some speakers of Dutch in Indonesia. In South Africa and Namibia a language related to Dutch called Afrikaans is spoken.

Official status

Dutch is an official language of the Netherlands, Belgium, Suriname, Aruba, and the Netherlands Antilles. The Dutch, Flemish and Surinamese governments coordinate their language activities in the Nederlandse Taalunie ('Dutch Language Union'). Afrikaans is an official language in South Africa. Of the inhabitants of New Zealand, 0.7% say their home language is Dutch (see article on New Zealand). The number of people coming from the Netherlands though is considerably higher but from the second generation on most people changed their language in favour of English. Standaardnederlands or Algemeen Nederlands ('Common Dutch', abbreviated to AN) is the standard language as taught in schools and used by authorities in the Netherlands, Flanders, Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles. The Dutch Language Union defines what is AN and what is not, for example in terms of orthography. Algemeen Nederlands replaced the older name Algemeen Beschaafd Nederlands ('Common Civilized Dutch', abbreviated to ABN) when it was no longer considered politically correct.

Dialects

Flemish is the collective term often used for the Dutch dialects spoken in Belgium. It is not a separate language (though the term is often also used to distinguish the standard Dutch spoken in Flanders from that of the Netherlands) nor are the dialects in Belgium more closely related to each other than to the dialects in The Netherlands. The standard form of Netherlandic Dutch differs somewhat from Belgium Dutch or Flemish: Flemish favours older words and is also perceived as "softer" in pronunciation and discourse than Netherlandic Dutch, and some Dutch find it quaint. In contrast, Netherlandic Dutch is perceived as harsh and guttural to Belgians, and some Belgians perceive it as overly assertive, hostile and even somewhat arrogant. One can draw a parallel with the American and British English differences. Americans and the English use slightly divergent vocabularies, though both officially correct. However, while American is considered by some a poorer derivative of English, Flemish and northern Dutch are historically equal. In Flanders, there are roughly four dialect groups: West Flemish, East Flemish, Brabantian and Limburgish. They have all incorporated French loanwords in everyday language. An example is fourchette in various forms (originally a French word meaning fork), instead of vork. Brussels, especially, is heavily influenced by French because roughly 75% of the inhabitants of Brussels speak French. The Limburgish in Belgium is closely related to Dutch Limburgish. An oddity of West Flemish (and to a lesser extent, East Flemish) is that the pronunciation of the "soft g" sound (the voiced velar fricative) is almost identical to that of the "h" sound (the voiced glottal fricative), thus, the words held (hero) and geld (money) sound nearly the same. Some Flemish dialects are so distinct that they might be considered as separate language variants. West Flemish in particular has sometimes been considered as such. It should also be noted that the dialect borders of these dialects do not correspond to present geopolitical boundaries. They reflect much older medieval divisions. The Brabantian dialect group, for instance, also extends to much of the south of the Netherlands, and so does Limburgish. West-Flemish is also spoken in the Dutch province of Zeeland, in a variant called Zeeuws (or Zealandic, in English) and even in a small part near Dunkirk, France, bordering on Belgium. The Netherlands also has different dialect regions. In the east there is an extensive Low Saxon dialect area: the provinces of Groningen (Gronings), Drenthe and Overijssel are almost exclusively Low Saxon. Zuid-Gelders is a dialect also spoken in the German land of North Rhine-Westphalia. Limburgish (Limburg (Netherlands)) and Brabantian (Noord-Brabant) fade into the dialects spoken in the adjoining provinces of Belgium. Zealandic of most of Zeeland is a transitional regional language between West Flemish and Hollandic, with the exception of the eastern part of Zealandic Flanders where East Flemish is spoken. In Holland proper, Hollandic is spoken, though the original forms of this dialect, heavily influenced by a Frisian substrate, are now relatively rare; the urban dialects of the Randstad, which are Hollandic dialects, do not diverge from standard Dutch very much, but there is a clear difference between the city dialects of Rotterdam, The Hague, Amsterdam or Utrecht. In some rural Hollandic areas more authentic Hollandic dialects are still being used, especially north of Amsterdam. Limburgish and Low Saxon have been elevated by the European Union to the legal status of streektaal (regional language), which causes some native speakers to consider them separate languages. Some dialects are unintelligible to some speakers of Hollandic. Dutch dialects are not spoken as often as they used to be. Nowadays in The Netherlands only older people speak these dialects in the smaller villages, with the exception of the Low Saxon and Limburgish streektalen, which are actively promoted by some provinces and still in common use. Most towns and cities stick to standard Dutch - although many cities have their own city dialect, which continues to prosper. In Belgium dialects are very much alive however; many senior citizens there are unable to speak standard Dutch. In both the Netherlands and Belgium, many larger cities also have several distinct smaller dialects. By many native speakers of Dutch, both in Belgium and the Netherlands, Afrikaans and Frisian are often assumed to be very deviant dialects of Dutch. In fact, they are two different languages, Afrikaans having evolved mainly from Dutch. There is no dialect continuum between the Frisian and adjoining Low Saxon. A Frisian standard language has been developed. Until the early 20th century, variants of Dutch were still spoken by some descendants of Dutch colonies in the United States. New Jersey in particular had an active Dutch community with a highly divergent dialect that was spoken as recently as the 1950s. See Jersey Dutch for more on this dialect.

Accents

In addition to the many dialects of the Dutch language many provinces and larger cities have their own accents, which sometimes are also called dialects. Ethnic communities tend to have varying accents: for example many people from the Dutch Antilles or Suriname speak with a "Surinaams" accent, and the Dutch-Moroccan and Dutch-Turkish youth have also developed their own accents, which in some cases are enhanced by a debased Dutch slang with Arabic or Turkish words thrown in, which serves in making their speech nearly unintelligible to some older speakers of standard Dutch.

Derived languages

Afrikaans, a language spoken in South Africa and Namibia, is derived primarily from 17th century Dutch dialects, and a great deal of mutual intelligibility still exists. One who can speak Dutch is usually very able to read and understand Afrikaans.

Sounds

Vowels

The vowel inventory of Dutch is large, with 14 simple vowels and four diphthongs. The vowels , , are included on the diphthong chart because they are actually produced as narrow closing diphthongs in many dialects, but behave phonologically like the other simple vowels.

Consonants

Where symbols for consonants occur in pairs, the left represents the voiceless consonant and the right represents the voiced consonant. Notes: 1) is not a native phoneme of Dutch and only occurs in borrowed words, like goal. 2) is not a separate phoneme in Dutch, but is inserted before vowel-initial syllables within words after and . 3) In some dialects, the voiced fricatives have almost completely merged with the voiceless ones, and is usually realized as , is usually realized as , and is usually realized as . 4) and are not native phonemes of Dutch, and usually occur in borrowed words, like show and bagage (baggage). However, + phoneme sequences in Dutch are often realized as , like in the word huisje (='little house'). often is realized as . 5) The realization of the phoneme varies considerably from dialect to dialect. In the so-called "standard" Dutch of Amsterdam⁷, is realized as indicated here—as the voiced uvular fricative . In other dialects, however, it is realized as the uvular trill or as the alveolar trill . 6) The realization of the varies considerably from the Northern to the Southern and Belgium dialects of the Dutch language. In the South, including Belgium, it is realized as . Note that in the South is usually considered an allophone of . 7) The "standard" Dutch is that as spoken in Haarlem, not the Amsterdams dialect. Amsterdams dialect is different from standard Dutch in that is replaced by in nearly all cases. The standard Dutch is more accurately described as the Dutch that is spoken by most people in Amsterdam, and is the dominating accent used on television.

Phonology

Dutch devoices all consonants at the ends of words (e.g. a final d sound becomes a t sound; to become 'ents of worts'), which presents a problem for Dutch speakers when learning English. Because of assimilation, often the initial consonant of the next word is also devoiced, e.g. het vee (the cattle) is . This process of devoicing is taken to an extreme in some regions (Amsterdam, Friesland) with almost complete loss of , and . Further south these phonemes are certainly present in the middle of a word. Compare e.g. logen and loochen vs. . In the South (i.e. Zeeland, Brabant en Limburg) and in Flanders the contrast is even greater because the g becomes a palatal. ('soft g'). The final 'n' of the plural ending -en is normally not pronounced (as in Afrikaans), except in the North East (Low Saxon) and the South West (West Flemish) where the ending becomes a syllabic n sound. Dutch is a stress language, the stress position of words matters. Stress can occur on any syllable position in a word. There is a tendency for stress to be at the beginning of words. In composite words, secondary stress is often present. There are some cases where stress is the only difference between words. For example vóórkomen (occur) and voorkómen (prevent). Marking the stress in written Dutch is optional, never obligatory, but sometimes recommended.

Historical sound changes

Dutch (with the exception of the Limburg dialects) did not participate in the second (High German) sound shifting - compare German machen Dutch maken, English make, German Pfanne , Dutch pan, English pan, German zwei , Dutch twee, English two. It also underwent a few changes of its own. For example, words in -old or -olt lost the l in favor of a diphthong. Compare English old, German alt, Dutch oud. A word like hus with (English "house") first changed to huus with , then finally to huis with a diphthong that resembles the one in French l'oeil. The phoneme /g/ was lost in favor of a (voiced) velar fricative , or a voiced palatal fricative (in the South: Flanders, Limburg).

Grammar

:Main article: Dutch grammar Like all other continental West Germanic languages, Dutch has a word order that is markedly different from English, which presents a problem for some Anglophones learning Dutch. The Dutch written grammar has simplified over the past 100 years: cases are now mainly used for the pronouns, such as ik (I), mij, me (me), mijn (my), wie (who), wiens, wier (whose). Nouns and adjectives are not case inflected (except for the genitive of nouns: -'s or -'). In the spoken language cases and case inflections had already gradually disappeared from a much earlier date on (probably the 15th century) as in many continental West Germanic dialects. Inflection of adjectives is a little more complicated: nothing with indefinite neuter nouns in singular and -e in all other cases: :een mooi huis (a beautiful house) :het mooie huis (the beautiful house) :mooie huizen (beautiful houses) :de mooie huizen (the beautiful houses) :een mooie vrouw (a beautiful woman) More complex inflection is still found in certain lexicalized expressions like de heer des huizes (litt.: the man of the house), etc. These are usually remnants of cases (in this instance, the genitive case which is still used in German, cf. Der Herr des Hauses) and other inflections no longer in general use today. Dutch nouns can take endings for size: -je for singular diminutive and -jes for plural diminutive. Between these suffixes and the radical can come extra letters depending on the ending of the word: :boom (tree) - boompje :ring (ring) - ringetje :koning (king) - koninkje :tien (ten) - tientje Like most Germanic languages, Dutch forms left-branching noun compounds, where the first noun modifies the category given by the second, for example: hondenhok (doghouse). Unlike English, where newer compounds or combinations of longer nouns are often written in open form with separating spaces, Dutch (like the other Germanic languages) always uses the closed form without spaces, for example: boomhuis (eng. tree house). Like English, Dutch allows arbitrarily long compounds, but these are rare. The longest serious entry in the Van Dale dictionary is wapenstilstandsonderhandeling (ceasefire negotiation). Sometimes hottentottensoldatententententoonstellingsterreinen (hottentot soldiers tents exhibition terrains) is jocularly quoted as the longest Dutch word (note the four times consecutive ten), but outside this usage it actually never occurs. One of the clues to recognise that a piece of text is written in Dutch, is the occurrence of many doubled letters. This happens both to vowels and consonants, but is mainly a spelling device to distinguish the many more vowel sounds in the Dutch language, than there are vowel letters in the Latin alphabet. A prime example is the word voorraaddoos (supply box).

Vocabulary

:See the list of Dutch words and list of words of Dutch origin at Wiktionary, the free dictionary and Wikipedia's sibling project Dutch has more French loanwords than German, but much fewer than English. The number of English loanwords in Dutch is substantial and steadily increasing, especially on the streets and some professions. New loanwords are almost never pronounced as the original English word, or are spelled differently. Like English, Dutch has large numbers words of Greek and Latin origin. There are also some German loanwords, like überhaupt and sowieso. Even though few true loanwords are present, German has had a considerable effect upon the lexicon of the language, mainly by the change of German words into words that seem Dutch (so called germanisme), a process probably to be ascribed to the likeness of the two languages. Most of these forms have become so integral to Dutch that few Dutch notice them; they include words like opname (from German Aufnahme), aanstalten (Anstalten) and many more.

Writing system

Dutch is written using the Latin alphabet, see Dutch alphabet. The diaeresis is used to mark vowels that are pronounced separately, and called trema. In the most recent spelling reform, a hyphen has replaced the trema in a few words where it had been previously used: zeeëend (seaduck) is now spelled zee-eend. The acute accent (accent aigu) occurs mainly on loanwords like café, but can also be used for emphasis or to differentiate between two forms. Its most common use is to differentiate between the indefinite article 'een' (a, an) and the numeral 'één' (one). The grave accent (accent grave) is used to clarify pronunciation ('hè' (what?, what the ...?), 'appèl' (call for), 'bèta') and in loanwords ('caissière' (cashier), 'après-ski'). In the recent spelling reform, the accent grave was dropped as stress sign on short vowels in favour of the accent aigu (e.g. 'wèl' was changed to 'wél'). Other diacritical marks such as the circumflex only occur on a few words, most of them loanwords from French. The most important dictionary of the modern Dutch language is the Van Dale groot woordenboek der Nederlandse taal[http://www.vandale.nl], more commonly referred to as the Dikke van Dale ("dik" is Dutch for "fat" or "thick"), or as linguists nicknamed it: De Vandaal (the vandal). However, it is dwarfed by the "Woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal", a scholarly endeavour that took 147 years from initial idea to first edition, resulting in over 45,000 pages. The semi-official spelling is given by the Woordenlijst Nederlandse taal, more commonly known as "het groene boekje" (i.e. "the green booklet", because of its colour.)

Dutch as a foreign language

The number of non native speakers of Dutch who voluntarily learn the language is small. This is partly because Dutch is not geographically widespread and partly because in its home countries of The Netherlands and Belgium many in the population are proficient in other European languages. In The Netherlands German is widely spoken (particularly in the regions bordering onto Germany) and the language is part of the core curriculum in schools for 2-5 years. In Belgium, German is less widely spoken, and not always required, but it still spoken by a lot of people. The French language is also taught (optionally) for 3-6 years in the Netherlands, but it is not as widely spoken as German. In Belgium (Flanders) French is required from age 10 to 18 and is very widely spoken, not least because the southern half of Belgium, Wallonia, is French speaking. In both The Netherlands and Belgium English is taught in schools from a young age - from age 11 or 12 (or earlier) until the completion of secondary education. Most universities in the two countries, recognising the importance of the English language in the modern world, continue to teach the language to those students who need to improve their skills. As a result English is spoken throughout The Netherlands and Belgium with members of the younger generation often being fluent speakers. Some long term non native residents of The Netherlands or Belgium have never learnt to speak Dutch/Flemish - perhaps put off by its guttural sound or by a perception of its difficulties. There is also the problem that because the native Dutch/Flemish speakers themselves are often so linguistically proficient they will try and help a struggling Dutch/Flemish learner by addressing him in his own language! The Dutch often make fun of their own language - for example Tom Meyer, a radio commentator, used to say on air that "Dutch isn't a language; it's a disease of the throat." Pronunciation can be a challenge as many of the Dutch vowel sounds are difficult for non native speakers. Diphthongs such as the "ui" sound in such words as "huis" (house) and "muis" (mouse), the "eu" in sleutel (key), and the "ij" sound in words like "fijn" (fine) or "wijn" (wine) present difficulties and even though some of these words are superficially like their English equivalents the correct sound is very different. Native speakers of German usually find Dutch easy from a grammar and vocabulary point of view but also struggle with the pronunciation. However those residents or visitors who do learn some Dutch will be rewarded, not only by the extra fillip this gives to their understanding of Dutch history and culture, but also because it will enable them to converse with people in areas away from the big cities where other languages are less commonly spoken.

Dutch literature

see Dutch literature

External links

- [http://www.linguasphere.net/secure/ip/pdf/zones/52.pdf Linguasphere on dialects of the Dutch language and other languages]
- [http://www.learnonline.nl Online Nederlands leren]
- [http://www.leren.nl/rubriek/talen/nederlands/learn_dutch/ Learn the Dutch Language]
- [http://www.ned.univie.ac.at/publicaties/taalgeschiedenis/en/ History of the Dutch Language]
- [http://www.taalunie.org/ Nederlandse Taalunie] (Dutch Language Union -- in Dutch)
- [http://www.forbeginners.info/dutch/ Dutch for Beginners] (Introduction to Dutch grammar and vocabulary)
- [http://oase.uci.kun.nl/~ans/ Algemene Nederlandse Spraakkunst] (General Dutch Grammar -- in Dutch)
- [http://www.dutchgrammar.com/ Online Dutch Grammar Course] (Dutch Grammar -- in English)
- [http://www.sprachprofi.de.vu/english/nl.htm Free online resources for learners]
- [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=nld Ethnologue report for Dutch]
- [http://www.uoc.es/euromosaic/web/document/neerlandes/an/i1/i1.html Euromosaic - Flemish in France] - The status of Dutch in France
- [http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/sampa/dutch.htm Sampa for Dutch]
- [http://language-directory.50webs.com/languages/dutch.htm List of online Dutch-related resources]
- [http://www.ielanguages.com/dutch.html Dutch Language Tutorial at ielanguages.com]
- [http://homepage.mac.com/schuffelen/index.html Dutch pronounced]
- [http://www.loecsen.com/travel/discover_pop.php?lang=en&to_lang=25&learn-Dutch/ Learn and listen to useful expressions in Dutch] Each expression is presented with an audio recording and an illustration

Dictionaries

- [http://nl.wiktionary.org/ WikiWoordenboek, the Dutch Wiktionary]
- [http://www.dicts.info/dictlist1.php?k1=25 All Dutch free dictionaries]
- [http://blackorwhite.nl/woordenboek/ Online Nederlands Woordenboek]
- [http://www.majstro.com/Web/Majstro/taleninfo/dut_en.php Majstro Dutch-English-Dutch Online Dictionary]
- [http://lookwayup.com/free/DutchEnglishDictionary.htm Lookwayup English-Dutch-English dictionary]
- [http://www.freedict.com/onldict/dut.html Freedict English-Dutch-English dictionary]
- [http://dictionaries.travlang.com/DutchEnglish/ Travlang Dutch-English dictionary]
- [http://www.euroglotonline.nl/ Euroglot] (Translation Dictionary)
- [http://www.vandale.nl/ Van Dale] (Dictionary -- in Dutch)
- [http://www.woorden-boek.nl/ Woorden-Boek] (Online Dictionary -- in Dutch)
- http://www.notam02.no/~hcholm/altlang/ht/Dutch.html - The Alternative Dutch Dictionary
- [http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/Flemish-english/ Flemish - English Dictionary]: from [http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org Webster's Online Dictionary] - the Rosetta Edition.
- [http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/Dutch-english/ Dutch - English Dictionary]: from [http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org Webster's Online Dictionary] - the Rosetta Edition.
- [http://www.woc.science.ru.nl/ A dictionary of Organic Chemistry (in Dutch)]
- Category:Languages of Belgium Category:Languages of the Netherlands Category:Low Germanic languages ko:네덜란드어 ja:オランダ語

Sailor

:This article is about naval crewpeople; for other meanings, see Sailor (disambiguation). A sailor is a member of the crew of a ship or boat. The term may comprise anyone from an admiral in the navy to a person who goes out yachting at weekends as a hobby. A sailor is also specifically an enlisted member of a naval force. The term can be used even more generally. For example, someone who suffers from travel sickness may say that he or she is "not a good sailor". In the minds of members of the Royal Navy, the term "sailor" refers to someone who is under sail and not on a vessel with motorised power of any kind. In the Merchant Navy the term "sailor" has often been used to distinguish Able Seaman, ordinary seamen, and other members of the deck department from crew members working in other departments, such as catering and the engine-room. Category:Water transport

Bow (ship)

The bow is the foremost point of the hull of a ship or boat: the point that is ahead when the vessel is underway. The adjectives fore/forward and aft mean towards the bow and stern, respectively. The bow is generally the sharp end of the hull. It is designed to reduce the resistance of the hull cutting through water and should be tall enough to prevent water from easily washing over the top of the hull.

Death sentence

The form of a Death sentence has a strong hold on the public imagination, and it is usually given a particular legal solemnity, partly to distinguish the considered judicial sentence from any routine or arbitrary act. The ensuing process to execution has also attracted customs which often attain virtually the force of law, ranging from the last cigarette before a firing squad, to the condemned man's hearty breakfast. The forms of sentence and indeed execution have varied widely between jurisdictions and over time, and a wide range of other examples may be added to this obsolete British ceremony. Upon conviction for a capital offence, the Judge usually had no discretion as to pronouncing sentence, whatever his wishes or intentions as to commutation or appeal. Nevertheless the question "Have you anything to say why sentence should not be passed according to the law?", theoretically intended for a plea in bar of jurisdiction, gave the convict a final opportunity of making a speech in person, which he often devoted to a plea in mitigation, or for mercy. An usher would proclaim, "Oyez! Oyez! My Lords the King's Justices do straitly charge and command all persons to keep silence while sentence of death is passed upon the prisoner at the bar, upon pain of imprisonment. God save the King!" The judge's chaplain would place the Black Cap, a square black cloth, on the judge's wig, and the judge, addressing the convict, would sum up the salient features of the crime and trial for the benefit of the public, before concluding: "The sentence of this Court is that you be taken hence to the place whence you came, and thence to a place of execution, and that you be there hanged by the neck until you are dead. And that your body be buried within the precincts of the prison in which you shall have been confined. May the Lord have mercy on your soul."

Death

:For other uses, see Death (disambiguation) or Dead (disambiguation). Death is the cessation of physical life in a living organism or the state of the organism after that event.

Interpretations of "death"

In almost all societies, death has one or several symbols associated with it. Common symbols of death in Western cultures include the grim reaper and the color black; conversely, in certain Eastern cultures, the color white is considered symbolic of death. The grave is a metonym for death. Biologically, death can occur to wholes, to parts of wholes, or to both. For example, it is possible for individual cells and even organs to die, and yet for the organism as a whole to continue to live; many individual cells can live for only a short time, and so most of an organism's cells are continually dying and being replaced by new ones. Conversely, when organisms die their cells can live for some time afterward. Organs, for instance, can be removed for transplantation. They must be removed and transplanted quickly, or they too will soon die without the support of their host. Rarely, cell cultures can be "immortal" as in the case of Henrietta Lacks' HeLa cell line. Fingernails and hair appear to grow after a person's death, as, due to bodily dehydration, the flesh pulls away from the hair and nails. In ancient times, this led to confusion about whether a body was actually dead, and added to the myth of vampires. Irreversibility is often cited as a key feature of death. By definition, a dead organism cannot be brought back to life; if it were to be, that would indicate that it had never been dead. Nonetheless, many people do not believe that death is necessarily irreversible; thus some have a religious belief in bodily or spiritual resurrection, while others have hope for the eventual prospects of cryonics or other technological means of reversing what is currently thought of as death. It has been hypothesized that a limited lifespan is a consequence of evolution not selecting for extreme longevity in most species, as evolutionary selection only need apply to the organism up to the point of reproduction; after that, except for caring for kin, the continued existence of an individual can have little effect on the survival of its gene line. A common assumption is that the Second Law of Thermodynamics dictates that all complex systems must eventually deteriorate, so it is not likely that any species could ever be immortal. However, this aspect of the Second Law of Thermodynamics only applies to closed systems, which organisms are not.

Ways of defining human death: medical, religious, and legal

Human death can be defined by three dramatically different but overlapping domains: medical, religious, and legal. These different domains and their importance have evolved over time and can vary from person to person. So when talking about death, it is important to differentiate which domain we are speaking of and to have a general understanding of how each defines death. There are various ways of defining medical death. Early in western culture, death was connected to the heart first and then later the lungs. When these stopped working, a person was dead. It was sometime later that the brain came into the definition. In 1963 a device called an electroencephalogram (EEG) was invented that could very accurately measure the electrical output of the brain. The test showed that when the machine registered zero electrical output from a person's brain (also known as a flat EEG) for 36 hours, the patient could be considered dead. We now know that a person can continue to be medically alive until their brain stem dies. Patients in a persistent vegetative state still have an active brain stem. Legally, a person can be pronounced dead in three different ways. By far the most common is pronouncement by a medical doctor. The second most common is pronouncement by a coroner or a state medical examiner. The third way a person can be pronounced legally dead is by the courts; after a person has disappeared for some time, the courts will pronounce them dead so that their property can be distributed appropriately. A death certificate is a legal document which states how and when a person died, and who pronounced them dead. In religous terms, death is believed to refer to the departure from the body of the soul, or essence.

When is a person dead?

Identifying the exact moment of death is important for a number of reasons. It allows for the correct time on death certificates, and helps ensure that a person's will is enacted only after they are truly deceased. In particular, identifying the moment of death is important in cases of transplantation, as organs must be harvested as quickly as possible after death. Historically, attempts to define the exact moment of death have been problematic. Death was once defined as the cessation of heartbeat (cardiac arrest) and of breathing, for example, but the development of CPR and early defibrillation posed a challenge: either the definition of death was incorrect, or techniques had been discovered that really allowed one to reverse death (because, in some cases, breathing and heartbeat can be restarted). Generally, the first option was chosen. (Today this definition of death is known as "clinical death".) Today, where a definition of the moment of death is required, doctors and coroners usually turn to "brain death" or "biological death": people are considered dead when the electrical activity in their brain ceases (cf. persistent vegetative state). It is presumed that a stoppage of electrical activity indicates the end of consciousness. Brain activity is a necessary condition to legal personhood, and, perhaps with the exception of the fetus, it is a sufficient condition for legal personhood. "It appears that once brain death has been determined … no criminal or civil liability will result from disconnecting the life-support devices." Dority v. Superior Court of San Bernardino County, 193 Cal.Rptr. 288, 291 (1983) However, those maintaining that only the neo-cortex of the brain is necessary for consciousness sometimes argue that only electrical activity there should be considered when defining death. In most places the more conservative definition of death (cessation of electrical activity in the whole brain, as opposed to just in the neo-cortex) has been adopted (for example the Uniform Determination Of Death Act in the United States). In 2005, the case of Terri Schiavo brought the question of brain-death and artificial sustainment to the front of American politics. However, in all cases the common cause of death is anoxia. Even in these cases, the determination of death can be difficult. EEGs can detect spurious electrical impulses when none exists, while there have been cases in which electrical activity in a living brain has been too low for EEGs to detect. Because of this, hospitals often have elaborate protocols for determining death involving EEGs at widely separated intervals. Medical history contains many anecdotal references to people being declared dead by physicians and coming back to life, sometimes days later in their own coffin or when embalming procedures are about to get underway. Stories of people actually being buried alive (which must assume embalming has not occurred) led at least one inventor in the early 20th century to design an alarm system that could be activated from within the coffin. Because of the difficulties in determining death, under most emergency protocols, a first responder is not authorized to pronounce a patient dead; some EMT training manuals, for example, specifically state that a person is not to be assumed dead unless there are clear and obvious indications that death has occurred, such as mortal decapitation, rigor mortis (the stiffening of the body), livor mortis (blood pooling in the lowest part of the body), decomposition, or incineration. If there is any possibility of life and in the absence of a do not resuscitate order, emergency workers must begin rescue and not end it until a patient has been brought to a hospital to be examined by a physician. This frequently leads to situation of a patient being pronounced dead on arrival.

The process of dying

Cell death

A. Normal cellular function :1. Production of energy required for vital cellular processes :2. Production of enzymatic and structural protein :3. Maintenance of chemical and osmotic homeostasis of cell :4. Cell reproduction B. Needs of cell :1. Oxygen, phosphate, calcium :2. Nutritional substrates :3. ADP - needed to produce ATP :4. Intact cell membranes :5. Steady state of activity enhances 02 consumption

Physiological changes during the process of dying

A. Events leading to death: :1. Brain ceases to supply information vital for controlling ventilation, heart rhythm, and/or vasodilation :2. Lungs unable to supply 0₂ exchange with blood stream :3. Heart and blood vessels unable to maintain adequate circulation of blood to vital tissues B. Cerebrovascular system: :1. Hemorrhage :2. Pump failure :3. Decreased CO₂ leads to decreased PCO2 leads to Cheyne-Stokes respiration C. CNS problems: :1. Infection :2. Blood vessel disruption :3. Malignant tumors :4. Metabolic changes ::a. Renal failure ::b. Hepatic failure ::c. Pancreatic failure D. CNS decompensation: :1. Early signs: ::a. Sluggish pupils :::(1) Non reactive :::(2) Dilated and fixed - drugs also affect this ::b. Confusion ::c. Inability to orient :2. Later signs: ::a. Lethargy ::b. Decreased ability to perform simple cognitive functions ::c. Attention only by tactile, auditory or visual stimuli :3. Late signs: ::a. Stupor, sleep ::b. Withdrawal of purposeless involvement to stimuli without wakefulness or arousal :4. Semicomatose - movement only with pain :5. Deep coma - no response E. Respiratory system: :1. CBF :2. COPD :3. Infections :4. Cancer metutasis :Changes after death: :A. Body cools 1.5 degrees/hr :B. Rigor mortis begins prior to decomposition and liver mortis begins with death :C. Rigor mortis: ::1. Muscles gradually become hard due to decreased ATP and lactic acidosis within muscle febrils ::2. Begins 2-4 hours after death but may be sooner ::3. May disappear 9-12 hours in hot climate :D. Liver mortis: ::1. Body becomes distended ::2. Skin color changes from green to purple to black ::3. Dependent areas fust due to pooling of blood ::4. Seen within 2 hours of death, maximum at 8-12 hours

Signs of approaching death

When death is imminent

• Physical death is a progressive process, during which there are some signs that usually indicate that death is imminent. Not all of the following changes occur, nor do they necessarily occur in any particular order, as the body shuts down during the dying process. In general, the following information may help anticipate and understand changes that appear as an individual approaches death and is “actively dying.” • The dying individual may become increasingly tired and sleepy, and may be difficult to arouse. • The dying individual may become confused much of the time and may no longer recognize familiar persons, places, or objects. • Hearing and vision may become impaired, and speech may be slurred, difficult to understand, or nonsensical. • A few patients become restless or very anxious and move about frequently in the bed, pull at the bed clothes or bedding (linen clutch), and reach out. • The person may hallucinate, seeing things or people which may not appear to anyone else. • Less nourishment will be required, and the person’s intake of food and water will diminish. Difficulty in swallowing (dysphagia) may also occur. • The person may sweat profusely. • The dying individual may lose control of his/her urine or bowels ( incontinence), necessitating that the dying individual be kept especially clean and dry in order to prevent bed sores (decubitis ulcers). • Urination may become darker and diminish or stop. • The mouth of the dying individual may become dry, and then secretions may accumulate in the back of the throat. Breathing may become noisy because of the gurgling or rattling of the secretions in the mouth or chest (“death rattle”). • The pattern of breathing may change; become slower or faster, deeper or shallower, or irregular. Often the patient will have periods of rapid breathing followed by periods in which breathing is very slow or is even absent for as long as 15 seconds. • The legs, and then arms, may become cold and nonreflexive as the circulation slows down. • The skin may be pale or mottled, and some parts, particularly the underside of the body, may become a dark color as the blood pools, usually a deep blue or purple.

When death occurs

• Breathing ceases entirely. • Heartbeat and pulse stop. • The person is entirely unresponsive to stimulus. • The eyes may be fixed in directions. The pupils are dilated and fixed to light. The eyelids may be open or closed. • A loss of control of urine and/or bowels may occur. • The person becomes progressively mottled and cold and stiff (known as rigor mortis) • The skin may become pale; there may be signs of blood buildup on the side the person is laying on.

Cause of death in the United States

The cause of death varies by area and age group. In 2002 in the U.S. the top 10 causes of death were:
- Heart Disease: 696,947
- Cancer: 557,271
- Stroke: 162,672
- Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 124,816
- Accidents (unintentional injuries): 106,742
- Diabetes: 73,249
- Influenza/Pneumonia: 65,681
- Alzheimer's disease: 58,866
- Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis: 40,974
- Septicemia: 33,865

Other notable causes of death in the United States (2002)

- Murder: 16,110
- Execution: 71
- Intentional Abortion: 1,293,000
- Note that there is much debate as to when a fetus should be considered "human." The death of a human zygote — a one-celled combination of a sperm and an egg — is counted by some as the death of a human, and by others as simply the death of a cell. The above number would apparently include abortions to save the life of the mother, abortions of obviously highly defective fetuses, and abortions of fetuses unlikely to reach term. Statistical data from [http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/lcod.htm U.S. Department of Health & Human Services] [http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/ Death Penalty Information Center] [http://www.nrlc.org/abortion/facts/abortionstats.html National Right To Life], and [http://www.agi-usa.org/media/presskits/2005/06/28/abortionoverview.html The Alan Guttmacher Institute]

What happens to humans after death?

The second question is of what, apart from the cessation of metabolism and the onset of physiological processes of decay, happens, especially to humans, during and after death (or "once dead", thinking of death as a permanent state). In particular, there is the question of what becomes of consciousness or the soul. Such questions are of long standing, and belief in an afterlife (such as an underworld), or in reincarnation, are common and ancient. The belief that any and all consciousness ceases to exist at death, and that death ("after-life") itself is ultimately the exact same experience as prior to conception ("before life"), is common in atheism/agnosticism. Conversely, religious belief in and information about an afterlife is a consolation in connection with the death of a beloved one or the prospect of one's own death. On the other hand, fear of hell or other negative consequences may make death worse. Human contemplation about death is an important motivation for the development of organized religion. Traditions exist across most cultures to mourn the death of loved ones. Many archaeologists feel that the careful burials among Homo neanderthalensis, where ochre ornamented bodies were laid in carefully dug graves, is evidence of ritualised burial. This may indicate early religious belief which, furthermore, might include a concept of an afterlife.

Physiological consequences of human death

For the human body, the physiological consequences of death follow a recognized sequence through early changes into bloating, then decay to changes after decay and finally skeletal remains. The changes in the immediate post-death stage have received the most attention for two reasons—firstly it is the stage mostly likely to be seen by the living and secondly because of the research of forensics in potential crimes. Soon after death (15–120 minutes depending on various factors), the body begins to cool (algor mortis), becomes pallid (pallor mortis), and internal sphincter muscles relax, leading to the release of urine, feces, and stomach contents if the body is moved. The blood moves to pool in the lowest parts of the body, livor mortis (dependent lividity), within 30 minutes and then begins to coagulate. The body experiences muscle stiffening (rigor mortis) which peaks at around 12 hours after death and is gone in another 24, depending on temperature. Within a day, the body starts to show signs of decomposition (decay), both autolytic changes and from 'attacking' organisms—bacteria, fungi, insects, mammalian scavengers, etc. Internally, the body structures begin to collapse, the skin loses integration with the underlying tissues, and bacterial action creates gases which cause bloating and swelling. The rate of decay is enormously variable; a body can be reduced to skeletal remains in days, or remain largely intact for thousands of years.

Settlement of dead human bodies

In most cultures, before the onset of significant decay, the body undergoes some type of ritual disposal, usually either cremation or deposition in a tomb that is often a hole in the ground called a grave, but may also be a sarcophagus, crypt, sepulchre, or ossuary, a mound or barrow, or a monumental surface structure such as a mausoleum (exemplified by the Taj Mahal). In Tibet, one method of corpse disposal is sky burial, which involves placing the body of the deceased on high ground (a mountain) and leaving it for birds of prey to dispose of. Sometimes this is because in some religious views, birds of prey are carriers of the soul to the heavens, but at other times this simply reflects the fact that when terrain (as in Tibet) makes the ground too hard to dig, there are few trees around to burn and the local religion (Buddhism) believes that the body after death is only an empty shell, there are more practical ways of disposing of a body, such as leaving it for animals to consume. On the other hand, in certain cultures, efforts are made to retard the decay processes before burial (resulting even in the retardation of decay processes after the burial), as in mummification or embalming. This happens during or after a funeral ceremony. Many funeral customs exist in different cultures. In some fishing or navy communities, the body is sent into the water aquatic burial. Several mountain villages have a tradition of hanging the coffin in woods. A new alternative is ecological burial. This is a sequence of deep-freezing, pulverisation by vibration, freeze-drying, removing metals, and burying the resulting powder, which has 30% of the body mass. Space burial is also talked about, using rocket to launch part of the cremated body. Graves are usually grouped together in a plot of land called a cemetery or graveyard, and burials can be arranged by a funeral home, mortuary , undertaker or by a religious body such as a church or (for some Jews) the community's Burial Society, a charitable or voluntary body charged with these duties.

Personification of death

Main article: Death (personification) Death is also a mythological figure who has existed in popular culture since the earliest days of storytelling. The traditional Western image of Death, known as the Grim Reaper - usually resembling a skeleton, wearing black robes and carrying a scythe - is employed on a tarot card and in various television shows and films. Some examples:
- Death is a major character in the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett.
- Humorous depictions of Death, often with a Grim Reaper-esque feel, are common during the Día de los Muertos in Mexico, especially in the state of Michoacán.
- An unusual personification of Death appears in Neil Gaiman's Sandman graphic novels.
- In Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal, a knight plays a game of chess against Death.
- Death is also portrayed as a Grim Reaper-esque character in TV shows such as Family Guy and video and computer games such as The Sims.
- In the film, Meet Joe Black, a remake of Death Takes a Holiday, Death inhabits the body of a young man to experience life firsthand.
- In the film, Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, Death is the bassist for Wyld Stallyns.
- In the TV series Dead Like Me, the main characters are all Grim Reapers as part of a post-life bureaucracy.
- The series Touched by an Angel featured the Angel of Death as a regular character, depicted as a kindly, soft-spoken man in his mid-30s.
- The Angel of Death also appeared in the show Charmed as a man that appeared before those who had died to take them to the afterlife. He was neither good nor evil.
- Death is also a recurring character in the Castlevania video games. He is usually described as Dracula's servant, and is therefore evil. He is almost always a boss, and appears usually near the end of the game. He uses the scythe, and often transforms into more hideous forms.
- Death 'stalks' people who avoided their demise in the Final Destination series.
- Death appears as a character in a sketch in the Monty Python film The Meaning of Life.
- In the cartoon Futurama, Death is represented by the "Sunset Squad", a group of robots who take people away to an unknown destination when they reach the age of 160.
- In the book On a Pale Horse the main character becomes Death himself after killing the previous Death.

External links

- [http://www.disastercenter.com/cdc/111riska.html Deaths and death rates for the 10 leading causes of death in specified age groups: United States, preliminary 1996]
- [http://www.nsc.org/lrs/statinfo/odds.htm Odds of dying due to various injuries or accidents] Source: National Safety Council, United States, 2001
- [http://www.veda.harekrsna.cz/encyclopedia/dying.htm Dying, Yamaraja and Yamadutas + terminal restlessness] (Vedic/Hindu view)
- [http://www.quranichealing.com/bp.asp?caid=65 Death & Dying in Islam]What does a man feel at the time of death? and Is death something to be feared?
- [http://www.zyworld.com/jamus/LifeCycle.htm The Cycle of Life] In context of the page New Age of Aquarius.
- [http://samvak.tripod.com/death.html Death, life, and personal identity] In regard to memetics.
- [http://www.quotesandpoem.com/poems/SelectedPoetryTopic/Death Poems on Death and Dying]
- [http://www.answersingenesis.org/docs2002/death_suffering.asp Why is there death and suffering?] From a creationist point of view.
- [http://www.ogrish.com Deaths and death scenes. WARNING: very explicit]
- [http://www.elijahwald.com/origin.html George Wald: The Origin of Death] A biologist explains life and death in different kinds of organisms in relation to evolution.
- [http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/death/ Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry on death]
- [http://www.deathclock.com Death Clock] A little joke telling how much time remains for your death
- [http://www.autopsyvideo.com www.autopsyvideo.com] - This site offers documentaries about autopsy, one produced with the cooperation of the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office.
- [http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?AID=281541 The Jewish Way in Death and Mourning] By Maurice Lamm Category:Biology
- ms:Ajal ja:死 simple:Death

Drowning

Drowning is death caused by the filling of the lungs by a fluid, usually water, rendering breathing impossible and leading to death due to asphyxia. Near drowning is initial survival of a drowning accident, and can lead to serious secondary complications including death later on; cases of near drowning therefore also require attention by medical professionals. Secondary drowning is death due to chemical and biological changes in the lungs after a near drowning incident or exposure to chemicals. In many countries, drowning is one of the leading causes of death for children under 14 years old.

Occurrences

About 6500 drowning deaths occur in the United States every year, and an estimated 140,000 worldwide. The rate of near drowning incidents is unknown. Males, in general, are much more likely to drown than females, and most of the victims are either young children (especially boys) or young adolescent males. In some regions, drowning follows car accidents as the second most likely cause of injury and death for children. Surveys indicate that 10% of children under 5 experienced a situation with a high risk of drowning. Drowning related injuries are the fifth most likely cause of accidental death in the US. The causes of drowning cases in the US are as follows:
- 3100 drownings related to swimming
- 1200 related to boating
- 700 related to scuba diving
- 500 related to motor vehicles
- 1000 drownings of other, or undetermined, origin

The drowning process

Common situations leading to drowning

Most drownings occur in water, drownings in other fluids are comparatively rare and often industrial accidents. Surveys suggest that 90% of drownings occur in freshwater (rivers and lakes) rather than in the ocean. Well known mechanisms by which a person drowns can be categorized as follows:
- Physically hindered in the attempt to extricate self (eg lack of consciousness, injury, being trapped, or hampered by clothing)
- Physiological inability to remain floating in a body of water, often due to a combination of exposure, hypothermia, shock or exhaustion. (Cold, such as ocean water, is a major contributor to these)
- Inimical action of the water itself (rip tides, currents, waves, eddies)
- Acute illness interfering with bodily motor functions (eg heart attack or stroke whilst swimming)
- Forcible submersion by another person (ie murder) Causes underlying this may include accidents such as falling through ice, or the influence of drink or drugs, since lack of good judgement is a major enhancer of risk (PCP users frequently lose their sense of direction as well, and drowning is a major cause of death for them), and lack of skill (inability to swim, going out of ones depth). A few centimeters of water are sufficient for drowning in certain circumstances, if the victim is lying face down on the water (child in bath, alcoholic falling unconscious in puddle) Drowning may also be due to strong negative buoyancy, where the victim is forced underwater by an object that is denser than water. Near drowning victims often report that their last thought before unconsciousness was imagining other peoples reaction to their drownings, and feeling embarrassed and ashamed for being stupid enough to drown, believing that smart people would be able to prevent their own drownings. (For a list of causes see swimming)

Initial Reactions to Submersion

Submerging the face into water causes the mammalian diving reflex, which is found in all mammals, and especially in marine mammals such as whales and seals. This reflex puts the body into energy saving modus to maximize the time an organism can stay under water. The effect of this reflex is greater in cold water than in warm water, and includes three factors:
- Bradycardia, a reduction in the heart rate of up to 50% in humans.
- Peripheral Vasoconstriction, the restriction of the blood flow to the extremities to increase the blood and oxygen supply to the vital organs, especially the brain.
- Blood Shift, the shifting of blood to the thoracic cavity (region of the chest between the diaphragm and the neck) to avoid the collapse of the lungs under higher pressure during deeper dives. Thus both a conscious and an unconscious person can survive longer without oxygen under water than in a comparable situation on dry land.

Initial Oxygen Starvation

A conscious victim will hold their breath (see Apnea), and will try to access air, often resulting in panic, including rapid body movement. This uses up more oxygen in the blood stream and reduces the time to unconsciousness. The victim can voluntarily hold their breath for some time, but the breathing reflex will increase until the victim will try to breathe, even when submerged. The breathing reflex in the human body is related not to the amount of oxygen in the blood but the amount of carbon dioxide. During apnea, the oxygen in the blood is used by the cells, and converted into carbon dioxide. Thus, the level of oxygen in the blood decreases, and the level of carbon dioxide increases. Increasing carbon dioxide levels lead to a stronger and stronger breathing reflex, up to the breath-hold breakpoint, at which the victim can no longer hold their breath. This typically occurs at a partial pressure of carbon dioxide of 55mm Hg, but may differ significantly from individual to individual and can be increased through training. Decreasing oxygen levels, however, lead to a sudden loss of consciousness without warning, usually around a partial pressure of 25 to 30mm Hg. This condition of inadequate oxygen is called hypoxia. Trained apnea divers can hold their breath and resist the breathing reflex until they pass out. The loss of consciousness due to hypoxia is called shallow water blackout when it occurs as the victim is ascending from a dive; the decreasing water pressure around the victim causes the partial pressure of oxygen in the blood to also decrease. The loss of consciousness due to hypoxia is more likely when rapid breathing before apnea decreased the level of carbon dioxide in the blood without increasing the level of oxygen, as the blood is usually saturated with oxygen. Therefore, blackout may occur without warning before a breathing reflex is felt. Breath holding in water should never be preceded by rapid breathing to store oxygen, and should always be supervised by a second person.

Water entering the upper airways

If water enters the airways of a conscious victim, the victim will try to cough up the water, or swallow it, thus inhaling more water involuntarily. Upon water entering the airways, both conscious and unconscious victims show laryngospasm, i.e. the Larynx or the vocal cords in the throat constrict and seal the air tube. This prevents water from entering the lungs. Due to this laryngospasm, water enters the stomach in the initial phase of drowning and very little water enters the lungs. Unfortunately, this can prevent air from entering the lungs too. In most victims, the laryngospasm relaxes some time after unconsciousness, and water can enter the lungs; this is called wet drowning. However, about 10-15% of victims maintain this seal until cardiac arrest; this is called dry drowning as no water enters the lungs. In forensic pathology, water in the lungs indicate that the victim was still alive during drowning. The absence of water in the lungs may be either a dry drowning or a death before submersion.

Unconsciousness due to Oxygen Starvation

Oxygen starvation will render a victim unconscious. An unconscious victim rescued with an airway still sealed due to laryngospasm stands a good chance of experiencing no ill after effects. Also, since little water has entered the lungs, no water has to be removed before beginning artificial respiration. In most victims, the laryngospasm relaxes some time after unconsciousness, and water fills the lungs resulting in a wet drowning. Freshwater contains less salt than blood, and will therefore be absorbed by the blood stream due to osmosis. In animal experiments, this changed the blood chemistry and lead to cardiac arrest in 2-3 minutes. Salt water is much saltier than blood, and due to osmosis, water will leave the blood stream and enter the lungs. In animal experiments, the thicker blood requires more work from the heart, leading to cardiac arrest in 8 to 10 minutes. However, autopsies on human drowning victims show no indications of these effects, and there appears to be little difference between drownings in salt water and fresh water.

Secondary drowning

Water, regardless of its salt content, will damage the inside surface of the lung, collapse the alveoli and cause a hardening of the lungs with a reduced ability to exchange air. This may cause death even hours after rescuing a conscious victim and is called secondary drowning. Inhaling certain poisonous vapors or gases will have a similar effect.

Cardiac Arrest and Death

Due to lack of oxygen or chemical changes in the lungs, the heart may stop beating. This cardiac arrest stops the flow of blood, and thus stops the transport of oxygen to the brain. Cardiac arrest is also known as clinical death. At this point, there is still a chance of rescue. However, the brain cannot survive long without oxygen, and the lack of oxygen in the blood combined with the cardiac arrest will lead to the deterioration of the brain cells, causing brain damage and eventually brain death. In medicine, this is considered to be the point of no return where the victim is truly dead. On surface, the brain will die after approximately 6 minutes (but see 'cold water drowning', below). After death, rigor mortis will set in and stay for about two days, depending on many factors including water temperature.

Rescue and Treatment

Many pools and designated bathing areas either have either lifeguards, a pool safety camera system for local or remote monitoring, or computer aided drowning detection. However, bystanders play an important role in drowning detection and either intervention or the notification of authorities by phone or alarm. No person should attempt a rescue that is beyond their level of training! If a drowning occurs or a swimmer becomes missing, bystanders should immediately call for help. The lifeguard should be called if present. If not, Emergency medical services and Paramedics should be contacted as soon as possible. The first step in rescuing a drowning victim is to bring the victim's mouth and nose above the water surface. For further treatment it is advisable to remove the victim from the water. Conscious victims may panic and thus hinder rescue efforts. Often, a victim will cling to the rescuer and try to pull themselves out of the water, submerging the rescuer in the process. To avoid this, it is recommended that the rescuer approach the panicking victim with a buoyant object, or from behind, twisting the victim's arm on the back to restrict movement. If the victim pushes the rescuer under water, the rescuer should dive downwards to escape the victim. After successfully approaching the victim, negatively buoyant objects such as a weight belt are removed. The priority is then to transport the victim to the water's edge in preparation for removal from the water. The victim is turned on his back. A secure grip is used to tow panicking victims from behind, with both rescuer and victim laying on their back, and the rescuer swimming a breaststroke kick. A cooperative victim may be towed in a similar fashion held at the armpits, and the victim may assist with a breaststroke kick. An unconscious victim may be pulled in a similar fashion held at the chin and cheeks, ensuring that the mouth and nose is well above the water. There is also the option of pushing a cooperative victim lying on his back with the rescuer swimming on his belly and pushing the feet of the victim, or both victim and rescuer lying on the belly, with the victim hanging from the shoulders of the rescuers. This has the advantage that the rescuer can use both arms and legs to swim breaststroke, but if the victim pushes his head above the water, the rescuer may get pushed down. This method is often used to retrieve tired swimmers. If the victim wears lifejacket, buoyancy compensator, or other flotation device that stabilizes his position with the face up, only one hand of the rescuer is needed to pull the victim, and the other hand may provide forward movement or may help in rescue breathing while swimming, using for example a snorkel. Special care has to be taken for victims with suspected spinal injuries, and a back board (spinal board) may be needed for the rescue. In water, CPR is very difficult, and the goal should be to bring the victim to a stable ground quickly and then to start CPR. If the approach to a stable ground includes the edge of a pool without steps or the edge of a boat, special techniques have been developed for moving the victim over the obstacle. For pools, the rescuer stands outside, holds the victim by his hands, with the victims back to the edge. the rescuer then dips the victim into the water quickly to achieve an upward speed of the body, aiding with the lifting of the body over the edge. Lifting a victim over the side of a boat may require more than one person. Special techniques are also used by the Coast Guard and military for helicopter rescues. After reaching dry ground, all victims should seek medical assistance, especially if unconscious or if even small amounts of water have entered the lungs. An unconscious victim may need artificial respiration or CPR. The Heimlich maneuver is needed only for obstructed airways, not for water in the airways. Performing the Heimlich maneuver on drowning victims not only delays ventilation, it may induce vomiting - the vomit may then be aspirated, leading to serious injury or death. Furthermore, news articles have raised concerns that the entire concept is not only useless, but that Dr. Henry Heimlich used fabricated case reports to promote the idea: http://complaint.active.ws 100% Oxygen is highly recommended, including an intubation if necessary. Treatment for hypothermia may also be necessary. Water in the stomach need not be removed. Other injuries should also be treated (see first aid). Victims that are alert, awake, and intact have nearly a 100% survival rate. Drowning victims should be treated even if they have been submerged for a long time. The rule "no patient should be pronounced dead until warm and dead" applies. Children in particular have a good chance of survival in water up to 3 minutes, or 10 minutes in cold water (10 to 15 °C or 50 to 60 °F). Submersion in cold water can slow the metabolism drastically. There are rare but documented cases of survivable submersion for extreme lengths of time. In one case a child survived drowning after being submerged in cold water for 70 minutes. In another, an 18 year old man survived 38 minutes under water. This is known as cold water drowning.

Prevention

- Learn to swim and arrange for your family to learn to swim!
- Children should never be unsupervised while in or near water.
- Supervised swimming facilities with lifeguards should be preferred over swimming locations without supervision.
- Swimming alone should be avoided. Swim accompanied by a responsible adult.
- Never enter deep water if you cannot swim.
- Never rely on swimming aids, since they may fail.
- Never swim while drunk or after a big meal.
- Wear a lifejacket while enjoying water sports such as sailing, surfing, or canoeing.
- Pay attention to the weather and water conditions, especially currents. Currents always look weaker from the outside!
- Never pretend to be a drowning victim, unless all bystanders are informed that this is an exercise.
- Learn and practice water rescue if possible.
- Never dive into shallow or cloudy water. Always check depth and safety before diving. If you dive head first, stretch your arms to the front to reduce injuries to the head if there is a collision.
- Do not walk on frozen lakes, rivers or oceans unless the ice is thick enough over the entire area walked on.
- Do not handle electric powered devices in or near the water.
- When boating, ensure your boat is operational and emergency equipment is onboard.

External links

- [http://www.drowning-prevention.org/ Drowning prevention and water safety information from the Washington State Drowning Prevention Network]
- [http://www.emedicine.com/emerg/topic744.htm emedicine.com article]
- [http://www.rtptv.homestead.com/rtpmeliones.html Med+NC Show (RTP-TV 2003) Online video about saving drowning victims] Category:Swimming Category:Medical emergencies Category:Diving medicine ja:水死

Barnacle

:Acrothoracica :Thoracica :Rhizocephala Rhizocephala A barnacle is a type of arthropod belonging to infraclass Cirripedia in the subphylum Crustacea and is hence distantly related to crabs and lobsters. Some authorities regard Cirripedia as a full class or subclass, and the orders listed at right are sometimes treated as superorders. Around 1,220 barnacle species are currently known. The name "Cirripedia" means "curl-footed". Barnacles were first fully studied and classified by Charles Darwin, as a suggestion of his friend Joseph Dalton Hooker, in his quest for understanding his ongoining development of the theory of evolution and natural selection. Barnacles have two larval stages. The first is called the nauplius, which spends its time as part of the plankton, floating wherever the wind, waves, currents, and tides may take it, whilst eating and molting. This lasts for about two weeks until the sixth stage is reached. At this point the nauplius metamorphoses into a non-feeding, more strongly swimming cyprid larva. The cyprids settle down in an area where environmental cues indicate a safe and productive environment. If they don't, the larvae will die. When an appropriate place is found, the cyprid larva cements itself headfirst to the surface and then undergoes metamorphosis into a juvenile barnacle. Typical barnacles develop six hard armor plates to surround and protect their body. For the rest of their lives they are cemented to the ground, using their feathery legs to capture plankton and gametes when spawning. They are usually found in the intertidal zone. Like many invertebrates, barnacles are hermaphroditic and alternate male and female roles over time. hermaphroditic Barnacles often attach themselves to human-made structures, sometimes to the structure's detriment. In particular to ships, they are classified as fouling organisms. However, some members of the class have quite a different mode of life. For example, members of the genus Sacculina are parasitic on crabs. The Barnacle Goose gets its name from the ancient European belief that it grew from the gooseneck barnacle, Pollicipes polymerus; eggs and goslings of this bird were never seen because it bred in the remote Arctic. Since barnacles are seafood, the Barnacle Goose was counted as a fish, and could be eaten by Catholics on Fridays, when meat used to be forbidden.

Synonyms

Other names for this group of crustaceans include Thyrostraca, Cirrhopoda (meaning "tawny-footed"), Cirrhipoda, and Cirrhipedia.

External links

# [http://www.vattenkikaren.gu.se/fakta/arter/crustace/cirriped/balacren/balacre.html Rock barnacle] at Aquascope # [http://www.mesa.edu.au/friends/seashores/barnacles.html Barnacles] from the Marine Education Society of Australasia # http://collections.ic.gc.ca/artifacts/kosapsom/images/barnacle.jpg # http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/graphics/barnacle.jpg # [http://www.iberianature.com/material/barnacles.htm Barnacles in Spain] Article on barnacles in Spain, and their collection and gastronomy. Category:Crustaceans ja:フジツボ

Pirate

:This article is about sea pirates. For other uses see Pirate (disambiguation) A pirate is one who robs, pillages, or plunders at sea, or sometimes the shore, without a commission from a recognized sovereign nation. Pirates usually target other ships, but have also attacked targets on shore. While piracy in popular conception conjures up the romantic imagery of fictionalized tales of Caribbean pirates in the 17th century, piracy persists in the world today. Unlike the stereotypical pirate with cutlass and masted sailing ship, today most pirates get about in speedboats wearing balaclavas instead of bandannas, using AK-47s rather than cutlasses. Seaborne piracy against transport vessels remains a significant problem (with estimated worldwide losses of $13 to $16 billion USD per year), particularly in the waters between the Pacific and Indian oceans, and specifically in the straits of Malacca and Singapore, used by over 50,000 commercial ships a year. While boats off the coasts of South America and the Mediterranean Sea are still molested by pirates, the advent of the United States Coast Guard has nearly eradicated piracy in American waters, and it is also much reduced in the Caribbean Sea.

Piracy in the Caribbean

The great or classic era of piracy in the Caribbean extends from around 1560 up until the 1720s. The period during which pirates were most successful was from the 1640s until the 1680s. Caribbean piracy arose out of, and mirrored on a smaller scale, the conflicts over trade and colonization among the rival European powers of the time, including England, Spain, the Dutch United Provinces, and France. Two of the most well known pirate bases were Tortuga in the 1640s and Port Royal after 1655.

Privateering

A privateer or corsair used similar methods to a pirate, but acted while in possession of a commission or letter of marque from a government or king authorizing the capture of merchant ships belonging to an enemy nation. The famous Barbary Corsairs of the Mediterranean were privateers, as were the Maltese Corsairs, who were authorized by the Knights of St. John. The letter of marque was recognized by convention—for example, the United States Constitution of 1787 specifically authorizes Congress to issue letters of marque and reprisal—and meant that a privateer could not technically be charged with piracy. This nicety of law did not always save the individuals concerned, however, as whether one was considered a pirate or a legally operating privateer often depended on whose custody the individual found himself in—that of the country that had issued the commission, or that of the object of attack. Under the Declaration of Paris of 1854, seven nations agreed to suspend the use of the letter of marque, and others followed in the Hague Conventions. The most famous privateer was Sir Francis Drake. His patron was England, and their relationship ultimately proved to be quite profitable.

Pirate organization

In the popular modern imagination, pirates of the classical period were rebellious, clever teams who operated outside the restricting bureaucracy of modern life. In reality, many pirates ate poorly, did not become fabulously wealthy, and died young. Unlike traditional Western societies of the time, many pirate clans operated as limited democracies, demanding the right to elect and replace their leaders. The captain of a pirate ship was often a fierce fighter in whom the men could place their trust, rather than a more traditional authority figure sanctioned by an elite. However, when not in battle, the ship's quartermaster usually had the real authority. Many groups of pirates shared in whatever booty they seized, according to a complicated scheme where each man received his alloted share of the prize. Pirates injured in battle might be afforded special compensation. Often all of these terms were agreed upon and written down by the pirates. These articles could also be used as incriminating proof that they were outlaws. Pirates readily accepted outcasts from traditional societies, perhaps easily recognizing kindred spirits, and they were known to free slaves from slave ships and welcome them into the pirate fold. Such egalitarian practices within a pirate clan were tenuous, however, and did little to mitigate the brutality of the pirate's way of life.

Commerce raiders

A wartime activity similar to piracy involves disguised warships called commerce raiders or merchant raiders which attack enemy shipping commerce, approaching by stealth and then opening fire. Commerce raiders operated successully during the American Revolution. During World War II, Germany also made use of these tactics, both in the Atlantic and Indian oceans, but since naval vessels were openly used, these commerce raiders should not be considered even privateers, much less pirates.

Modern piracy

Piracy in recent times has increased in areas such as South and Southeast Asia (the South China Sea), parts of South America, and the south of the Red Sea, with pirates now favoring small boats and taking advantage of the small crew numbers on modern cargo vessels. Modern pirates prey on cargo ships which must slow their speed to navigate narrow straits, making them vulnerable to be overtaken and boarded by small motorboats. Small ships are also capable of disguising themselves as fishing vessels or cargo vessels when not carrying out piracy, in order to avoid or deceive inspections. In most cases, modern pirates are not interested in the cargo and are mainly interested in taking the personal belongings of the crew and the contents of the ship's safe, which might contain large amounts of cash needed to pay payroll and port fees. In some cases, the pirates force the crew off the ship and sail the ship to a port, where it is repainted and given a new identity through false papers. Modern pirates can be successful because a large amount of international commerce occurs via shipping. For commercial reasons, many cargo ships move through narrow bodies of water such as the Suez Canal, the Panama canal and the Straits of Malacca. As usage increases, many of these ships have to lower cruising speeds to allow for navigation and traffic control, making them prime targets for piracy. Modern piracy can also take place in conditions of political unrest or vacuum. For example, following the disintegration of the government of Somalia, warlords in the region have attacked ships delivering UN food aid . Modern definitions of piracy include the following acts:
- Kidnapping of people for ransom
- Robbery
- Murder
- Seizure of items or the ship
- Sabotage, resulting in the ship subsequently sinking Pirate attacks tripled between 1993 and 2003. The first half of 2003 was the worst 6-month period on record, with 234 pirate attacks, 16 deaths, and 52 people injured worldwide. There were also 193 crew members held hostage during this period. 182 cases of piracy were reported worldwide in the first 6 months of 2004. Of these incidents, 50 occurred in Indonesian waters. The Piracy Reporting Centre of the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) stated in 2004 that most pirate attacks in that year occurred in Indonesian waters (70 of 251 reported attacks). Of these attacks, a majority occurred in the Straits of Malacca. They also stated that of the attacks in 2004, oil and gas tankers and bulk carriers were the most popular targets with 67 attacks on tankers and 52 on bulk carriers. In modern times ships, as well as aeroplanes, are also hijacked for political reasons. The perpetrators of these acts could be described as pirates (for instance, the French for plane hijacker is pirate de l'air), but in English are usually termed hijackers or terrorists. An example is the hijacking of the Italian civilian passenger ship, the Achille Lauro. Modern pirates also use a great deal of technology. It has been reported that crimes of piracy have involved the use of mobile phones, modern speedboats, and AK-47s. There is also speculation that modern pirates eavesdrop on satellite communication networks such as Inmarsat to determine cargo and the degree of risk involved with an operation.

Piracy in international law

Effects on international boundaries

In the Straits of Malacca, during the 18th Century, the British and the Dutch controlled both sides of the Straits of Malacca. Some pirates carried on activities similar to armed rebellion with the aim of resisting the colonizers. In order to put a stop to this, the British and the Dutch drew a line separating the Straits into two sides. The agreement was that each party would be responsible for piracy in their respective area. Eventually this line became the separating line between Malaysia and Indonesia in the Straits.

International law

Piracy is of note in international law as it is commonly held to represent the earliest invocation of the concept of universal jurisdiction. The crime of piracy is considered jus cogens, a conventional peremptory international norm from which states may not derogate. Those committing thefts on the high seas, inhibiting trade, and endangering maritime communication were considered by sovereign states to be hostes humani generis (enemies of humanity). Since piracy often takes place outside the territorial waters of any state, the prosecution of pirates by sovereign states represents a complex legal situation. The prosecution of pirates on the high seas contravenes the conventional freedom of the high seas. However, as jus cogens,

Keelhauling

Dutch language

History

Classification and related languages

Geographic distribution

Official status

Dialects

Accents

Derived languages

Sounds

Vowels

Consonants

Phonology

Historical sound changes

Grammar

Vocabulary

Writing system

Dutch as a foreign language

See also

Dutch literature

External links

Dictionaries

Sailor

Bow (ship)

See also

Death sentence

See also

Death

Interpretations of "death"

Ways of defining human death: medical, religious, and legal

When is a person dead?

The process of dying

Cell death

Physiological changes during the process of dying

Signs of approaching death

When death is imminent

When death occurs

Cause of death in the United States

Other notable causes of death in the United States (2002)

What happens to humans after death?

Physiological consequences of human death

Settlement of dead human bodies

Personification of death

See also

External links

Drowning

Occurrences

The drowning process

Common situations leading to drowning

Initial Reactions to Submersion

Initial Oxygen Starvation

Water entering the upper airways

Unconsciousness due to Oxygen Starvation

Secondary drowning

Cardiac Arrest and Death

Rescue and Treatment

Prevention

See also

External links

Barnacle

Synonyms

External links

Pirate

Piracy in the Caribbean

Privateering

Pirate organization

Commerce raiders

Modern piracy

Piracy in international law

Effects on international boundaries

International law