Why are Dutch the Best Non-Native English Speakers in the World?
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- Опубліковано 29 тра 2024
- In this video I ask people in the Netherlands how the Dutch learn English so well. As I talk with people I uncover 4 main reasons. At the end of the video I also get the perspective of a foreigner who lives in the Netherlands and who uses English to communicate with the Dutch.
P.S. The Netherlands having the best non-native English skills is based on the English Proficiency Index study by EF Education First. They're a big international organization which focuses on language and culture exchange.
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There are a few reasons why the Dutch might be considered the best non-native English speakers in the world. For one, the Netherlands has a long history of trade and cultural exchange with English-speaking countries, which has helped to foster a general understanding and appreciation of the English language among Dutch people.
Additionally, the Dutch educational system places a strong emphasis on language learning, and English is one of the compulsory subjects taught in Dutch schools. As a result, most Dutch people have a very good command of English.
Finally, the Netherlands is a relatively small country, which means that people from different regions and backgrounds are often in close contact with one another and need to be able to communicate effectively in order to get by in daily life. This encourages the use of a common language like English as a way to communicate with a wide range of people.
The Dutch language and English are similar enough that the Dutch can easily understand English. The main difference is that Dutch uses more compound words and has a more complex grammar.
The written article: culturecompass.tv/video/why-d...
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00:00 Intro
00:08 Reason 1
00:52 Reason 2
01:19 Reason 3
01:28 Reason 4
03:50 Q: Living in the Netherlands with just English?
04:36 Q: Foreigner experience with the Dutch?
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As a Dutch person myself I'm always surrpised when I meet someone who cannot speak English at all. It's really unthinkable how to get through life without speaking English. It makes life so much easier!
Literally the first old couple I have met and my former landlady lol. The old couples were like 70+ yo but my former landlady was in her 40s
It also makes life more fun. If you watch an English show, meme or movie, jokes not always translate correct to Dutch.
Standup-comedy, for instance, is so much fun, if you understand the language. Groetjes vanuit Brabant!
@@bernhardlagetuin maybe, use, a , bit, less, commas, Groetjes vanuit Noord,-Holland,
@@killian5839 Maybe you should correct someone by showing a grammatical correct comment yourself? But that sayed, a typical Dutch word is "Taalnazi".
For all who read this: "Taalnazi" is a person who is somewhat illiterate herself and tries to correct someone who makes a little mistake and completely makes a fool of herself. Mostly women. Sorry for my mistakes. English is my second language. I try my best. How about you Killian?
"its" isn't an English word. But how would i know as a Dutch citizen. But you're right about the comma's. Kind regards, no hard feelings.
Everybody seems to forget that our tv shows, movies and series are practically always in English with subs.
So you read what you hear, over and over again.
Yes good point. It's mentioned quite a few times in the video and comments as well. Internet also has a big impact these days I believe.
The internet has gotten very good at trapping people in their own bubble. I expect that to be true for language as well. Many Europeans still don't speak English very well.
I think it's a cultural thing. For as long as The Netherlands and before that the Dutch provinces exist trade was a huge factor. With that came the necessity for learning foreign languages. In the old days that meant German and French were widely spoken by Dutch people. This got replaced with English over time, especially after WWII.
English came naturally to me as a kid. I simply absorbed it as I grew up. Whereas learning other languages felt much more like a heavy task. I never became fluent in foreign languages other than English. Once you speak English properly the necessity for other languages mostly disappears. English is the lingua franca in many parts of the world. Simple as that.
It's so natural they forget but it's the main and essential reason. I'm 41 and I watched Little House On the Prairie like hundreds of millions of other people and before you can read so you pick it up naturally while you're also learning dutch. The disadvantage of this is that a few of my friends who came from a very religious background and didn't have tv or who only got a few channels and who's parents always picked shows in dutch they had such a big gap in their understanding english class was nearly impossible and it's not a class you can drop, you have to do your exams in it.
And at Uni most of the books are in english so if you have trouble with it you will have a really hard time. They even announce if the writer was american and then people would be relieved because the writing would be simpler than when it was an english writer. I chose to read in english in my early teens so I had a big advantage over other kids in school.
Including music, brands, commercials also loads in English. Not knowing English is a huge handicap and almost mandatory here in the Netherlands.
@@yoloswaggins9989 There is no way you can go to school and not learn english so it's in fact mandatory. Now how good you are it, that's upto the person.
Some people in the comment section seem to conflate being able to speak without an accent as being proficient in a language. We all have accents, even native speakers have accents. A more accurate indicator for someone's language proficiency is their ability to process the various types of humor -- or poetry for that matter -- where the true subtleties of a language come out.
ps. Louis van Gaal is the uncrowned king of "Steenkolenengels".
Thanks for sharing your insight on the topic. I agree it seems the aesthetics or lack of accent seems to be disproportionally attributed to being able to speak better English. It's still interesting to learn about though, I mean about other countries in Europe which do better accent wise.
@@CultureCompassTV I suppose -- this is just an empirical observation on my end -- that there are European languages that are closer related in terms of phonation (eg. Old Norse et al) as opposed to their actual linguistic origins.
....Which most Dutch people still aren't good at picking up (in English). Only the very few, who actually go out of their way to try and fully master the language are able to understand these subtleties. The people you see in the video, ergo your average Joe's in the Netherlands, will draw a blank face most of the time when faced with a witty remark, a pun, a reference etc.
@@MA-ck4wu While that may be, the Dutch as non-native speakers still make the top on the EF EPI index year in, year out.
Agreed, the Dutch accents is very easily understood, because dutch people pronounce consonents very clearly. If you speak with older dutch people it becomes clear very quickly that many of them aren't good at English at all.
You should hear the kids that were born in the 2000s. They even speak English among themselves while they're all native Dutch speakers. My younger brother converses exclusively in English with his friends and he prefers speaking in English to us too. I hear it among other youths when I'm out shopping all the time as well. I started speaking English relatively late. I was already in my mid teens and wasn't really confident with the language until I went to uni where the course was completely in English.
Does your younger brother speak English with his uni friends (if he goes to uni) or also friends he has outside that environment? I guess with international focused unis it's common. Interesting to hear detail about it though. Outside of uni I wouldn't expect it so interesting to hear about that too as I'm 42 and I've not seen that myself.
@@CultureCompassTV he has been speaking English with them since his early teens and they don't go to the same college. I see it happen all the time when I'm outside. It's mostly kids who were born after 2000. It's fascinating to see because I don't remember being able to string one coherent sentence together with such ease and fluency at that age. I'm in my late 20s myself btw.
Interesting. I speak Dutch when in the Netherlands but I've lived abroad for 3 years speaking only English and since then I often find myself wanting to use an English word to express what I want to say better than I could with Dutch words. But I don't do that a lot...
What I'm curious to understand is: what's the reasoning behind why your brother and his friends speak English among each other? Is there some practical reason behind it/was it born out of some practical utility? Or is it just plainly their preferred language for expressing themselves?
I can imagine if he for example lives in quite an international environment it would be practical to speak English mostly, but in most places in the Netherlands I wouldn't expect people to speak English among themselves. Not that I have anything against that. It's all fine to me. I'm just not sure I understand where Dutch speaking English amongst themselves by default stems from. It's interesting to me though, to understand where that's coming from.
@@CultureCompassTV it's probably because every piece of content he consumes is in English. So while I read and watched news and entertainment mostly in Dutch in my formative years, he did mostly in English. So his opinions, views and experiences are based in English and he probably feels more confident reproducing those in English. I'm not sure though, it's just my theory. I actually do think it's not a positive phenomenon, because it forms a threat to the preservation of the Dutch language and culture, but on the other hand I don't believe in a French style of battling it.
@@m.-9615 Ah yeah that makes sense and I can see how that happens with so much online influence these days starting at a young age already.
We Dutch MUST be able to speak other languages because nobody from the rest of the world has the need to learn dutch.
inderdaad, maar er zijn ook landen waar geen engels wordt gesproken, zoals in heeln veel Africaanse landen , en dan ben je daar niks met engels ,
@@robertneven7563 de volgende te leren talen zijn chinees, spaans en frans 😆
@@robertneven7563 Frans en Engels wordt daar best veel gesproken
The same goes for the Nordic countries
@@Zapp4rn
Ever so right. I know from experience I the northern European countries many people speak English very well 👍!!!
1. We subtitle every movie.
2. English is so similar to Dutch. It has easy grammar too.
Yeah I feel English is easier generally once you're good at it. It doesn't seem to have as many complexities as Dutch
@masteroogwgay We learn Dutch grammar in school. Trust me-- much harder, still similar.
Ik weet niet als ik het met je eens ben? Anderhalf jaar geleden begon ik met Nederlands leren, en ik voel me echt als Nederlandse grammatica heel erg makkelijk om te leren en begrijpen is. Misschien vind ik de grammatica niet zo moeilijk omdat ik Engels als moedertaal spreek, maar in tegenstelling tot de grammaticale systemen van andere talen zoals Frans, Spaans, en Latijns, is Nederlands niet echt moeilijk voor mij?
@masteroogwgay Ah, oke nu snap ik je helemaal.
@@CultureCompassTV And yet Old English was more complex in its grammar than modern German is now. The grammar was simplified, at least in the spoken language, when the Norse settled among the Anglo-Saxons in England; their words had common Germanic roots but different suffixes, etc., so the latter inevitably fell away.
It’s definitely because Dutch and English share a lot of words that are said almost identically in both languages, the only thing that sometimes differs is the spelling. Dutch is like a cocktail of English and German with a dash of Danish for taste and tiny cherry of old Norse as a garnish
Yes I do agree English is relatively easy to learn for us Dutch. Easy to pronounce too, though not always pretty
No, other way around. English is a mix of German, Dutch and Latin languages.
@@henkoosterink8744 you're right. Old English is much more like Dutch or German. After they lost the battle of Hastings in 1066, the language changed a lot.
Haha yes! After 4 seasons of Rita on Netflix i could understand a significant amount of Danish as a Dutch person.
Don't forget Latin words like Viaduct and Aquarium, French words like trottoir and appartement... any visiting empire left their traces in our language
I think it’s a combination of these things:
- we are worldly and interested in those outside our nations. English is vehicle to communicate with these others
- we learn English from the 4th or 5th grade onward and can’t graduate without a passing grade for English
- our shows aren’t dubbed. In comparison to Germany (where everything is dubbed) we had a lot of English immersion in terms of listening
Downside though is that our language is somewhat dissapearing. I went to an Amsterdam restaurant with my dad (who doesn’t speak English) and there was not a single waiter that spoke Dutch. All the workers were Schengen immigrants/students. I guess I understand why they don’t learn Dutch but I still thought it was shocking.
- Many Dutch university programs are only offered in English, especially at the Master's level.
Ik snap dat mensen die maar tijdelijk in Nederland komen wonen geen serieuze poging doen om Nederlands te leren, maar hoewel het niet perse nodig is heb ik gevonden dat het toch enorme veel warde heeft. Je voelt je meer thuis als je alles snapt om je heen, altijd mee kan doen aan sociale evenementen enzovoort.
Ik denk dat een deel van het probleem is dat ze denken dat het Nederlands een héél moeilijke taal is om te leren en dat het sowieso niet zou lukken binnen de tijd dat ze in Nederland zijn. Maar mijn ervaring is dat je relatief snel en makkelijk een basisniveau Nederlands kunt bereiken als je al Engels spreekt.
in Amsterdam is alles Engels in de rest van Nederland hoor je meer dan genoeg Nederlands
You can live in the Netherlands without learning dutch, but we do appreciate you trying to learn a bit of our language. ;)
True good example my mom used to get really upset when she had to speak english in like a store or something she would end up complaining to me why do i have to speak a different language in my own country🤣
Dutch claims for love and claims for cultural love.
While in the Netherlands this summer to greet our new grandchild. I went into Albert Heinz grocery in Haarlem. When I asked a young man if he spike English and assist me he responded (in good humor) "Of course, I'm Dutch!" He's absolutely right.
He sure is. But why did you add that "z" to Albert Heijn?
@@Bearical because I'm 71! I actually goggled the correct spelling and still entered it incorrectly....love the country, the people (and AH and Jumbo.)
@@davidmckendry7684 Haha it's fine.
Congrats with the grandchild David. Hope you like our country
I believe the Dutch are extremely proficient in English because they are a nation heavily involved in world trading and have a long history of international connections. When engaging in global trade, proficiency in English becomes essential as it is the most commonly used language worldwide. Even at local farmers' markets in the Netherlands, you will find farmers communicating in English. This competence in English is not solely due to watching English movies or media. For instance, in Greece, where English movies are also widely available, the level of English proficiency may not be as high as in the Netherlands. It is my personal observation.
" _in Greece ... the level of English proficiency may not be as high as in the Netherlands_ "
The fact that Dutch is considered the closest language to English after Frisian would certainly be one factor in explaining why English proficiency is higher in the Netherlands than Greece.
I think what helps mostly is that learning English is part of the educational system from an early age. It's the second language for everyone. Plus tv shows, social Media, everything with subtitles.
Personally, I learned most during my masters studies at university, which was completely in English: reading, writing, speaking to international students. This meant that I HAD to speak English on a high level and I acquired a higher standard of the language in a few months.
Yes I think it's a combination of all those things and more. See the community poll I did on the topic: ua-cam.com/users/postUgkxuTyfH0tauE4SOgGR0_Whm0ir_Uk41Sm6
I don’t know at what grade children get English for the first time, but I’m 60years old and I got my first English in primary school at age 10. So 50 years ago. The first year only English words and my last hear on primary school also short sentences. At that time there was only one national tv station with two channels, that was all. And without daytime broadcasting except on Wednesday afternoon. But still I think I speak, understand, write and read English reasonably good. I have difficulty understanding the finesse of humor and sometimes scientific English is hard. I work in construction so I can understand and speak technical English well. I think it is not primarily subtitled tv shows that makes us Dutch speak reasonably good English, but rather the level of education, the closeness of English to Dutch and the English language that is all around us. Not only on tv but also in our professional life. This makes it easier to learn and keep it at an acceptable level.
Sucesso in all ways, dont lose ya conquers 🍸🍸🍷🍷🍷😽👍
It's in large part, I think, because cartoons and other English language shows were not dubbed. Regrettably, that's changing. All of the kids cartoons are now dubbed in Dutch. Terrible idea!!
Why, we must maintain our language and culture. That universities dont even enforce our language is bad enough. I dont want to be a anglo/american colony our heritage should be preserved.
@@simdal3088 I agree for the most part. I think it’s awesome to at least have the option for children (and also as a learner, since you guys don’t seem to produce very many of your own cartoons haha)
This right here. All that trade related stuff from hundreds of years ago, I just don't buy that that's all that relevant for our English proficiency today. Exposure to media in the past couple of decades... I think that's really the reason Dutch people tend to speak English. If it were trade related, there wouldn't be that big of difference in English proficiency between Germans and Dutch people.
When I was younger they showed the dubbed Dutch version during the morning and then the original English version of the cartoon in the evenings
@@TJ-1234 good plan
Several reasons:
- Education system
- Subtitels instead of voice dub on movies and all.
- Influenced by music.
- Computer programming language
- Country of traders. Export and import.
- Mentality (open minded, helpful, adaptation etc.)
Apart from all the already stated reasons, I would like to add that the english language is just simply beautiful.
When I was young, I read the Lord of the Rings in dutch first, then re-read it in english and I couldn't believe the difference.
I know this is a personal opinion, but english just makes movies, music, books & poetry a lot more enjoyable for me.
Yeah personally I also prefer the English language
I do wonder whether this is due to the language or the incredible English authors. Plus, a translation will never be the same as the original.
@@mobieeee3969 In translations there will always be some type of sentence that is no longer used, or relevant.
As a native English speaker from London who visited the Netherlands 🇳🇱 recently I can say that the Dutch people are very fluent in English. I’d love to learn Dutch and speak it the next time I go. I’m currently learning a few things in Dutch like the alphabet for reading 📖, numbers, days of the week, basic expressions which I find similar to English and German
I’ve been learning Dutch over the past 2 months, and I never thought I would ever say this, but sometimes I even feel like Dutch sounds even better than English, especially the way some (that have a soft G) pronounce words like pijn and mijn and zegt and brand and the words with E / EE in them etc - I could listen to those sounds on repeat... Even though English is poetically perfect and with mostly pretty words and so refined (well, Dutch is too, actually) but, it’s like Dutch has one extra ingredient in the pronunciation that makes Dutch sound very, I don’t know, I can’t even find the word... And, it’s like the perfect balance between French accent (if French didn’t sound nasally) and American accent - I should have started learning Dutch a long time ago... I guess a word that would describe Dutch is hot, and I never thought I would find languages that sound hot, until I heard songs in Dutch... I wonder if most people ever realise how pretty and hot Dutch sounds / is... And, another language that has a similar effect on me as Dutch is, OId Norse, which also sounds very hot, like, in the songs Troll Kalla Mik and Gleipnir by Skald... A voice can also influence the sound of a language, so it also depends on one’s voice - and also on accents / pronunciation... Anyways, the big term love only reflects me the only lovable being, so it cannot be in comments, and the word like must be used instead of love!
We waren in Eden . . .
We vallen naar beneden . . .
Een eindeloze vrijeval door de lucht . . .
Daar heerste de regen . . .
Zoals de eerste dag van lente . . .
We wachten af voor hoelang hij duurst . . .
Doch de doodsengel nam m’n hart en ziel . . .
En alles drijfst me verder weg van het licht ,
Want de duisternis overwinst me . . .
Vallen uit de gratie , voor een moment zo zalig ,
Maar niet minder dan gracieus en sierlijk en bevallig . . .
Dus hij is de Adam en ik ben de Eve !
Kijk naar de Dame die met diamant praalst ,
Want ik straal vannacht zo helder en klaar !
In een ander domein waren we onscheidbaar .
Maar hier ― van jouw lijf geen blijk , toch raar . . .
Ik bad dat hij mijn kreet zou horen . . .
Maar helaas bestaat liefde niet .
En daaruit kwam naar voren
Dat ik hem zo heb gemist . . .
Want ik wou om hem heen krullen
En al mijn pijn en leed dan brullen . . .
Vanuit thuis kreeg ik maar de klussen . . .
Ik begroef mijn hoofd in het kussen ,
En toen begon ik te huilen en te zuchten . . .
Want de eenzaamheid en het verdriet ,
Ze sneden mijn hart in honderd stukken .
En de jammerklacht weerklonk in alle hoeken ,
Maar hij hoorde me helemaal niet .
Of misschien gaf hij gewoon geen fock
Dat ik heb zielenpijn sinds hij me verliet . . .
En dus ben ik verloren in deze hel waarin ik vastzit .
En dit is echt waar - hij houdst me in de gaten . . .
Want hij waakst over me , en toch ben ik verlaten .
Dus ik voel me zo alleen zonder hem bij mijn zijde ,
Zo ongelukkig en hulpeloos en in de steek gelaten !
Medieval
I vow the springtide langsyne was drizzly an' warm an' eterne an' bright...
Drouth would ne'er set in, an' the grizzlies were friends o' our kind...
E'en the early-bloomed blossoms would grin an' greet the grasslands an' give hints...
Merrie the sights o' them dressin' the majestic prairies o' auld wi' myriads o' tints!
Lightly I'm enwrapt by the captivating errors 'n' terrors o' this mortal coil...
Aw the outcomes tho' point to the fact that for me there is no balm nor oil.
Veering I must not be, but steering onward thru cauld ware an' simmer wi' bearing!
E'er liv'd for the tryst yet I'm unsure o' what the hairst will now bring to my being...
For, I immersed myself in mae deep-lasting catnapping.
An' then ane morn as I'd lay dormient came the scraping:
The rustlings of the boughs kissing the lattice
Maked efforts to disrupt the hissing peace...
They waken me fae my restless zizz at nuin;
I beam 'n' wave for they've just returned me to the blu lagoon.
By e'en I was spiffed up when I scarce heard the thunder's roars, which I ignored,
So I rushed out the door despite dreich outlooks as I was headed to the moors.
Like a red rose in the rain,
I am waiting for my swain...
The divisive forces that entice,
They inflict hurt an' fire like a torture device!
Only the chosen ane I'm to see...
Ane unity of a trinity...
To decide is hard for I know not which ane of them
Is onything but unable to thwart the forthcoming gale.
Feel like I'm trapped in the Iron Maiden
An' inchmeal pierced by the spikes of doubts unfadin'!
Whilst I'm being drained of lifeblood frae the arrow,
Altho' I sway, they find their way around me The Red Sparrow.
Ofttimes I've wondered what fiends taste like 'ithin...
But could it be that I am my ain worst enemie...!?
Feels like I'm being impaled by the myriad unseeable poles
An' slammed against concrete in the lovegames I enrolled...
As I reach the meeting point by midnicht, I am hailed yet irked
By the ane who wears his cement shoes with vainglory an' smirk.
He leers but soon his eyes come fixated on mine, an' the foggy haze o'er the moors' brow,
It illumes me as it wreathes my face that's whiter than winter's virgin snaw.
Briskly his delicate fingers interlaced mine as our palms fused, but his haud was tight...
His intents I feared yet his unexpected gifts I did receive wi' baith reticence an' delight.
Spelled by the ane with mien ov deil, I lost my grip as I was being tortured at the wheel...
Could hear distinctly the chilling snappin' of each separate breaking bane inside my bodie.
We profoundly miss the Middle Ages of the gude auld medieval for medi-evil we might be...
But, to spite my hoping, no blow of mercy will be employed to curb my prolonged agony.
An' tho' a wee bit late for the date, the other twa are to arrive as weel an' be at my feet...
Yet I willed them aw hanged, drawn, and quartered but first sheared by the croc or by me.
Then robed by ropes at the rack, placed on top an' sawed in hauf but first struck dumb.
May the tearer take their tongue, an' be collared wi' the fork til they bow to their quean!
The Judas chair shall be their throne an' the brazen bull shall be their tomb eternally.
They must stop acting like a sprig an' set the grounds for mony mae trysts to keep...
Hush, my loves, and give heed to my swipe!
'Tis about time to roll the dice.
Ye can't go on being the three blind mice.
Ye'll be left glum from yer gripes...
Verily, ye ought to licke yer owne tripe
Aff the razor-sharp jagged knife
Which caresseth yer innards.
Let not yer blood of ripe off the blade be wiped!!!
Like the keepers of the plains,
They were bidding for the rain...
The decisive courses they shall devise
Lest we be left skating on melting dry ice!
See, aw my beaus I chosed to gae wi'...
I am The Unity afore the trinity.
Why swither about which ane to pick when ilka ane has som'thing diff to offer?
An' so I taked them aw, for me it's athing or naething.
While watching an interview of Frenkie De Jong And Matthijs De Ligt I was totally surprised by the quality of their language. Not only they speak good English rich in vocabulary, they speak it better than some of native English Footballers I have seen.
No doubt, mi compadre
Fact, dutch are deep and fall in love with in english, total true, speakers better than brits and yankees many times.
We get English at school from a young age. When I grew up, even Disney Channel and Nickelodeon went to their official language around 8 at night so I heard it there when it was vacation and we would watch it. And then internet.
For me it helped too that my aunt and uncle live in Australia and I picked up on that while they were visiting us..
With some words I sound more British (that’s how I learned at school) Some a little Australian (because of my family) but mostly American because of series and internet and all that
I agree. I'm dutch, but worked for 30 years as a flight attendant for the national German carrier. English is mandatory, but so many of my former colleagues had problems with understanding and expressing themselves in English. And because I traveled over the whole world I saw the differences in skills. Now I live in Thailand. Foreigners who live here need to be able at least to speak English. From all nationalities I encountered, I was surprised by Germans who couldn't even do that.
Interesting, thanks for sharing your experience
They dont really focus on being proficient in English because they basically don't need it german is the most spoken native langauge in Europe which means there is tons of resources wetter movies educational or entertaining content
Germans are on par with the Polish. The best speakers of English as 2nd Lang are in no particular order:- Danes, Swedes, Dutch, Norwegians, Finns, Flemish belgians and Honorable mention for the Portuguese.
Its totally fun n contraditory, reversal. English in Deutschland is the first lang today and deutsches are non proficients in english its weird, trash, biiiiizzzaaarrreee. 🤪🤪🤪🤔🤔🤔🤔
Europeans in general are increasingly proficient in English. I’m always amazed whenever I travel to the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, even France, their level of English is so so good. And don’t confuse accent with fluency. If you can make yourself understood your accent doesn’t matter at all. No native English speakers (particularly those from England) will judge you for an accent because we have so many crazy accents just within our own country. We are always amazed that you learned the language because we are so shit at teaching other languages in our schools.
France? 😂 I went to France twice and I tried to communicate in English but they just speak back in French even though they understood me fine. And not just at 1 place but everywhere I went. And sometimes they even treated me like dirt because they knew I was a foreigner who didn't speak French. (I have to say this was 12 years ago. I dunno if they can change that fast but yea..)
@@Kimo0tJJ How could you tell they "understood you fine" if you yourself couldn't understand what they were saying?
@@McKinley1901 Because I was with someone who actually spoke french (Both times. Different person but still they knew French). So after I failed communicating with the people she just took over. And I got the stink eye most of the time.... I am just stating my experience. I was actually VERY self-conscious there in Paris. I was very afraid to speak. The second time I went, it happened again and I just immediately didn't speak anymore. :") Ofcourse there were some exceptions but it happened more times than not.
I'm a non native English speaker, but, I have been impressed by Dutch people after I travelled in the Netherland in a few months ago. I was pretty surprised by their fluent English, I have make up my mind to be one of them! I really love Dutch ! Speaking fluent English is vital when you are travelling across different countries!
Dutch and English are both Germanic languages which makes it easier to learn, plus cinema films don’t get dubbed which makes a huge difference.
Yes I agree, I think those 2 factors together make up a big part of the reason why. Plus also these days the internet and all the English media that comes with it. I think a lot of young people these days learn mostly from that.
@Albus Dumbledore that is mostly for non english speakers among us including kids to certain age, but also the original language and subtitles are also available with the movies or tv shows.
@@DMC2983NL HAHAHAHA HE SAID THE THING GUYS HE SAID AMONG US
@@grootsyt so what, its true on what i said.
@@DMC2983NL yeah but you also said among us
As they put it, it is not just the English skills that make the Dutch unique, it is also the mindset that come with speaking English (and other languages).
I agree 100%, I think this is a big part of it. The openness and in sometimes even eager interest to speak English.
I love being able to speak English as it allows me to interact with people from all over the world. Online tru videos like this and in the real world when traveling and meeting people.
As a native Brit I have overheard Dutch speaking English and they are generally so good at it that it takes a few moments to realise I'm not hearing one of our many regional accents. For a non native to fool an Englishman albeit briefly is impressive. There must be something very similar in our languages / word formations that make the Dutch so proficient at spoken English.
Thanks for sharing your experience, interesting to read. Personally when I speak English among Americans they tend to think I'm Canadian. I'm not speaking a lot of English in the past few years though, so my accent may be more obvious now. It is relatively easy for Dutch people I think to pronounce English.
Other reasons: Dutch is from the same language family, so it is much easier for them to learn it. And the Dutch people are mostly confident and open-minded.
Yeah the open minded to other languages thing also contributes quite a bit to it I think.
Not sure if many others had this experience, but books helped me a lot with learning english as well. As a teen in high school I spoke english well enough, but there was a point that I wanted to read the new harry potter books asap. And because I didn't want to wait for a dutch translation I decided to try reading them in english. At first I couldn't understand them 100%, but well enough to keep reading. And I've just kept going since then. My vocabulary greatly expanded. Nowadays I exclusively read books in english because that's what feels normal and comfortable to me.
And to touch on learning english in school, I'm not sure how many other countries use the method of teaching the lessons in english and making the students speak only english for the duration of the class. This creates more immersion and is more effective at making the lessons stick I'd say.
I learned good English mostly by reading too, not books though but websites. I always search Google in English.
You had trouble with the English because of words that lack a Dutch translation, like Muggles... by the time you got used to those, it went better 😁
can you please translate in Dutch "As a teen in high school I spoke english well enough"
@@skatiarhs007 Toen ik als tiener op de middelbare school zat, kon ik al redelijk goed Engels spreken.
I went with a loose translation of how I'd actually say it (when I was a teenager in high school I was already able to speak english pretty well). More literally would be:
Als tiener op de middelbare school kon ik engels goed genoeg spreken.
Funny how the English phrase seems to be more economical with words. Not sure if that's a trend.
@@rowie92 That's a trend yeah in my experience. I've written professionally in English for some years previously and when switching to Dutch I often found it a bit 'langdradig'. Dutch equavalents of the same sentence are often a bit longer.
for me, and I think for many , it's because of growing up with english games and media. When i look back I realise in one year of high school my English level went from struggling to advanced. Not because of work ethic and intellect, but by playing call of duty all day and consuming sheer amounts of yt videos and movies 😂
Exactly the same for me😂 I have watched so much UA-cam videos in English that I don’t even notice it’s another language
I'm Dutch, and I learned English via exposure to it. I wanted to enjoy media that wasn't translated into Dutch and online spaces so I had to learn English. Everyone around me is surprised at how good my English is at my age, and I'm surprised at them for not knowing English that well haha. I grew up with English so it was inevitable that i started picking up on it. I understand English so well, that i even think in English. From all the experience i have, to me an indication that someone truly understands a language is when they understand what emotional and cultural meaning phrases and words have. Don't learn a language in exclusively textbooks, talk and try to communicate because that is what language is for.
The best traders in the world came to Amsterdam and started the VOC, the best traders are traders who understand everyone out there. English is somehow in the most spoken language in the world as far as I know and one of the easiest languages in the world. So that the Dutch are pretty good in English doesn't surprise me.
The most spoken language in the world.
1. Chinese.
2. Spanish
3. English
@@marvinweijer9073 Interesting to see Spanish top English. Chinese makes sense.
"The best traders in the world came to Amsterdam and started the VOC"..
My dear, back in those times, the 'World' hadn't heard of the Netherlands or Amsterdam.
Likewise, our World consisted of Europe and partly Asia and Northern Africa.
The way you wrote it, it is as if foreigners started the VOC.
"English is somehow the most spoken language in the World" .. that 'somehow' is a bit too easy.
The Dutch settled in/on Manhattan Island, calling it New Netherlands. Wouldn't there have been a war where France was invading the Netherlands, the Dutch fleet would have been financed as before and the English would not have taken New Netherlands / New Amsterdam and renamed to New York.
If that all had not taken place, the national official language of the United States, would have been Dutch today.
That extends to entertainment today, that comes from the US, would be originally Dutch spoken.
And that extends to half the world learning Dutch, instead of English.
Not just 'somehow'.
Though, over the course of a couple of hundred years, that Dutch would have changed into American Dutch as the Dutch spoken in South Africa 'Afrikaans' evolved differently from the Dutch in the Netherlands.
"Everything happens for a reason" .....
@@marvinweijer9073 Back to reality:
1: English
2: Mandarin
3: Hindi
@@Jila_Tana Dutch is one of the hardest languages in the world, the Dutch at the time usually put their flags down on the island and left. The English people destroyed the Dutch flags, put their own flag down and left two people behind.
I'm Australian and have always had a love of the Dutch language.
I just love the Dutch people, always had great trips to the Netherlands & they've always been friendly & spoke English to me.
& Amsterdam is my favourite City in the world.
As a Dutchman i do recommend visit other cities... Not only Amsterdam, in my opinion Amsterdam doesn't give you the full ditch experience.
Simple. Most people learn English in Holland because movies and tv shows are subbed, not dubbed. I spoke English before going to school as well.
We start with English education really early and our native langue is also very similar to English making it easier to learn.
I learned to speak english and german mostly from tv, so before i got english lessons i was already able to speak english. Writing i mostly learned at school and online reading and chatting with people. Nowadays i do pretty much everything in english online
Growing up in the gameboy and nintendo era sure did helped a lot. Without English I couldn't play these games at all, so I was kind of pushed to learn alongside the joy of playing games. In addition, in the '90's the Dutch had many foreign shows for kids with subs, which only helped me to develop a solid base of the English language more quickly during primary school. I had some French games as well and the same applies... Although I'm not confident enough to speak French after 2 decades without practice, I am able to read and understand the basics without google translate.
Well, we used to live in a village where we didn't have cable tv yet. When I was around three or four years old we got a box that allowed us to watch things like Cartoon network which was in English and without subtitles. Can't imagine a better way to learn a language as a child, these days I still prefer movies without subtitles and it bothers me when they don't match! 😙
As a Dutch person myself I grew up learning that speaking English is important for when you travel international or when you do business with any person outside the Netherlands. Instead of tourists from all over the world having to learn our langounge the Netherlands decided we have to atleast learn how to speak English, German and Frence in school to make it easier for them. And besides that we grew up watching tv shows from all around the world where you sometimes see English subtitles and of course the Netherlands music market has bought millions of American or English music. Which also get's stuck in our minds after listening to it millions of times. And all of that mixed doesn't make it really hard to speak English for us people in the Netherlands. It's basicly a really normal thing here to talk English. Nowadays A lot of Dutch citizens like myself use English pronounces a lot more often to say certain things because it's in our system with all the international influence from America or the UK and because we learn it at a young age.
growing up in the 80s in Amsterdam all the cartoons where in english with dutch subtitles that worked for me , but also listning to Hiphop improved my english , and of course i got english lessons at school
I literally learned English from tv. School helped a bit. But later when i was like 21 it was youtube that further helped me develop it. My understanding is better than my writing or speaking. While my writing and speaking are pretty good. Big words used by Jordan Peterson, i had to search first.
Great video as always, but I prefer the ones in Dutch (selfishly) as I like to practice listening to everyday Dutch. Similar to so many of the people in this video, I watch youtube to improve my target language skills, but unfortunately there's not that much 'street Dutch' content. May I suggest some new topics for you? Ask people about [1] their recent domestic/international holidays, [2] their favorite sweets, [3] what they do on their days off, [4] what their "go-to" meal is when they are cooking for guests, [5] what their favorite international meal/cuisine is, etc. I'll keep watching no matter what you put out though. Veel geluk!
Interesting, I've actually been struggling with the question about whether to do the interviews in Dutch or English. Because eventually I'll visit and film in other European countries as well plus I assume English is easier to follow for an international audience. Haven't made up my mind yet but I'll keep your comment in mind. Thanks for the suggestions also.
P.S. The next video is in Dutch again, I just shot it today. Its topic is "What do Dutch People Love and Hate About the Netherlands?". The reason that this video was shot in English is mainly so that people watching can get a real-life impression of Dutch people speaking English. It was also an experiment to see how viable interviewing people in English is in the Netherlands.
I like that there's a universal language, but it really doesn't incentivize English speakers to learn another language if everyone knows English.
Yes, so true. I am thankful that I have been blessed to be easily communicate with many around the world with English. However, I wish I knew more languages so I could connect with more people around the world. That is one reason why I started to teach myself other languages after I was required to learn French in school.
Another interesting interview from the beautiful Alkmaar. Thanks!
Thanks for your comment Sleepless, always good to hear that.
I am happy that i can speak multiple Languages as a Dutch but I like to order in Dutch when I want to drink something. Waiters mostly automatically start talk in English with you nowadays, especially in the holiday season!
Do you live in Amsterdam or elsewhere? Just curious if that also happens outside Amsterdam.
No i don’t live in Amsterdam, but i am often there.
@@CultureCompassTV this only happens in major cities, I feel like its because the waiters might be international (students) working a parttime job while living here
I went camping in the Netherlands and we knew very little Dutch but we got by with English until an Oma and 5-year-old girl tried to speak with us in the campground. Both didn't seem to care that we couldn't respond back in good Dutch and they kept talking to us and we barely understood either of them until the girl's mother, who is also the Oma's daughter came by to translate. It was a fun and cute interaction.
As,kids we saw a lot english,on tv and movies and at scool,we where learning it on scool ,whith the age of 12 jear also german and france.in the sixties
Nice video, thanks. I was surprised when I heard the girl at 2:08. She pretty much sounds native.
Yeah I felt the same way when talking with her. She definitely was one of if not the best English speaker from the people I spoke with.
And still, if you're Dutch yourself, and you would line her up with 10 natives, you'd easily pick her out
@@ErwinBlonk I have the same thing with Dutch and English. As in my mind wanting to switch back and forth because sometimes English is the easier way to express a thought. I guess when you use English a lot and are very comfortable expressing yourself in it, that becomes a thing. I'm from 1979 but I've lived abroad for 3 years where I spoke English exclusively. After I returned to the Netherlands that became a thing for me.
@@wvd07 True. There were a few things I heard when I paid attention to how she spoke
My mother was born and raised in Amsterdam Holland! my mom n dad met during my father’s 3 day leave he was in WW2 station in Germany, my mother had her English diploma at 14 years old, she was born in 1922 in Amsterdam Holland. Thank You 🙏 l love watching these videos about the Dutch people “because l am 1/2 Dutch lol 😂 Thanks Again God Bless You ! 💁♀️💕🙏 P/S l think the Dutch Language is the most beautiful in the World 😂💙
Someone that's half Dutch should know that it is The Netherlands and not Holland. Unless you're referring to one of the two provinces (North-Holland and South-Holland).
You sound like a loving and appreciative person Flora. Interesting story about your parents and good to hear you enjoy the videos.
@@CultureCompassTV Thank You, very much for your reply, that is very kind of You ‘💁♀️💙🙏
@@bike-tyson-oak I know that but years ago” you should know” that it was “ Amsterdam Holland “
@@florabraswell8423 Amsterdam is in the province of North-Holland, that's why. The country as a whole though is the Netherlands.
When I lived in Belgium and I was surprised at just how many people spoke English and I didn't really need to learn Dutch (Flanders), but in the Waloon part less people spoke English but I'm proficient in French so I had no problem getting by day-to-day.
Well, I live in Belgium (speak fluent English aswell by the way, as I grew up with English music and movies. Kind of self taught), in the Flanders region. And when I'm at work and I need to call someone in the French region of Belgium I always have to try and help myself in French. While when it's the other way around and they call us, there is no way they will even remotely try and speak Dutch 🤨
That's why I Love my country Netherland I went abroad for couple years I did miss it alot
Where did you live when abroad? Just curious
Dutch people speak excellent English.
I'm surprised how few people mentioned the similarities between English and Dutch as languages, as far grammar and vocabulary. I'm a native English speaker and I'm quite proficient now in German, trying to learn some Dutch, and the similarities either to English or German words (which already share a large amount of vocabulary) makes learning Dutch words much easier. In my beginner experience, Dutch also seems to have much more similar conjugation rules to English, which has very few. I think the language most similar in structure and vocabulary to English is Dutch, so that has to be helpful as well (like with romance language speakers learning other romance languages).
I'm quite surprised that no one really mentioned this as well. Dutch is probably the closest language to English that still exists now. Learning English from other germanic languages is also tons easier than if you come from a completely unrelated language family.
Yeah no-one in the video mentioned it but in the comments it has been mentioned quite a lot actually. Thanks for sharing your specific insight on this. Would you say Dutch is more similar to English than German?
Well, actually Frisian is the closest language to English. It is spoken in the Friesland province in the north of the Netherlands.
dutch is closer to german than to english, basic sentences doesnt count, you have to watch the whole aspect, english is heavily romanised.
it's also a bragging thing I suppose, people attributing their skills to their own merit. It's also funny how Dutch people think that Dutch is very hard to learn, like it's a very difficult language. When Dutch people can learn English so easily it doesn't make sense that learning in the other direction is way more difficult. Maybe apart from the pronunciation and the fact that Dutch people never let foreigners try to speak dutch (again showing off how good their English is).
last but not least: I also think people over estimate how good they are. There's a big difference between ordering a meal in a restaurant compared to having complicated professional discussions in the work space.
To speak for myself, I learned from watching action tv series from a very young age. I remember I got lost on holiday on the large camping ground. I quickly discovered my dutch was getting me nowhere in France. So I explained if was at the toilets I would find my way again. They brought me there so I guess they understood. It makes a good story 39 years later. I know it ain't all perfect, I make mistakes but who doesn't when they write something without, and just spill your gut on something. I think I get my point across in English without a doubt.
It's always good to hear all the comments and ideas and to be able to extract lessons and learnings from life and put ourselves in the other's shoes, without harming them, without diminishing them, but helping them. I have heard and read the comments of polyglots and monolinguals in the Netherlands, but it is important to understand that for the Netherlands to succeed in its linguistic and cultural endeavor it will need the support and cooperation of its neighbors, Luxembourg, Belgium, Germany, England, Scotland, the Shetland Islands, Faroes, , Fririaian Islands all both the German and Danish Hokan Islands, Denmark and Norway. Holland is a linguistic and cultural and seductive paradise, you should never miss this and throw it away. The Netherlands is a polyglot country rich in mind and soul. This should be encouraged in sync with the Germanic and Nordic languages that the Dutch speak, understand, study, work and live in. And let's start the cultural solution for the Netherlands starting with the non-Germanic languages spoken in the Netherlands.
As a Dutch person I can't imagine someone not knowing English at all! I started learning English in primary school, although the teaching was very bad, but at least I learned something! When I went to secondary school I got some of my subjects in English, like PE, religion class and English itself. It really helped although the teachers there weren't that good too... One time my teacher even corrected me because I said 'have been' in the normal way like 'have bin'. But he said it's 'have ben' lol. Also when I got my own laptop, I started watching movies in English because the translated movies are just disgusting lol, so that's basically it! Oh and soon I am going to Budapest in a family I don't know, where I just have to speak English there is just no other option! So excited how that will turn out ig
Indoensyian: Meneer please hold our BAJIGUR 🥃
Flanders (Belgium) is at the same level. It has a lot to do with the educational system.
As a Dane I walked in French speaking Valonia/Belgium and did meet young people who couldn't speak English!!!
When I became a teenager my parents gave me pocket money. I spent most of it on records. From bands that were American or British. There were allways lyrics printed in the cover. At the same time we got english lessons at school. (not in primary school in those days, early seventies). As I became older, that combination of learning lyrics from songs, english spoken movies with subtitles and the lessons at school helped me to become familiar with this language. I know that every child starts getting education in english from an early age these days and I think that is a good thing. We also learn German and Frenche.... I understand German, and even still speak some but forgot all of the French I learned. Oh lala
In Amsterdams city centre I don't even bother to speak Dutch anymore. Everybody working in restaurants, pubs, cafés or shops, as well as people on the streets, speak English. As I understood, that's due to the large numbers of foreign students and tourists in the city. So I guess it's understandable. And honoustly I don't care...English/Dutch...it's all fine with me 😊
A big thing for people in the Netherlands to learn English, is that it makes your world so much larger. Netherlands is relatively small with not a lot of people. If you don’t speak English you’re limited to Dutch internet (UA-camrs, twitch, forums etc). Damn your world is small then. You can’t use Reddit, you can only google for Dutch info (which is limited).
Yeah this is also my experience. I mean I've always searched in English on the internet because it's a much bigger world out there. It's how I learned English well. I started with just basic English but reading and writing on forums etc. my English got good over the years.
DJ Cat Show! That started it for me, without subtitles... and oh boy was I eager to learn what was said in those cartoons...
Honestly, for me it was theplaying games with british people and just gaming overall, i mean school was indeed a grate startip, as I started getting english classes since I was eight, even if someone in the netherlands says they dont speak english, its jist that they dont have a good promounciation but trust me they can speak it
I’m learning a little bit Dutch with UA-cam videos like “Hallo K3”, “Mega Mindy” and “Autoweek“. Meanwhile I understand quite well but I have to try some conversation next time I visit The Netherlands. If this won’t work we can switch to English.
Why for gods sake would you want to learn Dutch? Our language is garbage. Too many grammar rules and exceptions that dont make sense. Just converse in English. Its far easier to learn and comprehend.
@@maka6134 I already speak English quite well. And some French. And some Spanish. I just needed another language challenge. OK, Turkish is really useful for a German guy... Next time. I promise! 😋
0:42 "comes from abroath" 😆
Haha, zo lief.
i have a dutch sister in law, when we went to holland for the wedding to my brother.we found that a great number of the dutch spoke good english, i really like holland for that.
Thank you, my curiosity is now being answered
As an Italian living in the Netherlands I agree with the title of the video. I never spoke English in my life before I came to Amsterdam where I became confident with it. The dutch speak a very neutral English a perfect combination between the British and the American. Has become very common listening to young dutches using English words more often than expected when they speak dutch among each other. It is also nice when the people switch immediately to English when you say sorry? 😅
"Wi aar sitisens of ze wurld. dets waai!"
😂😂😂
The Scandinavians too😍
I learned english before it was a subject at school. I watched a series without subtitles and my english was significantly better after. Then I got a little addicted to series and I started to understand pretty much every single word. My spelling improved by people on youtube correcting me. My vocabulary grew and my spelling got even better when I started reading english books. Now I can't say my dutch is that much better than my english. I don't understand all words when I read a book in dutch either and I can still make spelling mistakes in dutch just like in english. My speech is definitely faster in dutch because I'm not used to speaking english, but in terms of general knowledge I think they're about equal.
Yea same here, I watched a bunch of series on TV before we got taught English in school. I was always really good at English in school. Now my English and Dutch are at a similar level as well.
Im honored to hear ya, you are a true germanic blingual and interprets and spells 2 diferents langs
@@Lampchuanungang
And I see you're fluent in Sarcasm
When I visited Amsterdam and Haarlem last year, everyone I encountered spoke English. What was so impressive was the quality of the English spoken; it was flawless and mostly with an American accent.
Dutch and English are both west Germanic languages. English is most related to Frysian, out of all languages. After that it is Dutch. That might (partly) be credited for the English proficiency of the Dutch, even though Old English is much more related to Dutch than modern day English.
Well, I’m pretty sure Scots is closer than Frisian, but after that yeah
Not Frysian but Saxon. This relates to medieval English and Dutch though. Norman occupation in England and French occupation in The Netherlands caused a lot of the old Saxon words to be replaced by different versions of Latin and/or Norse derived words, although in some local dialects the old Saxon words may still be recognized. In the end there are more differences than similarities but what really helps for the Dutch is that we get a lot of our entertainment from English speaking countries while at the same time the number of native Dutch speakers makes it economically unattractive to dub every film, movie or other type of media. e.g. it took Microsoft twenty years to come with a Dutch translated version of their product and it still annoys the hell out of me that they changed some of the keyboard shortcut combinations, but not all of them.
I know the results of the EF test, but I'm a bit surprised. In Denmark and Sweden my colleagues spoke stellar English and sounded like native speakers. Dutch people often speak with a heavy accent (like the interviewees), myself included ^^. I'm also surprised that Singapore is included in the EF list, since English is one of their official languages.
BTW we have some 'BN'ers' (famous Dutchies) who speak flawless English, like Frans Timmermans ^^
Yes our prime minister Mark Rutte is king of the boeren English accent 😅 I personally felt most interviewees spoke English well though. With a noticeable accent mostly yes, but not one that makes you want to hide under the couch, like when Rutte speaks English.
On the internet generally though I notice the Dutch are quite self critical when it comes to English because of the accent. I figure in the EF test accent is a non-factor as tests usually focus on functional English.
Mocht Frans willen
@@bikeamour je kunt zeggen van hem wat hij wil, maar zijn talenkennis is bijzonder en zijn uitspraak als van een native speaker.
@@Tweeteketje je moet er moeite voor doen, maar in Nederland is er bijna geen leraar die zelf een fatsoenlijke uitspraak heeft, dus kan hij het ook niet overbrengen en dus leren de leerlingen alleen de grammatica en woordjes. Ik keek al van kinds af aan de zender bfbs tijdens de falkland oorlog en heb daar meer Engels van geleerd dan de leraar me kon bijbrengen. Hetzelfde geldt voor Duits omdat wij thuis veel Duitse tv op hadden ( daar was meer op) . Als ik even in Duitsland ben hoort niemand dat ik niet Duits ben, ze weten alleen niet welke regio. Italiaans ben ik later gaan leren maar dat gaat op een bepaalde leeftijd niet meer zo soepel
Ja er is in scholen heel weinig aandacht voor accent. Men leert kinderen de taal vanuit het boekje in plaats van vanuit het spreken. Voor mij werkte dat totaal niet en ik ben alles verleerd wat ik op school heb gehad. Heb zelf Engels opnieuw geleerd door het kijken van veel series zonder ondertiteling. Daarbij ook een cursus gedaan en een poosje in Londen gewoond. Mijn ouders wonen in Duitsland en het Duitse accent is ook totaal anders als wat ik ooit op school heb geleerd, veel zachter. Het is lachwekkend dat Nederlanders denken dat de Duitse taal 'harder' klinkt als Nederlands.
It’s the past 20 years that it changed to the degree it is now. When I first went in the 80s, most kids didn’t know English & the Seniors didn’t speak it or understand it that well at all. My nephews, who were born in Amsterdam, spoke it because their dad was American, but their friends didn’t speak/understand English at all. Now, when I visit, so many of the young kids speak it very well, & I haven’t come across anyone who doesn’t understand/speak English in a long time. They speak it better than some born & raised English speakers I know!
I gather that Dutch being closely related to English - surprisingly more so than to German - is a major reason for The dutch being the most proficient non-native speakers of English in the world. As a language English "feels" therefor more natural to learn and use. The Netherlands being a country that for centuries has been depending on foreign trade for its wealth necessitates being proficient in the modern "Lingua Franca" of our times i.e. English. Therefor schools start to teach English as a mandatory subject from the age of 10 years old if not younger.
By the time students leave secondary education at 17 or 18 y/o they have a pretty solid base knowledge of the English language. When continuing into higher education, English classes - in my experience - are more geared to refining the knowledge towards the chosen career path e.g. medicine, physics, law, architecture, etc, with in my case engineering.
This intense and continual focus of teaching English from a young age is greatly helped by the fact that movie theaters and Dutch TV channels rarely overdub English spoken films or other programs into Dutch - a given more driven by the prohibitive expenses than teaching principles - allowing the dutch to develop an ear for the spoken language as well to be exposed to colloquialisms and slang rarely taught at school.
The only hindrance for the Dutch is that they rarely have the opportunity to actually speak the language with native speakers on a daily basis, and therefor speak with a very pronounced accent and are often searching for ways to express themselves verbally , more so than they have to do with written communication.
On a side-note.
Raising children bilingual has the added benefit of these children being more adapt in learning other foreign languages, in the Netherlands usually German or French. Many Dutch are able to speak these languages too, but rarely to the level of proficiency they have achieved in English.
@@patrick-bu3eq O_o ???
Yes. The Netherlands is a small country so they need to travel/trade around the world to be successful as today. They are (I believe) the smallest country in the world with a GDP over 1 Trillion US Dollars. (And they only have 17 Million people)
"They are (I believe) the smallest country in the world with a GDP over 1 Trillion US Dollars" - That's very interesting. Will take note of that and research it later. It may be an interesting topic for a future video.
Nou ik praat alleen Nederlands, ik heb nooit Engels op school gehad, ik vind het best jammer maar het is niet anders, ik heb ooit een beginners cursus gedaan maar ik kan het gewoon niet onder de knie krijgen.
Niet iedereen kan goed leren, anders xat ik nu ook lekker in mijn lijf nu ben ik erg onzeker over alles.
Found this video while I'm studying abroad in the Netherlands! Yeah, dutchies speak English very well. In my class, there are 24 people (mostly European) and Dutch students are the best English speakers among us all. Also, I've been in the Netherlands for 5 months, and until now I never have had any difficulties in my daily interaction anywhere (from a big city like Amsterdam to an obscure city like Lelystad(I live in Groningen actually)) and with anyone (with the teenager to elder people). But when I cross the border, the story is different :D
An English-speaking friend who is from Zimbabwe moved to the Netherlands a few years ago with his Dutch wife. He said he was planning to learn Dutch, but that everybody switches to English when he speaks to them.
Living in the Netherlands with just English : Yes, but ......
If you work in a company where the majority is Dutch, they will speak Dutch among each other.
When they talk to/with you, they will use English.
However this means that you will miss out on the chit chat.
I think it may make one feel lonely, not really part of the group.
Good point. That could be an issue yeah I can imagine when moving to the Netherlands as an expat.
The flip side of this is that it is crazy to live in a country and not learn the language at some point.
I once felt sorry for people who felt left out, but then I learned that they didn't speak Dutch afters years of living here. That is absolutely banana's. Imagine moving to Spain and not speaking conversational spanish after years of living there.
At some point it is your own responsibility to be included. You can't expect people to constantly talk your language AMONGST THEMSELVES in their own country.
Absolutely crazy I even have to point this out.
@@TheOriginalAnorflame exactly. Like I've been noticing that even Dutch people correct me, a Dutch person, to speak English around expats/students even though these people have been living here for years. Even if there's a group of 5 people and 1 non native we adapt ourselves and speak English. I think what makes the Dutch mindset stand out the most a is the fact that we actually try and learn the language of the country we live in. Even before friends of mine leave for a trip or for a study abroad they are like "got to learn the language". Also because we know that integrating into another culture is way easier when learning the language. The last few years it has actually gotten to a point where personal in shops and restaurants here in the Netherlands speak English to me and dont even know one word of Dutch (yeah i know there is shortage of personal but still.. at least make an effort to learn the Dutch word for "bill"). I find it very annoying and even kinda rude that just because we Dutch people can speak English, people who live here dont try to learn our language. I mean come on.. living in another country for more than 3+ years and you still dont speak that language?! Crazy.
Depends on the company’s culture really
@@TheOriginalAnorflame yeah, but you never know how long someone is loving in the country and why they're not learning the language. Maybe it's lack of money, poor language skills or lack of time. And even if you do learn it takes time to jump to fluent level. But to be honest, I also do think that it would be appropriate to learn a language if you plan to stay there but sometimes things are more complicated. So please don't jump so quickly to judging people
Besides, from my own experience, having lived in Netherlands for a 4 months as a working student I found myself often in a situation that people at work spoke dutch amongst themselves while I was sitting right next to them. And I was sitting at the same table at lunch. I think it's just rude. The company that hires international people should create such an environment so they feel included.
Irish person here, in the Netherlands for only just over a year. First, I do agree that having to undertake international trade is a good motivator for learning the language. However, this was a big thing when I was growing up with the expansion of the EEC/EU, but didn't herald any improvement in how French and German (for example) were taught in secondary schools (though I appreciate this may have improved by now).
Also, and while I appreciate that UA-cam is more dominant, television is still extremely important in terms of language input. In Ireland, cable television still only has TV5 Monde as a concession to foreign language broadcasting - and that channel, with the best will in the world, is utterly tedious. In the Netherlands, on the other hand, your basic cable TV package carries mainstream broadcasters from Germany, France, Italy and Turkey, among others. These channels are likely to provide some entertaining fare, and therefore make one more familiar with foreign-language content. And of course, as has been pointed out several times here, foreign-language films, TV programmes, speeches on news clips etc., are subtitled and not dubbed, which is extremely important in helping one get used to the language, while also helping you catch at least some words and adding to your vocabulary.
Off topic: do they still teach Gaelic in elementary schools in Ireland? Would be a shame if the language dies off because of English...
@@geerenmo They do indeed. In fact, you are taught it right the way through to the end of secondary school. In my time, unfortunately, it was poorly taught, based on rote learning of different tenses during primary (elementary) school, followed by utterly boring short stories in secondary school. I gather it's taught in a far more interesting manner nowadays (I think it owes a lot more to comprehensible input methods). Also, exclusively Irish-language schools (Gaelscollaina*) are extremely popular now. So the language has a brighter future than it seemed when I were a lad!
*I may have the incorrect spelling - don't blame me, I only got taught the language 13 years! 😉
@@Z0idberg78 I hope so man. Would love to see the native languages over there flourish. English is a cancer, a genocidal language killing off cultures and languages all around the world. It's the biggest danger to cultural and lingual diversity around the world. I'm surprised there isn't more done to counteract it.
I think the main reason is as from 3:19 that tv has subtitles. It's the same here in the nordic countries.
Something else I've noticed, as a Dutch person their are times where I'm explaining English to people in the US, like: extra legal, doesn't mean: it's very legal. It means outside of the law and possibly illegal.
Ik ben een Engelsman maar ik spreek Nederlands!
Leuk! 😊
Dutch and frisian are the closest relation to english in the west germanic language group. Combine that with subtitles instead of dubbed english programs on television and voila. This whole "citizen of the world" bs has little to do with it.
I think the "citizen of the world" thing definitely has merit too, but mostly in that we're very open to interact with and use the English language. I believe that has a big effect as well. In contrast for example: French people generally and relatively speaking dislike speaking English with foreigners.
@@CultureCompassTV Who would want to speak with the french 😉
@@simdal3088 You're speaking with one now 😄 I'm 50% French. Was born and raised in the Netherlands though and unfortunately I don't speak French.
@@CultureCompassTV Thats acceptable, i draw the line at 51% 🤣
I get what they mean, but I also generally do not like this idea of being a “citizen of the world” just because you’ve travelled and speak English.
I am Scottish and have lived in Norway for twelve years or so here. Standards of English are also excellent and here too British and American tv has subtitles, which was also useful for me when I was learning Norwegian.
I used to work for a company where English wasn't even seen as an extra language it was simply mandatory. While Dutch was the main language for most employees a lot were German, Austrian, French, Spanish (from all kinds of Spanish speaking countries) and British natives. Switching from one language to another was pretty standard.
afrikaans poeple in south africa can also speak english very well.we speak clear words to be understood.
That's because more people in South Africa speak English than Afrikaans. As in English is the lingua franca of South Africa. As far as I understood. Never been there and sadly never will get there.
Agreed. I've been twice and I did not meet a single person who did not speak English. A very admirable trait, and a lovely nation of people.
The dutch are known for speaking multiple languages,English is definitely on nr 2 besides dutch but they speak German and French often to perfectly
I don’t agree. Very few people in the Netherlands speak German or French.
@@Brinta3..dont know where you are from or which parts of the Netherlands you have been,but it is definitely more then just a few..
I think it's a stretch to say the Dutch speak French and German perfectly. Most studied these languages at school, but the lack of practise is a thing. I only practise my French on holidays in France, which isn't enough to maintain a certain level. Mais j'aime le francais beaucoup. Si tu me demandes c'est la plus belle langue du monde!
I love the Netherlands with all my heart in the linguistic aspect, the Netherlands is a linguistic paradise: In Holland there is cultural openness to natural and planned languages and that is all beautiful and deep and kind too. There is space in the Netherlands for cosmopolitan culture, there you can speak Dutch, Frisian, German, English Afrikaans, Saxon, you can speak Ido, LFN Italian, Occitan, Spanish they will understand you, you will understand, in scientific and cultural and popular circles you speak Lojiban , Interlingua. And you in the Netherlands can be Dutch with several languages and cultures and a kind and beautiful country and open to other cultures similar to it and supportive of it too. It is one of the lands of polyglots in the world, and long live Holland forever, hugs from the Dutch and sweet kisses from the Dutch, everyone.
main reason...............is not syncronising TV. so keeping its original language going and adding subtitles. this way you keep the original intensity of the episode/film/series etc and kids learn from a young age how language sounds.
I agree, I think this is one of the biggest contributors along with the internet etc. nowadays
You only have to listen to our prime minister to have a sample of how well the Dutch speak English. It often sounds like this: very harsh and no adaptation to the vowels of the other language. Same with German and French
He's the worst though. Though no doubt he's representative of some of the worst Dutch accents you'll hear, to me most of the interviewees sounded a lot better than Rutte. But I think the study in which the Dutch are ranked the #1 non-native English speakers didn't take accents into account. Probably just functional English and not how pleasing it sounds when spoken.
a lot of politicians lack the foreign laguage speaking good dna .......
we call it coal-miners English..😁😁😁 no pun intended etc etc
@@Baard2000 it is not called coal-miners English and has nothing to do with coal miners but with coal. It’s the language that dockworkers used to communicate with the crew of the coal boats in the beginning of the 20th century
@@Johnsormani Thnx . Its just a Dutch expression from which I didnt know its origins
@@Baard2000 yes and that’s also steenkolenengels , not steenkolenwerkersengels 😀
As someone who lives abroad, it also depends to which language- group it belongs to. From all the official languages (except Frisian) Dutch is the closest language to English. For example someone who is from Croatia would learn Czech faster than Dutch people for example. And it's mandatory for Dutch kids by law to go to school at 4 years old (instead of 6 years in most countries for example: Sweden, German, Czech Republic etc). And nowadays children already learn English at the first grade of primary school, the class is completely in English).
Netherlands lays next to england... (we also use subtitles instead of dubbing movies)
My Boyfriend from Netherlands , he spoke English very good
Buiten het feit dat het handig is om Engels te kunnen spreken, mogen we onze eigen taal niet vergeten. Dat dreigen we onder druk van marketing en management taal we te vergeten.
Waarom is de eigen taal belangrijk. Het is de drager van onze cultuur en onze geschiedenis. Een eigen taal hebben geeft ook meer zelfvertrouwen en eigendunk. In het filmpje wordt gezegd dat we maar een klein landje zijn. Dat brengt ons toch in een soort Calimero positie. Dat is helemaal niet nodig. Als we buiten onze grenzen zijn kunnen we andere talen gebruiken om te communiceren. Binnen ons eigen land kunnen we gewoon Nederlands praten.
Waarom is het bijvoorbeeld nodig om een volledig Nederlands congres over gezondheidszorg in Nederland met alleen Nederlandse bezoekers en sprekers de titel Dutch Health Week te geven. Ik zal zeggen waarom. Zodra we iets publiekelijk willen communiceren en het belangrijk willen maken dan geven we het een Engelse titel, want iedereen doet dat. Gelukkig houden we daar wel een Nederlandse traditie hoog. Gewoon zonder nadenken in polonaise achter de meute aan en vooral doen wat de ander doet.
Buiten dat, we denken dat we goed Engels spreken, maar dat doen we helemaal niet. Het is niet onze moedertaal en dat betekent dat we in de eerste plaats in het Nederlands denken en dromen. Spreken we Engels, dan zijn we toch telkens aan het vertalen. Vandaar dat we zinnen produceren als "I was totally in the war".
Dutch might have a good English but your accent is so recognisable!
I think Swedish and Danish accents are more neutral than the Dutch accent.
Yes I hear that a lot. Now I'm curious to hear some Swedes talking English :) Will search up some Swedes on UA-cam later
@@CultureCompassTV In America not even the presidents can speak English.......Trump? ....Bush? what are we debating here?
dutch might have a good english? huh what? LOL
Speaking English, atleast in the way that I grew up in the 2000s was to be expected. It also was the first subject I ever got really good at and liked.
I wouldn't call it dna or being people of the world, but it is part of dutch culture to learn other languages and be involved in the way other people live and learn.
We're very curious people, so speaking English can connect you to a crowd you otherwise wouldn't have been able to communicate with.
As an English person, I was impressed years ago reading comments from Dutch people (in English) and realising that their articulation of my language was better than my countrymen and women, lol.
I'm still not _quite_ sure what interpretation to put on that, so to speak!!