What do you know about the Dutch? - page 2
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>there are just 3 countries we use dutch (belgium,the netherlands and
>the surinam)!!! Don't forget South Africa! Afrikaans is mutually intelligible with Dutch, as one South African person told me. http://www.cyberserv.co.za/users/~jako/lang/afr.htm - "Around 5 811 547 people use Afrikaans as their home language in South Africa. The language is also spoken in the Republic of Namibia." |
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Joe,
Sure each language can be unique but not agreable to hear. I don't like Dutch, it desn't sound nice. Of course, there must be something cultural. As you said a lot of people think than anything but the romance... so it means some people don't and it's their right if they don't like to hear french,spanish or what else you want. This is not about racism, only about your personnal feeling, pleasure and it does not mean because i don't like the sounds dutch produces i don't respect dutch people. |
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dear chamomille,
of a part of south africa use afrikaanse but it is not a lot of people who use this language maybe 20 000 000 do u think that it is important? and who will live in surinam or in south africa???the first langue in south africa is english and different african dialect!!! i respect the dutch as every language, but i dont like it, i dont like her sounds and pronouciation, that's all and i regret that in belgium we must learnt it!!! |
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Well, bellatyty, look at it this way, you have French to balance out the Dutch.
Of course, in Belgium that's the source of quite a bit of controversy. I really don't see why everyone just doesn't learn the other language than the one they're native in and everyone can be happy. It doesn't cause a loss of culture as long as both are used and one has precedent in its particular region (Dutch in Vlaams, French in Wallonia, and of course the multilingual arrangement for Brussels; then you have the minority German community as well) Some of my ancestors came from Wallonia, actually. Since you have to learn it, you might as well look on the bright side. It is a pretty cool language. No other Western language, I don't think, uses the J as much, thanks to the IJ. :-D "And who will live in Suriname or South Africa?" Surinamers and South Africans, of course. ;-) Honestly though, complaining about it is ridiculous. Every language offers a very bright point and a strong insight into the culture. If you had a positive outlook it would get a lot better. It's not the most graceful language to listen to, but I like it. In fact, the weird sounds is why I like it so much. It's special if you can make sounds like that. ;-) So consider yourself special. ;-) |
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| Why should i learn ducth because i am belgian from Wallonie? I don't ant to learn it but i have to do it at school! I don't ask to flemmish to learn french! I don't want to be their compatriots any more. We are the sister forgotten by our big sister the french. |
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I may be going out on a limb here, but it seems that Belgium has quite a bit of problems
it needs to work out for itself. It's very odd for such a modern country to have
such a clearly divided population. It's actually reminiscent of the divide between
the Francophone Québécois and the rest of Canada.
I know with the controversy surrounding the Vlaams Blok that in Vlaams there is a lot of divide between Vlaams and Wallonie, and I therefore assume that in Wallonie there's much of the same toward the Flemish and speaking Dutch. However, I don't understand why being bilingual is seen in Belgium as losing your ethnic heritage. Why is it bad to learn the language that the other half of your nation speaks? I know, of course, there are underlying historical and social reasons, but if you want to be logical (the lack of logic is the reason this is going on) there is no reason why as a second language the one that is not native should be taught. And yes, that means Français in Vlaams and Nederlands in Wallonie. But that's just an opinion from an outsider. Belgium really is an "artificial" country. That's the big problem. |
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dear joe
"Why is it bad to learn the language that the other half of your nation speaks? " bcz we dont like this language,it is not a language that we can use in the worldwide!!! i live in brussels and the first language there is the french, the second is the dutch and the third is the english, i think that it is more interresting to learn the english as second language than the dutch, i think that we must have the choice and put dutch as an "option" language!! i prefere learn english, spanish, arabic, japanese, hindu,... than dutch bcz a lot of people in the wordld use these languages!!! didier, je suis d'accord avec toi, on devrais pas nous obligé à apprendre le néerlandais mais nous laisser le choix!!! |
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Well, all I can say is, look at it this way: you won't have to learn it forever.
Though you need to realize that even if it's not the most widely used langauage, you're still benefiting yourself by learning Dutch. Sure it may not be the most fun, but since you HAVE to take it, you may as well make the best of it is all I'm saying. It shouldn't even have to be a chore. You can learn English as well. Go for Japanese, go for Spanish, you'll know Dutch on top of that, and that's very cool! That's how you have to look at it. |
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Joe:
I totally agree with you! |
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I don't want to learn their lanuage because i have to admit i don't like them and
they don't like me.
Bellatyty, Yes, i made my own choice and i refuse to learn it! I am gonna have my diploma without their ugly language. This has nothing to see with dutch people who are not belgian. |
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Joe said: >>However, I don't understand why being bilingual is seen in Belgium as
losing your ethnic heritage. Why is it bad to learn the language that the other half
of your nation speaks?<<
I think the reason is because Belgium is really two countries, not one. And formerly French used to be the dominant language, while now Flemish nationalism tends to put off people in Vallonie. I once heard it said in a humorous way that Belgium is kept together by the royal family, the national football team and beer. Sad, because otherwise I think it is a beautiful country, whether we speak about the Flemish or the Vallon region, or Brussels. By the way, personally I think Dutch is a language you can be really good at if you are born with it, which is mostly due to its very special pronunciation. Without any bias towards Dutch or Flemish people, I myself would learn it only if it were a necessity, because quite frankly speaking its guttural sounds put me off a little. By the way, I happen to work with Dutch people a lot, and I always find their language rather harsh. It is a southern Dutch dialect by the way, I have a feeling the northern dialects are a little softer. On the other hand, somebody speaking Dutch with a foreign accent sounds rather pleasant to me. |
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The Dutch tend to find the way Indonesians speak the Dutch language very pleasant.
They find the accent has a nice ring to the ear. I've never heard an Indonesian speaking
Dutch before, so I wouldn't know.
I thought the accent from Noord-Brabant was personally softer than that of the areas around Noord Holland en Zuid Holland. I have a friend from Brabant and she has a nearly silent G, compared with the much more gutteral G you hear elsewhere. I agree, I think Belgium is being held together by very few factors right now, and if they don't make attempts to bridge the cultural divide I could very easily see it splitting into two nations in time. |
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I moved from Bristol to Brugge (Belgium) a couple of years ago and I must say , the
real masters of language are the flemings!
Why do you think the Dutch are so good at languages ? Ever heard a Dutchman speaking English on tv ( MTV Holland ) ? Hillarious !!! The local Dutch dialect spoken in Brugge sounds a lot smoother and sexier than ( let's call it ) Hollandish ... The flemings can speak English very fluently , because people here don't have that typical Dutch accent. I'm not saying the Dutch can't speak English , but I think everybody agrees with me they do have a funny way of talking ... Education: Most flemings in secundary school are beeing taught French ( 4 hours a week ) , German ( 2 hours a week ) and English ( 2 hours a week ) , unlike the Dutch. ( Keep in mind , I am not beeing hostile towards the dutch, I just want to point out a couple of things)... My son Keith isn't so pepped up about it, I like to tease him ( naughty me ! )secundary school is only one year away for him. Cheers ! |
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Dave,
I'm certain that the Flemings are quite good at languages as well. I also do know that there's always been that bit of rivalry between the Flemish and the Dutch, so I'm not falling into that one! Let them work that one out themselves. haha The Dutch have language classes as well, from a young age. I don't know where you heard otherwise. I think there is less of an emphasis on French in the Netherlands. French is a higher priority in Fllanders because, of course, French is the other national language, along with Dutch (or Flemish, but the government calls it Dutch) It's funny you mention that, my friend tells me people think her accent is sexier than the Dutch spoken in the north of the country. She's from Brabant. So it would actually be more accurate to recognize that each region has a distinct accent, not "Hollandish" Those in Friesland speak differently from those in Amsterdam who speak differently from those in Maastricht or in Zeeland. Just as how in the United States within the state of Florida we have varying accents, from "neutral" to Southern. Neutral in the sense that we have that "TV anchor" accent. I would have loved the opportunity that your son has, so tell him he's lucky! |
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| About the state of Florida: I always thought you in the north had the accent and me, in Miami, had a neutral accent. Indeed, no one has ever told me that I have an accent, but I don't know. |