Hello all, I'm off to Dam in December with some mates and was just wondering if learning just some basic phrases is enough to get by? I would think a lot of places would speak english but I try and use simple phrases as much as often when I go on holiday, so what's their attitude like on the whole language thing?

Cheers

every one likes someone that has learned a word or two of their own language.

There all basically english speaking mate. Off there on thurs again. Happy days.

you need absolutely no dutch at all in holland.

Yeah, cheers for the posts, I'm cool with learnin some basics, it just seems polite.

Yeah I agree... The Dutch usually smile gently if someone tries to speak Dutch to them and then they respond fluently in whatever your native tongue is, usually English, German, French...

They seem to get taught most popular european languages from an early age....

Dank u wel (phonetic = Daank ooo vel ) = Thankyou very much (waiting for dutch person to correct me... )

I used to travel a lot around Europe with work, and I always tried to learn a few words or phrases... even if they speak English... only seems fair

peps1 has the right 'tude...

Have fun - they are mostly very nice people.

whilst living there i had no choice but to learn Dutch.
i think its good manners to at least try , counting from one to ten and learning how to ask for things is a good place to start.

this will help,

mijn Nederland spreken is niet zo goed. = my dutch is not very good.


goede avond = good evening

goedemorgen = good morning

this is a good place to look, http://www.speakdutch.co.uk/phrases/basic_phrases

Dutch is an easy language to learn once you get a hang of the accent.

and i can tell you from experience , they would rather you tried to speak dutch than to just go there and expect them to speak english.

I have also found that when attempting to talk Dutch most of them seem pleasantly surprised that a 'buitenlander' (foreigner) is trying to talk their language.
In Dutch they have no direct translation for the word 'please', the nearest thing they have is 'alstublieft' which roughly translates to 'please', it also translates to 'there you go'. A handy word to know and one of the most commonly used in everyday situations.
Bedankt means 'thanks' or 'cheers', also another handy phrase which comes in useful and is used alot.

i think alstublieft is more of an ''if you please''.

another good site for those heading off to the dam

http://www.ielanguages.com/dutch.html


i found reading dutch news papers a good way to grasp the language , especially when flat hunting or job hunting.
i suppose amsterdam isnt that bad and people are geared up for dealing with tourists but i was pretty much out in the sticks so i was expected to at least try , which was worth it because you get a lot further being able to understand stuff, even everyday stuff like using a strippenkaart and getting the return journey free, took me ages to figure that out.

if you need any help, drop me a PM as i'm an expert in double dutch!!!

A bit off topic, but do the Dutch mind the English using the word 'Dutch' to mean 'false?' As in dutch courage, dutch oven, dutch barn, dutch auction, dutch uncle etc? (feel free to addd your own).

It seems to originate from the Anglo-Dutch wars in the 1600s. I'm not sure if they are still a bit touchy about that one, or if the slate was wiped clean after the last war.

It is a bit like the verb 'welsh' or 'welch'- not since Bill Clinton has a public figure used the word 'Welshing' to mean go back on a deal. That originated from the 13th century in the time of Llewellyn Fawr.

Dutch courage means courage brought about by alcohol (being pissed), I thought...

Because it requires alcohol, it is false courage, is the way I am reading it.

I am under the understanding that many of the people in amsterdam speak english, partly due to the HIGH number of british tourist each year , but also they are now taught from a very young age in schools, as the dutch language is only spoke in holland, and hardly any or no where (not sure) else, but english is, so they learn that. (i may be wrong, correct me if i am, )

I went with a mate who is quite good at dutch, so we did seem to get a bit more patience from the people, coffee shops and other places. I on the other hand don't speak a word....... But would like to learn someday, as i have found fom my own experiences, that knowing a local launguage does help you with how the local treat you.

I speak ok spanish and when holidaying in spain, found that speaking spanish helped my "popularity" with the Hotel staff, and they would always serve me first regardless who or how long others had stood at the bar. which had it's good and bad points ( hang overs are a bitch )

Peace

And enjoy the dam, one hell of a place!

GA

you wont really need it but everyone loves it when you say "dank u wel" ----Seeing as Im good at languages I'm told my accent is perfect, and some dutch people I met 2 weeks ago thought I was dutch when I said it to them hahaha... but yeah most people speak english, so if you get lost in the evenings (and you will hahaha the good kinda lost ) - the phrase for can you speak english would be a nice one to use - thoughtful...unlike how most people perceive the english. let's prove them wrong!

hi
my ex's father was dutch and lived in amsterdam (excellent),he was also a seaman for most of his life.
He told me Dutch courage was an old navy expression. It refered to the rum ration. being twice what it was in the english navy,so the english would joke their sailors needed to be pissed for the fight.usually to start a fight.
and it usualy worked .

afaik, a Dutch auction isn't false in any way. It starts with a price no-one wants to pay then drops until someone does want to pay that price.

I know a guy that learned a bit of Mandarin, just so he could talk to the guys at his local chippie. They loved him to bits.

I was also intrigued by the Dutch and their admiration for the English language. A professor of mine said that they hold the British in very high regard, which is partly why they love to speak English. Could also be because the Brits and Dutch have throughout history been very closely connected through ties in royalty (remember William the Orange), but they have generally also enjoyed equally 'liberal outlooks'.
I can speak fluent Afrikaans, which is Dutch derived, but even that didn't help me much in Holland so I decided to communicate with them in English instead. Turns out Afrikaans is almost identical to what people in Flanders (between Belgium and Holland) speak, a language called Flemish.

after being to holland a few times & ALWAYS ended up stoned oot my nut, i've managed to pick up a few phrases some how.

ie - kan ik meer dan vijf gram van uw fijnste knoeiboel alstublieft kopen

but after reading this thread, i thought id check out the torrent sites for anything, managed to find a mp3 album called Laura speaks dutch ( BTW Laura's a geezer ) those crazy dutch

yessooo justoooo speackkoooo duutchhooo like thisooo

It's pretty hard to find a dutch person in dam that doesn't speak English Ifind it pretty scary how American so many of them sound because of all the US movies and TV shows that they watch.

This might help (it's just a few basic phrases).

i was born in hoorn i think thats the way you spell it when my da was working over ther but we moved back to scotland and the schools i went to wiped the language out of me .i wish i still stayd ther

I bet you would find that you could pick up Dutch rather fast compared to your average person. What you where taught as a young child is possibly still in your brain, you just have to find and dig up the stored information.
I know that you say that you feel that the schools in Scotland wiped the language out of you but I bet you could perhaps even surprise yourself with the dormant knowledge that may still remain.

H.T.

As other have said, the locals do genuinely like it if someone has actually made the effort to learn some basic phrases such like the ones that have been suggested.
It's not the point that most of the people in Amsterdam speak English, it's that most English tourists cannot be arsed to learn any language and expect to be able to converse in English wherever they go.

Wherever I'm going, I make sure I can say things like: hello, good morning, thank-you.....etc. It goes a long way

Oh, and of course wherever you are you need to be sure you can get a beer and smoke

Possibly off topic but no offence meant, Rosetta stone do a dutch language course have alook around the torrents