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In Afrikaans the use of that is optional, as in English, but it is somewhat more commonly retained than in English usage. If a clause is introduced by dat, the clause follows the verb-final word order of subordinate clauses. If dat is absent, the clause observes the word order of main clauses, leading to the following contrast in syntax:
Amme lésten hattar bostant dat ze habenten galummet so borhantan.
Finally he understood that they were teasing him.
Net alle de lòite klóobent dat d'èerda ist pummalot.
Not everyone believes that the earth is round.
References
“dat” in Martalar, Umberto Martello, Bellotto, Alfonso (1974) Dizionario della lingua Cimbra dei Sette Communi vicentini, 1st edition, Roana, Italy: Instituto di Cultura Cimbra A. Dal Pozzo
In Dutch the use of that is mandatory, with the following clause using the verb-final word order of subordinate clauses: Zij wist dat de lijkbidder te laat zou komen. (“She knew that the undertaker would arrive too late.”) A rare exception is found in some marginal slang contexts, that are often heavily influenced by English and where the conjunction is sometimes omitted.
Although found in the native dialects throughout northern and western Germany, the near-exclusive use of dat in colloquial standard German is most typical of the West (chiefly North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate). In the other areas the forms dat and das are used in free variation. In Berlin, the form dit (local form of this) often has replaced dat.
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Friedrich Woeste, Märkische Schreckmärchen, in: Monatsschrift für rheinisch-westfälische Geschichtsforschung und Altertumskunde, edited by Richard Pick, vol. 1, Bonn, 1875, p. 487–489, here p. 487, in nr. 1 De dicke Nunne:
As dai Lü saiht19, dat se vüar dem Spouke nitt mär sloapen könt, do trecket20 se uut dem Hüseken un saüket21 sick ne annere Wuǝninge. 19. sehen. 20. ziehen. 21. suchen.
Koponen, Eino, Ruppel, Klaas, Aapala, Kirsti, editors (2002–2008), Álgu database: Etymological database of the Saami languages, Helsinki: Research Institute for the Languages of Finland