Harvin87
The Youth
Sorry for hijacking your thread JEELEN but I just have to answer this one
they already to that every Saturday, day off and during Summertime
Ask a Dutchman!
- Thread starter Agent327
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classical_hero
In whom I trust
Why do so many Dutch people speak English quite well, since it is not their first tongue?
Ziggy Stardust
Absolutely Sane
I think it's because we subtitle English movies and series instead of dubbing them with horrible voice acting.
True...
Hmmm... Personally I´m not that impressed by our native Dunglish speakers. I´m not aware exactly how our current PM is doing in international speeches, but the previous one was just horrible.
And apart from what Ziggy mentioned, Dutch people are bombarded daily by English ads, commercials and ´trendy´ language. Apparently it´s trending to spice everyday Dutch with lots of English words in certain circles. (Even our MPs do it.)
We seem to have collectively overlooked one:
Yes, Wilders and his party do have influence: not only do they ´support´ the current coalition (although they hold no posts in it), Wilders´ influence is such that his every tweet is (re-)published in all the media. Among the party´s feats are the blocking of a judge appointment, teh cancellation of a speech by an anti-Wilders historian, and ofcourse the ´animal cops´, that have been installed and are now supposed to put a check on the nationwide animal abuse that apparently threatens the Netherlands after centuries of ´mass immigration´. (People abuse is ok, but don´t touch our animals!) His other most noticeable point of agenda is Islam; apparently the appeal to ´free speech´ only applies to Wilders´ supporters, because opponents of his radical views are immediately defamated. Calling the Qu´ran a ´fascist´ book, he is quick to oppose any comparison of his movement to the 1930s, in doing so both ignoring the fact that most Muslims aren´t radicals as well as that his movement also only has non-voting members and stigmatizes a sizeable minority... Conveniently forgetting that worker immigration is usually the result of economic (and employer) demand, he blames the leftist parties for the most recent ´waves´ of immigration - wheras in fact his former liberal party membership should remind him that these are blatant lies, as the liberal party strongly supports such employer demands.
But as far as practical matters concern, Wilders and his party have accomplished little of significance. So I´m inclined to say that the influence attributed to him is somewhat overrrated.
Where exactly? My mother is from Rhineland-Westphalia (as am I, originally).
Sorry, I quit following socker after I stopped playing it. (But more to the point: until Ajax manages to get rid of Cruijf, I don´t see them getting back on top any time soon.)
Hmmm... Personally I´m not that impressed by our native Dunglish speakers. I´m not aware exactly how our current PM is doing in international speeches, but the previous one was just horrible.
And apart from what Ziggy mentioned, Dutch people are bombarded daily by English ads, commercials and ´trendy´ language. Apparently it´s trending to spice everyday Dutch with lots of English words in certain circles. (Even our MPs do it.)
We seem to have collectively overlooked one:
Yes, Wilders and his party do have influence: not only do they ´support´ the current coalition (although they hold no posts in it), Wilders´ influence is such that his every tweet is (re-)published in all the media. Among the party´s feats are the blocking of a judge appointment, teh cancellation of a speech by an anti-Wilders historian, and ofcourse the ´animal cops´, that have been installed and are now supposed to put a check on the nationwide animal abuse that apparently threatens the Netherlands after centuries of ´mass immigration´. (People abuse is ok, but don´t touch our animals!) His other most noticeable point of agenda is Islam; apparently the appeal to ´free speech´ only applies to Wilders´ supporters, because opponents of his radical views are immediately defamated. Calling the Qu´ran a ´fascist´ book, he is quick to oppose any comparison of his movement to the 1930s, in doing so both ignoring the fact that most Muslims aren´t radicals as well as that his movement also only has non-voting members and stigmatizes a sizeable minority... Conveniently forgetting that worker immigration is usually the result of economic (and employer) demand, he blames the leftist parties for the most recent ´waves´ of immigration - wheras in fact his former liberal party membership should remind him that these are blatant lies, as the liberal party strongly supports such employer demands.
But as far as practical matters concern, Wilders and his party have accomplished little of significance. So I´m inclined to say that the influence attributed to him is somewhat overrrated.
Where exactly? My mother is from Rhineland-Westphalia (as am I, originally).
Sorry, I quit following socker after I stopped playing it. (But more to the point: until Ajax manages to get rid of Cruijf, I don´t see them getting back on top any time soon.)
mayor
Heart & Mind
I would like to add something to these
A lot of elimentary schools start with English lessons (some more or less than others).
Remember that we are just a small country and our economy relies heavily on international trade. Since we rely on international trade we need to be able to communicate internationally. Off course it is possible to learn every language of every country we trade with. It's only common sense that we speak English
They are both a-holes with an inflated ego
warpus
Sommerswerd asked me to change this
How close is Plattdeutsch to Dutch? Plattdeutsch is the language spoken in ostfriesland in Germany, right by Holland.
I lived there for 3 years and couldn't understand a word of Plattdeutsch - even after learning enough German proper to be considered fluent.
Also, what's with the weird stuff on dutch tv?
I lived there for 3 years and couldn't understand a word of Plattdeutsch - even after learning enough German proper to be considered fluent.
Also, what's with the weird stuff on dutch tv?
Tahuti
Writing Deity
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2005
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- 9,492
Most Dutch people never heard of Plattdüütsch, but when I attempted to read a wikipedia article about it in that language, I could make some sense out of it, which I think was more because I am able to speak Dutch than because I am able to speak German.
And what do you mean with weird stuff? Soft-core porn ads during the night? Philosophical debating programmes on the public channels? Or cheesy Dutch royalty and crime television series?
mayor
Heart & Mind
Depends... if you are talking about the Dutch we are taught in school: It is completely different. Especially if you're from the West of The Netherlands you won't understand it.
EDIT because I was ninja'd by Kaisergaurd: It turns out it's at least understandable when you're reading
If you include the different dialects than there are dialects that are very close to Plattdeutsch. For instance Twents (which is spoken in Twente, in the east of The Netherlands) is very close to Plattdeutsch.
What weird stuff?
Ziggy Stardust
Absolutely Sane
What weird stuff?
Crosspost 
Crosspost
mayor
Heart & Mind
Warpus said:
mayor said:
What weird stuff?
@Warpus: I think you're definition of weird stuff is different than ours
Ziggy Stardust
Absolutely Sane
Maybe those guys who ate a tiny itty bitty pea-sized piece of each other's flesh which the world had a seizure over?
warpus
Sommerswerd asked me to change this
Each time I flipped to dutch TV (while living in Germany) it was usually something weird, like flying frogs, a guy wearing a silly hat doing a silly dance, or whatever. My whole family noticed this phenomenon: The Dutch TV channels we got were always showing something bizarre, really weird compared to the German tv channels we had access to.
I remember asking someone who moved to the Netherlands and he agreed with me, but I forget any other details of our conversation.
Maybe it's not that Dutch TV is weird, but rather that German TV is dull and normal? I really have no idea
shadowplay
your ad here
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The story: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16656270
The story: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16656270
Quackers
The Frog
Do you eat chocolate sprinkles with everything?
I suppose everyone in Holland knows about Laura Dekker by now; the attempts to stop her created a bit of a controversy, but basically she´s under age and required by law to attend school. That her parents are divorced made things worse, as Youthcare felt the need to jump in as well. Governmental worries about her dropping out of school have now turned out to be warranted, as she has indicated not being able to and sail around the world and keep up with her school programme. I can´t say I´m too surprised, but... if you have a dream, you should follow it. (You can always catch up on your education, but sailing around the world at 16 you can only do once in a lifetime. That´s not my general stance on education, however.)
I´ve no idea what Dutch TV channels are available in Germany, really. Every time we visited Germany we watched German television (or some international channel). But your description made me think of a show that airs 19.00-1930 (or thereabouts) and that showcases ´special people´.
Each time I flipped to dutch TV (while living in Germany) it was usually something weird, like flying frogs, a guy wearing a silly hat doing a silly dance, or whatever. My whole family noticed this phenomenon: The Dutch TV channels we got were always showing something bizarre, really weird compared to the German tv channels we had access to.
I remember asking someone who moved to the Netherlands and he agreed with me, but I forget any other details of our conversation.
Maybe it's not that Dutch TV is weird, but rather that German TV is dull and normal? I really have no idea
I´ve no idea what Dutch TV channels are available in Germany, really. Every time we visited Germany we watched German television (or some international channel). But your description made me think of a show that airs 19.00-1930 (or thereabouts) and that showcases ´special people´.
anandus
Errorist
Interesting topic
(Oh, and Jeelen, I'm from Leiden too!)
(Oh, and Jeelen, I'm from Leiden too!)
mayor
Heart & Mind
She's a spoiled brat and her parents should have forbidden her to go.
Well not with everything....
I eat it every morning on bread for breakfast. I always combine them with fruit sprinklesSpoiler :
I sometimes stir them through the gele vla* as a dessert
I have family living there.... awful peopleInteresting topic
(Oh, and Jeelen, I'm from Leiden too!)
But that does raise a question: any of you went to Serious Request?
*Gele vla(yellow vla) is supposed to be Vanille vla. But most of the brands are extremely yellow, only if you buy biological vla the colour is more vanillalooking.
warpus
Sommerswerd asked me to change this
Maybe we were watching the "special" Dutch channel
It was free-to-air stuff that we received on our dish.. or hm.. antenna of some sort. I think it was about 3-4 channels, I'm guessing from the eastern part of the country
Quackers
The Frog
Mayor 
mayor
Heart & Mind
*checks what you said again*Maybe we were watching the "special" Dutch channel
hmm... doesn't sound like the people that life here... maybe somewhere more to the south
