Why do the Dutch dislike their language so much?

Baldewin   Fri Feb 12, 2010 12:49 am GMT
People use the Dutch Wikipedia for reading the English articles in shorter form. All in all, our language produces more than you'd expect from its tiny size.
Baldewin   Fri Feb 12, 2010 12:53 am GMT
But just like in Spanish, most of the time the articles get better when it's about our own culture itself. For the rest people don't bother too much translating the English (a language that has taken on a role previously taken by German/French and before that by Latin).
Monoglots don't exist in the Dutch-speaking world obviously, we cannot afford that.
Baldewin   Fri Feb 12, 2010 1:04 am GMT
The Spanish one I see improving in the future though, if the prosperity in South America gets fixed more. It all depends on that.
PARISIEN   Fri Feb 12, 2010 2:05 am GMT
<< The Netherlands is individualistic and conformist now to think of it. You cannot escape from having to speak with complete stranger passing your way. You'll have to get to know your neighbours. You cannot boast too much about your accomplishments. >>

-- Which reminds us of the infamous "Jante Law" formulated by Danish/Norwegian novelist Aksel Sandemose:

"1. Du skal ikke tro at du er noe.
2. Du skal ikke tro at du er like så meget som oss.
3. Du skal ikke tro du er klokere enn oss.
4. Du skal ikke innbille deg du er bedre enn oss.
5. Du skal ikke tro du vet mere enn oss.
6. Du skal ikke tro du er mere enn oss.
7. Du skal ikke tro at du duger til noe.
8. Du skal ikke le av oss.
9. Du skal ikke tro at noen bryr seg om deg.
10. Du skal ikke tro at du kan lære oss noe.
11. Du tror kanskje ikke at jeg vet noe om deg?

"1. Don't think that you are anything special.
2. Don't think that you compare to us.
3. Don't think that you are smarter than us.
4. Don't fancy yourself as being better than us.
5. Don't think that you know more than we do.
6. Don't think that you are something more than us.
7. Don't think that you are worth anything.
8. Don't smile at us.
9. Don't think that someone may care about you.
10. Don't think that you can teach us anything.
11. You think I do not know anything about you perhaps?"
Creator   Sun Mar 14, 2010 2:30 pm GMT
I think it's just a matter of habit that the Dutch like to answer in English once they here a foreign accent. They have a strong stereotype (based on real experience) that foreigners don't speak Dutch and therefore must be spoken to in English. So, they are just used to it. When they meet a foreigner who tries to speak Dutch, it's pretty unusual for them and their mind prompts them "Hey, it should be something wrong! With foreigners we must speak English!"
Intemp   Mon Mar 15, 2010 3:48 am GMT
<<I think it's just a matter of habit that the Dutch like to answer in English once they here a foreign accent. They have a strong stereotype (based on real experience) that foreigners don't speak Dutch and therefore must be spoken to in English. So, they are just used to it. When they meet a foreigner who tries to speak Dutch, it's pretty unusual for them and their mind prompts them "Hey, it should be something wrong! With foreigners we must speak English!" >>


Come on. Don't be so naive, the Dutch are not stupid. They know what is going on. When a foreigner speaks to them it is well within their ability to identify the language they are speaking, even if the accent is not great. They consciously switch to English regardless because of their national complex. A very complex complex, no one knows whether it's an inferiority or superiority complex, it is certainly a leftist complex with a strong tinge of globalism/internationalism and a fear of their own provinciality.
fraz   Mon Mar 15, 2010 3:54 am GMT
Why do the Dutch keep switching to English when addressed in their own language? It can't be because they don't understand because how would they know which English sentence to formulate in response to the Dutch query?
KLOP   Sat Mar 20, 2010 11:14 am GMT
Dutch singers sing in Dutch all the time; but it's dependant on the style of music. Would "Chinese Jazz" or "Danish opera" sound very pretty?


In the first place musicians generally don't "want" to sing in Dutch, they "want" to make a pretty song. Unlike most of their German, French or Spanish counterparts, their education, and the education of the general Dutch populace, allows them to make those choices.

Often the song works out in Dutch, sometimes it doesn't; rap music, for example, sounds awefull in Dutch, as does very upbeat popmusic.


But Dutch is used in most other styles, so it's not the traditional chanson-like songs and folk. Dutch also sounds great in rock, punk, jazz, swing and even ska, and there are tons of Dutch artists who testify to that; if you can't find them you either weren't trying hard enough or didn't try at all.
blanc   Sun Mar 28, 2010 7:42 pm GMT
yeah
South Korean   Sun Mar 28, 2010 8:37 pm GMT
Why would "Chinese Jazz" or "Danish opera" not sound pretty?
JJ   Sun Mar 28, 2010 9:44 pm GMT
Some languages just sound better when it comes to singing. Unfortunately Dutch is not one of them.
crushlefties   Sun Mar 28, 2010 9:45 pm GMT
<<Why would "Chinese Jazz" or "Danish opera" not sound pretty? >>

They wouldn't neccessarily sound bad, it's just Dutchy trying to push his self-loathing venom onto other nationalities as well. The reality is there is far more Danish music (despite having only 5 million people) than there is Dutch music, and Danish music spans across all genres. Also, Chinese almost always sing solely in Chinese and very rarely in English, if ever.

So look Dutchy, keep your self-loathing to yourself. Just because you hate your own language doesn't mean everyone else does or should.
fraz   Sun Mar 28, 2010 10:46 pm GMT
It seems to me that the Dutch have a real complex about their native language not being English. Other nationalities use the English language purely as a tool for mass comunication.