NRC newspaper comes up with ‘Denglish’
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.
Tags: Geert Hofstede, Joy Burrough-Boenisch, Maarten H. Rijkens, NRC
