Doing the Debate Dutch

A Perspective on Local Language Issues—From Abroad

OpinionsMegan Dolski — Published September 18, 2012

If you want to get a job (even somewhere as prestigious as McDonald’s), understand road signage or make your entire life easier, this is just what you need to do. It’s your duty, so show some respect and apprenez vite.

But when you move to the Netherlands as an English speaker, the general consensus is that you shouldn’t waste your time learning the local language.

While the Dutch don’t completely discourage the teaching of their mother tongue, they openly acknowledge the fact that the majority of their population speaks English just fine, so there really is no need for anyone to be in a tizzy about it. 

Wait—what?

As an Anglophone growing up in Quebec, this mindset completely wrinkled my brain. I spreek only klein beetje Nederland, and you don’t hate me?

After spending my first two weeks apologizing profusely to every Dutch person I spoke to about my feeble attempts at their language, I became accustomed to a general response: “No worries.” It was kind of nice.

Still, I couldn’t help feeling that as a foreigner living in a new country, I should learn the language. I still feel that way, despite constantly receiving the incredibly humble response of, “Where else in the world can you use Dutch? If you speak English, I can practice.”

The Dutch are an example of a population that handles language issues in an extremely fair and healthy way.

While their attitude towards English didn’t make me want to learn Dutch any less, I appreciated not feeling chastised for butchering the pronunciation of the belegde broodje I was trying to order at the local student café/bar.

Comparing the Netherlands to Quebec is not comparing apples to apples by any means—the numbers and demographics simply aren’t the same. The Dutch language is substantially less commonly spoken on a global scale than both English and French.

In Quebec, less than a sixth of the population speaks English, whereas in the Netherlands 75 per cent of people can speak English well enough to carry a conversation and 90 per cent of students are taught English in schools.

Also, it’s foolish to overlook the fact that the language issues in this province are complex, and deeply rooted in our history—a variable that is not present when discussing Dutch language politics.

I’d also like to add that I am an anglophone who does speak French, and I’m not discouraging anyone from learning French in Quebec, or Dutch in the Netherlands—not in the slightest.

Frankly, I think everyone should take the time and make the effort to learn any and every language they can.

The point I’m trying to make is that this province could really benefit from an attitude adjustment with regards to their beloved language, and I think the Dutch are an example of a population that handles language issues in an extremely fair and healthy way.

They have a knack for making learning a language a two-sided deal: I’ll teach you, you teach me. It promotes learning in a social setting and also fosters friendship in lieu of a culture of contempt.

There is absolutely no need to make learning a new language feel like this big scary monster that needs to be conquered in order to be a part of something. And no, a shift in approach won’t solve or end Quebec’s language debate, but it would make it a hell of a lot easier to live with.