Drentsche Patrijshond: what's in a name?

Drentsche Patrijshond - how do you say it?  and what does it mean? are two of the most popular questions I receive. The pronunciation can be found in my book and I provided the information to the AKC… So without dwelling on that let's have a look at what each element means.
 
Drentsche = 'of the'/'from the' Province of Drenthe. Drenthe is a province of the Netherlands located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and Germany to the east.

The Province of Drenthe

The Grey or Hungarian Partridge

This is a Hound - the Drent IS NOT a hound!

​Patrijshond is a simple compound word. Patrijs = Partridge. In our case the Partridge specifically being referenced is the Hungarian Partridge. Also known as the Hun, or Grey Partridge for which was considered to be the main quarry of the Drent. However, we know the Drent to have been one of the original ‘Swiss Army knives’ of dog breeds from its beginnings. Hond = Dog. Pure and simple. Drents are not hounds! They have never been nor ever will be a member of the Hound Group. Hond is the Dutch word for dog, don't just take my word for it.

So, let us tie it all together. Drentsche Patrijshond = The Partridge Dog from Drenthe. A bit wordy, and it certainly doesn’t gently roll off the tongue. Worse yet it gives the impression the Drent is a specialist breed suitable only for hunting Hungarian Partridge and perhaps a few other birds of the prairie, this is about as wrong as calling your Drent a Dutch Partridge Hound! 

​The DPCNA decided to retain the difficult to pronounce native name with the intent to help ensure the Drent stayed true to type and form - One Drent. Besides Dutch Partridge Dog, as the English translation typically goes is terribly generic and threatens to pigeonhole the Drent as a ‘one trick pony’ here in North America...As for those in the know, the Drent is so much more.
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As far as pronunciation goes, when in doubt, just say Drent.