Learn 2B Dutch Blog

Gabriele's post and my imminent expatriation have led me to further research and contemplate his predicament. I think that everyone can have sympathy for his situation. In the knowledge that I am departing for the Netherlands with only 1 year of work guaranteed, his position is all too real for me. Luckily, I have the option of an academic career, in which being a native English speaker will (hopefully) not prove to be a barrier. As a further safety net, I intend to work like hell on my Dutch.  

But of course, as we all know, exposure is key to learning. And, exposure, in a spoken sense, is not altogether easy to acquire (given that our Dutch friends just love speaking English). Poking around the internet for the stories of frustrated expats, I came across an amusing tail of one Englishman, who in a bar in Amsterdam was heard by a native to have said to the barman "Kan ik een cola alstublieft?" The native found this truly hilarious and retorted, through his hearty laughter, "is that the only thing you can say!?" Clearly, the Brit was outraged and rather effectively, and in true curt British manner, stunned the arrogant piece of bar furniture into silence with a blunt Dutch insult. And good on him!

So, why exactly was the Brit so outraged? His reasons will be his own, however, I would like to pose my own theory.

The Dutch campaign for integration is strong and prominent. And so it should be. The Dutch have a marvellous culture and language and people should be strongly encouraged to play a part in it. So immigrants attend language classes and so on and those who do not speak English are granted unlimited opportunity to practise. Fantastic stuff we all agree.

Now, I do not wish to sound in anyway racist in my following argument. So I would like your permission to assume (and not without logical grounding) that on average, an English speaking immigrant with a job in hand before arrival in the Netherlands is likely to add more value to the Dutch economy than a non-English speaker. This is simply a matter of the education and experience that an English speaker is likely to have acquired in their home country (which may well not be Anglophone). Clearly this is not the case for all individuals, but as I said, on average.

For example, Gabriele has informed us that he is skilled in internet security with many years experience. I have secured a job in the Netherlands that had previously had a full round of interviews and many months of open applications before a suitable candidate was found. We will leave, or have left our own countries to make significant contributions to Dutch society. And yet, does "de man op straat" allow us to integrate into his society by helping us to speak his language even when we are clearly trying? No. We are penalised. Ironically those who are penalised the most are those we can contribute more to Dutch society.

It is this dichotomy that frustrates the English speaking ex-pat. All that effort to integrate people and the people who can contribute the most (and may also want to integrate the most) are denied the privilege.

Now, I do not hold this fact against the Dutch. I suspect that this desire to always speak English stems from a long established hard nosed "trade mentality". Such a trade mentality merits using the common and best spoken language. But we are moving beyond trade now. We are moving across borders. We are benefiting from flexible labour markets and migration. But labour needs security, and as we have seen in Gabriele's position, the security that speaking the native language can provide can make all the difference.

Perhaps, in this case, the Dutch need to look past this misguided short run pragmatism which they adopt in dealing with English speakers. They need to consider the wider implications of their actions within the context of their national policies. This will allow them to genuinely meet the things that I believe the Dutch hold dear; fairness, openness and respect.