What language do the Dutch speak?

Question

When I hear Dutch people speak they always speak perfect english. Is this their second language?

I obviously know the Dutch of Holland speak Dutch but is English their second language?

Answer 1

Dutch is a German language. Its grammar and vocabulary looks like the English one.

For example: "Hello, my name's John, I live in Amsterdam" sounds in Dutch as "Hallo, mijn naam is Jan, ik woon in Amsterdam."

Dutch is the only official language in the Netherlands. The Netherlands are often conferred with Belgium, but it are two different countries. In Belgium, people also speak Dutch (Dutch is called "Flemish" overthere) , although it's not the only official language. The other two official languages in Belgium are French (called "Walloon") and German.

Answer 2

Is Dutch A Language

Answer 3

For the best answers, search on this site https://shorturl.im/xaBH5

Right, I am 37, and English, alongside Dutch, was one of the classes you could NOT get out off in Seconary (High) School. So everyone from the age of 12-16 was learning English for about 3 hours a week in school. Nowadays, they start English lessons as soon as kindergarden, but only very simple things (Think watching 'Dora the Explorer' with the English being Dutch and the Spanish being English). I think they do however get proper English lessons well before age 12 these days though. All English language programs on TV are subtitled rather than dubbed, so we hear (mainly American) English on a day-to-day basis, which helps a lot with 'slang', which is obviously not taught in school. So...Basically anyone under 40 should definitely be able to speak to you. And quite some older people too. Having said that... a lot of people are too shy to do so as they know their pronounciation is not 100%. If people seem hesitant ask 'yes' and 'no' questions only and you will probably get your answer, because they most likely understand you, but are to shy to talk back. Besides English, most Dutch will have some grasp of German and/or some French (especially if you head south into Belgium). Immigrants, or children from immigrants will often still speak their native language at home. There are a lot of Turks and Marroccans in the Netherlands, as they were invited by the Government to come and work when lower paid jobs wouldn't fill up. Long story short... 99% of people under 40 should be able to speak English, but about 50% of those might be reluctant because they are shy. You should be able to order your food in English, and I would even recommend asking for an English menu because some restaurants will even have those (or english translation will be on the normal menu already). However, if you have an allergy for a certian type of food, make sure you have a friend (who you trust understands your issue) to reitterate the allergy in Dutch as well (just to be on the safe side). You will hear English in public in the big cities or near American Military bases, but they are mostly Native English speaking people, or people who are speaking to people whose first language is not Dutch, as English will be the first choice of language to use when speaking to foreigners. Popular English slang words are used by teenagers a lot even in Dutch sentences. A lot of teens thinks it's 'cool' to speak English, which doesn't mean they don't go shy when confronted with a 'real' English person ;).

Answer 4

Well - er - obviously they speak Dutch. Through marriage I have some Dutch family. They learn English from an early age at school and also get a lot of English-language tv programmes which are only subtitled, not dubbed into Dutch, so they pick up English very easily. Also a lot of their tv is cable and carries BBC1.

Answer 5

The Dutch speak 'Nederlands'.....
The word Dutch is a bastardised name used by people from english speaking countries. In The Netherlands nobody uses the word Dutch....
In the Netherlands people speak Nederlands and Frisian aswell as many dialects....
Dutch comes from the old word Diets which was an ancient language....

Answer 6

Dutch is their first language. It's not an international language, so the Dutch learn English, as well as at least one other European language.

Answer 7

It's the second language for most schools on the continent nowadays. The Dtuch use English a lot in business nowadays. My old Dutch teacher at night school referred to Dutch as a "throat disease" language (LOL) & he was a Dutchman by birth himself, though he had no trace of an accent at all.

Answer 8

dutch is their first language. and depending on how old they are. english will be their second language.

this is mostly because of the american influence on post ww II europe. Many shows on dutch television are in english with dutch subtitles.

older people, might actually be better at french. as french used to start in education at age 10 in the 1950/60ies. Nowadays it is english that is taught at that age up until ages of 17/18.

Answer 9

They speak Dutch of course and English is the language they learn very fluently because it is used everywhere, in companies etc. They usually prefer to learn one foreign language very fluently instead of learning a couple in a intermediate level...They also watch English tv series and lots of films without dubbing. They use the Internet a lot too. Their language has lots of similarities to the English and it's easier for them to learn it than in other countries where the language and accent is very different.

My boyfriend is Dutch and his English is perfect ;) that was his explanation by the way :)

Answer 10

Dutch people speak Dutch. Most countries in Europe learn English at a very young age, and the Netherlands and Germany are the most advanced other languages, which is why their English is nearly flawless.

Answer 11

Dutch people speak dutch it's a bit similar to german but it's closer to english