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Lidija P Nagulov's avatar

The language aspect is so fascinating. It’s true that we don’t treat all languages the same, and English speakers get away with stuff Chinese, Arabic, Bengali, or Turkish speakers would not. It’s all part of this massive tangle of supremacy we’ve all taken on by osmosis.

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Charlotte Nijhuis's avatar

Exactly!

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Brie Lee's avatar

Loved this! I am an immigrant in the Netherlands, and just started my A1 course. I’m shocked how many people in my class have been here for 3-7 years and only now starting- and only because their job requires it. Like, living here, engaging with the culture, building community: shouldn’t THAT be what makes you want to learn?

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Charlotte Nijhuis's avatar

Interesting! Would love to hear your thoughts as the course progresses. Have also heard from friends in the NL who’ve learned Dutch for eg citizenship that they never get a chance to practice it (bc ppl always switch to English). Guess it’s a positive feedback loop

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Brie Lee's avatar

I’ve been here for about 4 months as I started my masters in September, still very early days. I’ve found that daily interactions, mostly at cafes etc if I open with Dutch I’ll get Dutch back. I do wonder if as I progress I’ll struggle to find people willing to practice. My Dutch peers all speak English, even amongst themselves. I think speaking baby-Dutch might be a little painful if you’re fluent- it takes more time and patience. I want to get to a B2 level, however, so they’re going to have to get used to it I guess!

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Tini Nijhuis van Heumen's avatar

Also for all of us, expected or not, isn’t it also nice and caring if you do an effort to adress somebody in their country in their native tongue? It will bring you smiles, connection and also a feeling for the real meaning and emotional ‘ temperature ‘ of words - as they are always just pointers to the real thing. Trying to understand a person in their native languages makes that you will understand them better , the little nuances that make the difference . I am convinced it is a win/ win , so let’s do they effort anywhere. Reach out, get out of your bubble where you are confident and take the risk of being vulnerable, embrace your mistakes and have a laugh together.

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Charlotte Nijhuis's avatar

Agreed!! 😊

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flora woudstra hablé's avatar

Exactlyyyyyy sis i get so mad at expats who make no effort while immigrants are punished for not being perfectly bi/trilingual… nice that ur learning Turkish the word is TESEKKÜLER by thr way

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Charlotte Nijhuis's avatar

Haha yes I know that now 🫶🏼 dankje Flora!!

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