Re:Where Dutch directness comes from
by jacquesm on Thursday February 01, 2018 @06:59AM
(#16281217)
The 'what do you want?' example is simply a case of someone being unable to use the Dutch honorific 'U' in English substituting it correctly with 'you' since both 'jij' and 'U' map onto 'you'. Also, what I find more interesting is that the tourist automatically assumed the host spoke English, did so and then complained about the quality of the English, rather than to be appreciative of the fact that the serving staff spoke English (which almost everybody here does, but still, I'd be amazed to find a tourist that learned the language before making a trip).
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As a tourist who has attempted to learn the language, I've been told to "please just speak English" nearly all of the times I've tried it (much to my dismay!)
The Dutch love to practice their English. At the same time, ignore the requests, unless there is an urgent need to get the message across. Otherwise you'll be forever stuck. Another good trick - usually this won't work if people know your background - is to say you don't speak English, that way at least you get some time in, which is the biggest factor in learning another language.
And thank you for trying to learn the language of your destination, that alone should get you a lot of credit with the locals.
Re:Where Dutch directness comes from
by drukenemo on Thursday February 01, 2018 @03:56PM
(#16285811)
Amsterdam is the problem. Too many foreigners and too little patience from locals to speak Dutch with someone who doesn’t speak it greatly. Only way is to move to another city. Source: I’m a foreigner in Amsterdam for seven years and don’t speak the language well.