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Cracking the code to the Dutch language

I have lived and worked in the Netherlands since 1993, and am fluent in Dutch. Within weeks of moving here, many of the Dutch nationals I met told me how difficult it would be to learn Dutch. 'It is the European Chinese', they would tell me. They would then ask me to repeat the town name 'Scheveningen', as this is particularly difficult to pronounce. I however, have always had the unusual ability to say 'Scheveningen' as if I were raised in downtown Amsterdam. The most difficult part was getting the locals to speak Dutch to me. A large percentage of Dutch speak a high standard of conversational English. This means that as soon as they have listened to you painfully murdering their language in the attempt to ask for directions to the nearest petrol station, they resort to their more advanced command of your own native language. What most Dutch people were not aware of was my stubborn resolve to prove them wrong, and I refused to utter a word in English, to the frustration of many. Consequently, with the aid of a Dutch course, I was able to communicate without sounding too insane within four months of arriving in Holland. My girl-friend's parents thought I was a prodigy, my newfound friends proudly introduced me to total strangers, proud to have discovered the 'foreigner who has cracked the code' to the Dutch language. My secret was simple. Treat Dutch as any other language. Learn the words, study the grammar, and practice with the locals, even if they don't want too. Dutch are proud of their language, history and culture, and they will appreciate any effort made to embrace this. Living in the Netherlands, as in any country, has its positives and negatives. Luckily, being a small country one can easily escape it to somewhere equally bonkers for a quick weekend away. Enjoy.

Sent by: Tony

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