Ask a Dutchman!

[Takhisis]

Hey dutchmen! I remember someone complaining about the pronunciation of v and f. How should they be differentiated then?

 

[Hygro]

Well, "students!" is all you need to know really. It's like the Dutch version of Cambridge, Massachusetts except that it has a larger population and a bigger proportion of non-students, but students run the show anyhow. It has a lot of techno parties and the like.

Student culture in Groningen is totally different than in Amsterdam. While Amsterdam obviously has a lot of Hipsters, it also has Preppies and Foreign students. Groningen lacks more or less all of those groups, though it does have a lot people that imitate them but not quite and openly knowingly so. They seem to seem to identify first and foremost with the city itself, rather than with some subculture. Also, all bars in Groningen seem to be only visited by students. Totally unlike Amsterdam as well.



Than that guy must either originally come from Friesland or Groningen. You have to note that my Dutch accent is not Amsterdams but Frisian, though it may acquired some influences from Amsterdams. North Brabanders speak with a very Flemish like accent, which is very unlike I would ever speak.

Some of his accent was definitely Southern. Admittedly a Frisian accent is closer to Dutch to an American ear than you guys might like, but yeah not quite the same.

Cool on the city. I'm looking at grad programs right now and to my delight one of the guys in my subfield is in NL, Groningen specifically. It's all up in the air etc. Good description, KG.

I've been to Groningen once or twice, but can't remember much special. I suppose it is similar to Nijmegen in terms of being a university city.
For the record: My Dutch accent is from Brabant.

But no awesome hill! And I guess also like Nijmegen it's the small big city in the area.

 

[Tahuti]

Cool on the city. I'm looking at grad programs right now and to my delight one of the guys in my subfield is in NL, Groningen specifically. It's all up in the air etc. Good description, KG.

Tilburg and Rotterdam have more renowned universities for your field. Most economics in Groningen is either business economics, econometry or fiscal economics and is very private sector and mathematically oriented. This is true for most Dutch universities, but the University Tilburg and Erasmus University Rotterdam are particularly well known for their economics and law departments as well. I think these are more likely to have programs that fit your field within economics.

Hey dutchmen! I remember someone complaining about the pronunciation of v and f. How should they be differentiated then?

V sounds slightly harder than F, but that isn't something you should pay attention to, and the difference is mainly in the usage. No Dutch word ever ends with "v", and unlike "v", "f" is very rarely located between vowels, and usually only in composite words (i.e. words that can be split into words).

 

[Hygro]

For my master's I'm looking at stock-flow macroeconomic analysis. You don't find it at very many schools but a big player is in Groningen. It'd be rad if even more Dutch schools have professors doing stuff in that field. There aren't that many in the US...

 

[Agent327]

Hey dutchmen! I remember someone complaining about the pronunciation of v and f. How should they be differentiated then?

Pretty much like in Victory and Fort.

 

[peter grimes]

Ehm, no? You're probably thinking of Göttingen, which is in Germany (near Hannover) and Euler didn't even go there.

so embarrassing! Of course you're right - when I saw mention of Friesland I immediately thought of Freiburg, and that I was making a terrible mistake.

 

[christos200]

How do the Dutch view their colonial past?
Which are the Dutch national heroes?

 

[Tahuti]

How do the Dutch view their colonial past?

Depends on what segment of Dutch society you're asking. Usually, it is like "hey, we have shared history!" which is a source of cordiality towards and from past colonies, especially Afrikaners and Surinamese. Then there is strong feeling of guilt emenating from the academia and left-wing intellectuals, but it isn't as strong as Germany's guilt from WWII.

However, in contrast, it isn't politically incorrect to refer to the Dutch colonial past as a source of pride and some Dutch colonial leaders like Jan Pietersz Coen are actually honoured as heroes who stepped into a world of adventure. My current town Hoorn actually has a statue dedicated to him, since he was born there. Former PM Jan Peter Balkenende spoke highly of a "VOC mentality" during his PMship, which sparked only a small controversy.

Which are the Dutch national heroes?

Aside from the aforementioned Jan Pietersz Coen, you have Willem Barentsz who was famous for his journey to Nova Zembla, Willem van Oranje who was the Dutch counterpart to George Washington and Wilhelmina who was the queen during WWII. Desiderius Erasmus, Edsger Dijkstra and Spinoza may be considered intellectual heroes of the Netherlands.

Depending on your political sympathies, Willem Drees (a Socialist PM who founded the Dutch welfare state), Johann De Witt (a Dutch grand pensionary) or his arch enemy William III (the Dutch stadtholder who also became King of England and Scotland as a result of the Glorious revolution) may or may not be considered Dutch heroes.

 

[christos200]

Is there any Dutch general in Dutch history who could be considered a good commander?

 

[Hygro]

Is there any Dutch general in Dutch history who could be considered a good commander?

Hell yeah! Slightly related, in the Rijksmuseum there's a suit of armor that was worn by a 17th century admiral into a massive sea battle. Part of the thigh plates are missing because that's where the cannon ball that killed him hit him

 

[Tahuti]

Is there any Dutch general in Dutch history who could be considered a good commander?

I'm not particularly knowledgeable about Dutch military history, but Maurits van Nassau is perhaps a good example. He more or less allowed the Dutch revolt against the Spanish to become a success.

 

[PaxImperator]

I'm not particularly knowledgeable about Dutch military history, but Maurits van Nassau is perhaps a good example. He more or less allowed the Dutch revolt against the Spanish to become a success.

Maurice of Nassau immediately came to my mind too.

 

[christos200]

How is the Dutch economy compared to the European South?

 

[Takhisis]

Afloat.

 

[Tahuti]

How is the Dutch economy compared to the European South?

Not much better, as our total debt levels (total private + national debt) rivals Greece's, chiefly due to several policies designed to encourage home ownership at the expense of more debt and higher housing costs like the mortgage interest rate reduction. Unemployment is around 10% and the economy is shrinking, though below 1%.

However, we are largely insulated from the negative effects that currently plague Greece and Italy, due to our superior welfare state (we focus more on helping the unemployed rather than pensioners, who do get decent pensions however) and the fact a relatively large amount of capital in the EU originates from the Netherlands, given it has one of the most important financial systems of the Eurozone alongside Germany and France.
The very fact that the Netherlands is economically so important is what prevents the PIGS crisis from becoming the PINGS crisis, since we are very fragile, and in an inferior position compared to Germany and France, and perhaps even Belgium as well.

 

[The_J]

I need a pointer in the right direction (or multiple).
I'm trying to find *some* interest in the stuff around, so I said "why not history?". I'm more interested in the older history, more Roman and Germanic stuff.
I've now spent some time educating myself that no Celts have been here in NL, more Frisi and Batavians, etc.
Now I try to figure out, if there are actually any bigger historical sites from that era left here in the Netherlands.
I've already been to Maastricht, and haven't been much impressed by the city in a historical sense (was a nice trip though).
Google gave me that link with some recommendations, but that's not very precise (besides the Rijksmuseum in Leiden and the Thermenmuseum; guess I need to go there at some point).
Any hints what I should look at, where I should go to?
(yeah, "Germany" would be a good answer, I know )

 

[Tahuti]

I need a pointer in the right direction (or multiple).
I'm trying to find *some* interest in the stuff around, so I said "why not history?". I'm more interested in the older history, more Roman and Germanic stuff.
I've now spent some time educating myself that no Celts have been here in NL, more Frisi and Batavians, etc.
Now I try to figure out, if there are actually any bigger historical sites from that era left here in the Netherlands.
I've already been to Maastricht, and haven't been much impressed by the city in a historical sense (was a nice trip though).
Google gave me that link with some recommendations, but that's not very precise (besides the Rijksmuseum in Leiden and the Thermenmuseum; guess I need to go there at some point).
Any hints what I should look at, where I should go to?
(yeah, "Germany" would be a good answer, I know )

Nijmegen is the oldest city that still exists in the Netherlands, and its name is derived from Novio Magus, its original Roman name. There aren't much historical sights there, since much of it was destroyed during WWII. You also have Leiden, which supposedly was called Lungdunum during the Roman era. However, that is false, since Lungdunum was located several clicks from the actual Leiden. Drenthe has the Hunebedden, which is as close to ancient Dutch history as you can possibly get.

You have to note that the low countries are very lacking in actual historical testaments of the early Medieval ages and everything before it. To be fair, you may actually have slightly more luck in Belgium than in the Netherlands.

 

[dutchfire]

I found the Hunnebedden to be just a bunch of old rocks in the middle of nowhere and wouldn't really recommend visiting them unless you're in the neighbourhood. (Which has probability zero, since the things are in the middle of nowhere)

There is a museum (Het Valkhof) about the Roman presence in Nijmegen. I thought it was quite good last time I visited (long time ago).

 

[Hygro]

Nijmegen has some dope historical spots for sure. Also, DF, there's a girl in my Dutch class who looks like the girl I went and talked to at that pub. Genuine apologies for breaking etiquette btw.

 

[Tahuti]

I found the Hunnebedden to be just a bunch of old rocks in the middle of nowhere

They are.

Genuine apologies for breaking etiquette btw.

I can't recall you breaking any Dutch etiquettes.