Walking or cycling through Amsterdam, you hear many different languages: Farsi, French, Arabic, Russian, Ukrainian, Spanish, Turkish, Swahili… But one language clearly dominates the Dutch capital.
Especially the city center.
Nobody will be surprised that it’s not Dutch, but English. In stores, restaurants, at the doctor’s office and the university, English has rapidly become the lingua franca here.
This makes learning Dutch as a second language extra difficult. So don’t bother, then?
Even though you can get by almost anywhere here with English, if you really want to be included into your community, neighborhood, Dutch workplace, sports club, or in-laws’ circle, you still need to be able to speak Dutch. Sorry.
To make matters more complicated, modern Dutch is peppered with English lingo. But, which lingo is okay to use and which is not? It certainly isn’t just ‘anything goes’.
How many English expressions—and which ones, exactly—is it appropriate to incorporate into your Dutch?
For native Dutch speakers who collectively shaped the gradual anglicization of their own language over the years, it is crystal clear what sounds right and what doesn’t. As if there were certain unwritten rules.
Yes: deadline for de sluitingsdatum. No: office for het kantoor. Yes: sneakers, vintage, sunnies, tanktop, sweater—though the latter exclusively when made of French terry. When knitted: de trui. Grey area: jeans, as the preferred lingo still is de spijkerbroek.
How many English expressions—and which ones, exactly—is it appropriate to incorporate into your Dutch? That is the most relevant and, at the same time, most difficult question facing not only people learning Dutch as a second language but also NT2 teachers.
Should I keep on teaching my NT2 students Dutch terms, when everybody uses the English ones—think of AI, not KI (Kunstmatige Intelligentie)? And that afspraakje they have tonight? It’s een date. Maybe even een hot date. And in case they get ghosted by their hot date, it will be the same in Dutch: ghosten-ghostte-geghost.
For both students and teachers, it’s like walking a wobbly tightrope that, on top of that, is constantly changing shape, height, and length.
Completely understandable, therefore, that most students sigh at one point: “Waarom leer ik eigenlijk Nederlands? Voor mijn schoonfamilie?” (Why do I even study Dutch? For my in-laws?)Standard answers such as “you’ll be included into your community”, do not go down well when practicing the complex Dutch passive tense, while everyone else is chatting away in English on some sunny terrace by de gracht.
So when Jordi from Spain asks me, I paint him the following outlook, “Omdat jullie straks deze prachtige taal correcter spreken dan geboren Nederlanders. Hoe cool is dat?”
(Because you’ll be speaking this beautiful language more properly than its native speakers. How cool is that?)
Lingo Anglico
AI - de AI
Date - de date
Call - de call
Deadline - de deadline
Sorry - sorry
Cool - cool
Way of life - de way of life
Please don’t ghost me, buy my bilingual book Nederlands is zooo makkelijk | Dutch is sooo easy here. Hoe cool is dat?
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