It's hard to learn Dutch when the locals immediately switch to English when they detect a foreign accent.
Replies
My problem these days is I can’t tell when staff is responding to my Dutch in English because they hear my accent, and when it’s because they don’t speak Dutch.
sep 2, 2025, 7:26 am • 6 0 • view
Sounds to me like you're offered a lot of friendly 'icebreaker' opportunities 😎. I'm thinking of not trying to hide my Dutch accent anymore when (trying to) speak German, because I recently learned that Germans find it the ultimate adorable accent. Reminds them of Alfred J. Kwak 😁
sep 2, 2025, 8:07 am • 4 0 • view
I have heard the comparison with Rudi Carell too, but apparently that's less flattering (as in: "At least you don't sound like Rudi Carell" 😁)
sep 2, 2025, 9:34 am • 1 0 • view
There is a lot of the latter.
sep 2, 2025, 7:29 am • 0 0 • view
I find that weird. If I encounter someone in Germany who speaks German with an accent, I see no reason not to know continue in German or to assume they would speak better English.
sep 2, 2025, 9:45 am • 0 0 • view
It's a defense mechanism. You're welcome in our country, but we won't let you into our Dutch-speaking society.
sep 2, 2025, 10:28 am • 2 0 • view
Often the use of English limits communication to the bare minimum. In areas with a lot of tourism, I can understand why people would want to do that.
sep 2, 2025, 10:40 am • 0 0 • view
That's not it. Every Dutch person under 65 is fluent in English, happy and able to talk with any foreigner about anything their heart desires. But when we want to talk about our stuff, we switch to Dutch to exclude outsiders.
sep 2, 2025, 10:47 am • 0 0 • view
The practical effect of high levels of English in Northern European countries is limitation of access to society and culture, but I’d never considered it deliberate, more a side effect.
sep 2, 2025, 1:35 pm • 0 0 • view
Most Dutch people are embarrassed when I point out that this is what we do.
sep 2, 2025, 2:05 pm • 1 0 • view