FAQ
1. What is Dunglish?
2. Why do Dutch people use English if it they can’t use it properly?
3. Why don’t they have their English checked beforehand?
4. Who is Dunglish aimed at anyways?
5. Isn’t this making fun of Dutch speakers?
6. Are there any good books about Dunglish?
7. Are there any interesting articles about Dunglish?
8. What is Denglish?
9. When did dunglish.nl go live?
10. How can I submit some Dunglish?
11. Who is this Natasha person anyway?
1. What is Dunglish?
A. Dunglish, a combination of the words Dutch and English, is the language produced when these two languages collide. The Dutch and Flemish (Belgium) mostly produce it, but it is also produced by Dutch speakers who have been abroad too long, and by English speakers whose English is going Dutch. In Dutch, it is known as Nederengels. Nicknames for Dunglish include Amerilands, Englutch, Engerlands, Dutchglish and Dutchlish. The Flemish also use the words Flemglish and Vlengels, and in French, it is called néerlanglais.
Read more about it on Wikipedia: Dunglish, Nederengels, Engelse ziekte (taal), Steenkolenengels.
The American magazine The New Yorker coined the phrase ‘crude tulip English’.
2. Why do Dutch people use English if it they can’t use it properly?
A. There are a number of reasons, depending on why it’s being used. They include attracting tourists, trying to be hip, trying to look more international, and appealing to non-native speakers of Dutch, but not necessarily to English speakers.
3. Why don’t they have their English checked beforehand?
A. If you don’t think something is wrong, you won’t have it checked. Many people just don’t see their mistakes, because they read it from a Dutch perspective. This means that besides making mistakes, the style, punctuation and vocabulary gets “Dutchified”. Some people simple don’t want to pay to have it checked, others just don’t care.
4. Who is Dunglish aimed at anyways?
A. At first glance, Dunglish seems to be aimed at everyone who doesn’t understand Dutch. In this group, there are native English speakers and people who have a good command of English. Within this group, some people just see the English mistakes, while others translate the Dunglish back into Dutch and see why the mistakes were made. According to many language specialists here in the Netherlands, Dunglish is often aimed at Dutch speakers themselves, making it quite a hot topic.
5. Isn’t this making fun of Dutch speakers?
A. Not as a whole. It makes fun of people who think they know what they are doing. Dunglish bothers both Dutch and English speakers alike, native and non-native. You could argue that writing in Dunglish is making fun of your target audience.
Some 95% of all submitted photos and links on Dunglish are from Dutch people.
6. Are there any good books about Dunglish?
A. Yes, there are. Problably the most well-known book on the subject is
Righting English that’s gone Dutch / druk 2
J. Burrough-Boenisch
As for a Dutch book, there is “Nederengels. De invloed van het Engels op het Nederlands” by Pyter Wagenaar. Find out more about his book from Onze Taal.
7. Are there any interesting articles about Dunglish?
A. Quite a few. Here’s a small selection.
In Dutch: I love dutch (Dutch here has no capital on purpose), Nederengels (From grammar guru Jan Renkema).
In English: Adventures in Denglish (It is about Dunglish), Dutch words: acid, airbag, babyface, bacon (By the way, “à gogo” is French).
8. What is Denglish?
Denglish is what happens when German and English collide. The German word for German is Deutsch, hence the ‘De’ part. According to Wikipedia, the words Dutch, Deutsch, and Dietsch are variations of the same word. In English, Dutch used to be a generic term to designate both Netherlanders and Germans alike. Today, the English word only refers to the Netherlands.
Read more about it on Wikipedia: Denglish, Dutch
9. When did dunglish.nl go live?
A. The 15th of February 2005.
10. How can I submit some Dunglish?
A. You can submit your Dunglish to natasha (at) dunglish.nl.
11. Who is this Natasha person anyway?
I am originally from Montréal, Canada and I have been living and working in the Netherlands since 1999. Before then, I came to the Netherlands regularly for summer visits and to work. My native languages are both French and English; I learnt Dutch on my own and I speak it 95% of the time. For more about me visit www.cheznatasha.nl.
Last update: 30 December 2006