Dunglish

Yes, we know exactly what the poor ATM is trying to say and yes the ABN AMRO bank usually has a very colourful and well written four-language “this machine is out of order” message, which appeared later on that day. However, this must have been something special and so I caught just in time. For the record, it should be “temporarily” (adverb) and not “temporary” (adjective).

What surprises me is that this message appeared on an ATM in the district of Slotervaart in Amsterdam where about 60% of the residents are of foreign origin, many of which are quite old and either cannot read at all or do not function in Dutch, let alone English. The proof that there are senior citizens just around the corner is confirmed by an actual phone booth, most of which were removed throughout the country except in places with a high concentration of elderly people.

Of course, they get the message, so to speak, but I’m still surprised it was in some sort of English.

So for my Dutch friends who keep telling me they don’t know and myself, an adverb is a “bijwoord” and and adjective is a “bijvoeglijk naamwoord”.

It’s been about two weeks or so, and quality Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad has gone English in a good way. However, Maarten H. Rijkens, author of that funny book “I always get my sin”, which has things he heard and made notes of, is writing a column called ‘Denglish’, the incorrect term for ‘Dunglish’. Check out the FAQ to find out more about why that is.

Why they gave it the wrong name, nobody knows, but I’m not alone in the comments to point it out. Author Joy Burrough-Boenisch of “Righting English that’s gone Dutch” eloquently pointed it out to him as well. Thanks to the people who mentioned this blog by the way!

The only bone I have to pick with Mr Rijkens is his whole book and column are based on hearsay. I too could have come up with “stuff I’d heard at a board meeting or dinner”, but pictures speak louder than words. Allow me to quote someone on the website:

“I’ve lived in the Netherlands for 17 years and while the literal translations in this article are funny, I’ve never heard any of them in real life. Mr Rijkens article seems to be about the nuances in meaning between shared terms like “interesting” rather than idiomatic errors. This, I think, misses the mark.”

So I commented about seeing proof rather than just notes Mr Rijkens took down at cocktail parties. Show us it’s not just made up to sell your book. Show us some examples!

And yes, his cultural comments are a nice read, but Geert Hofstede is more my cup of tea.