The Netherlands has an official language of its own. But its population, the Dutch people, can speak a certain level of English and/or German as well. This means that if you only speak German or English, you can still communicate with the Dutch people.
When it comes to fluency in the English language, The Netherlands is doing well. They have already surpassed any other country in the region.
The recent EF English Proficiency Index says so. Such a report ranks countries based on their capacity to communicate in English.
This is the first time that The Netherlands made its way to the top. For many years, the country has always been second place, next to either Sweden or Denmark.
They believe that a population’s ability to speak English correlates to many things. For example, such fluency can mean higher incomes. This can also relate to a better quality of life.
Over 72 countries participated in the survey, with respondents reaching almost a million.
The reports show that women have a better hold of the English language than men.
In the Netherlands alone, better-performing regions were South and North Holland. The region of Gelderland-Overijssel also performed well.
When it comes to the English language, almost all age brackets in the country performed well.
The English language has fast become a basic skill in the country. And so far, learning the language has given the Dutch a certain level of competitiveness. However, there are a few more extra opportunities. The Dutch are easily employable. And they can even expand their explorations when looking for opportunities.
On the other hand, the Dutch also speak German.
In fact, when one looks into both languages, one would easily see similarities.
The Dutch and German languages are both Germanic. What this means is that both are actually related to each other when it comes to linguistics. So let’s just put it in a way that both are cousins.
Also, both countries share similarities in their cultures. So they are close to each other. And this is not just in geographical locations. But even in their relationships, both countries are close.
But no matter the similarities, their languages are different from each other. These languages may be cousins, but they cannot relate to each other. It appears as if two cousins grew up in separate countries. They just don’t jive.
In fact, when a Dutch person only speaks Dutch, they would not understand German.
According to research, the Dutch can only understand about half of what Germans say.
The Dutch people, however, try to learn German as a secondary language.
As of this time, more than half of the Dutch population can speak basic German. Most of the time, Dutch people can speak conversational German.
So, yes. When in the Netherlands, you would not only hear Dutch as the only language.
They also speak English as well as German.
What is the official language of the Netherlands?
As of this time, the Netherlands has about 16 million inhabitants. The country’s official language is Dutch. Another official language is Frisian. This is a language that is widely used in the north. This is specific to the province of Fryslân.
The Netherlands has two kinds of Dutch.
When one refers to the people of the country, we call them Dutch.
The other time is when we refer to its official language – Dutch.
The Dutch language has another name. Sometimes, we call it Netherlandic. Other times, we call the language Dutch Netherlands.
Dutch can be in its standard form. It can also be in its dialectal form.
This is the most common language in the Netherlands.
Aside from the Netherlands, the language is also common in the northern parts of Belgium. There is also a smaller part of France that speaks the language.
Dutch is also common in other countries. This is not just in the Netherlands.
In fact, the language of administration in Suriname is also Dutch. The same is actually used in other countries like Curacao and Bonaire.
These, together with St. Maarten and Aruba, make up the Netherlands Antilles.
The Dutch language was something called Dietsc or Duutsc hundreds of years ago.
In simple terms, it was roughly translated into the “language of the people. “ Notice that this is of the people, compared to Latin’s language of religion and/or learning.
Its English equivalent then evolved into the term it is referred to as now Dutch. But officially, the language is Netherlandic.
When you are in the Netherlands, one also refers to the language as Hollands. Sometimes, people call it Hollandish. This is because of the language that it now has strong foundations in a dialect of the province of Holland.
As we all know, the old province of Holland is now North and South Holland.
The Dutch language has many varieties.
First, there is the Standard Dutch. This is something that they use for official purposes.
This is common in instructional materials that they use in schools. They also use the language in other educational institutions in the country.
Aside from Standard Dutch, there are also a wide array of local dialects.
These are those that the locals use on other less formal occasions. Examples would be when communicating with family and friends.
You would know Standard Dutch when you hear one. Grammatically, these are those without the case endings in the noun.
However, in the neighboring country Belgium, they exerted efforts in favor of the Dutch. It was in this country that they tried to give the language as much importance as the French.
As we know, the French language gained traction in Belgium around the end of the 18th century. But there seems to be no equal space for the Dutch language in this country.
It was only in the late 1930s when the Dutch language became an official language. But this is just in the northern part of Belgium.
In the Netherlands, it is more common to hear locals speak Dutch than in Belgium. This is natural. Because in Belgium, the French language is more widely used.
The Netherlands has standard Dutch widely spoken. This, together with the Dutch dialects, are the most popular.
The capital city, Amsterdam, uses more standard Dutch than any other part of the country. The same is true for areas like the Hague and Rotterdam.
When one listens to its population talk, one easily hears a strong hint of standard Dutch.
Aside from the Dutch language, there are also a few other languages that the Dutch people speak.
Some of these languages may be influenced by their neighboring countries. Others can be because of the need to be globally competitive.
No matter the reason, the Netherlands is more than just the Dutch language.
There are a few more that they use to communicate.
What other languages do they speak in the Netherlands?
Aside from the Dutch language and its dialects, the Dutch people speak a few more languages. The people in this country also speak English and German. Aside from these two, some minorities speak their languages. Examples of these are Turkish and Arabic.
We all know Dutch is the official language of this country.
In fact, almost everyone in the Netherlands speaks the language.
And we know that aside from the Netherlands, other countries speak Dutch. As of this time, there are about 23 million people worldwide that use Dutch as a primary language.
Aside from these people, about 5 million more use Dutch as a secondary language.
This is not just in the Netherlands. You can also hear the language in Belgium, Suriname, and Aruba. In addition, the same language is widely spoken in Curacao and Sint Maarten.
Aside from the standard Dutch language, there are also other regional languages. These are all languages that the country recognizes as official. These regional languages are:
Frisian
This type of language is sort of a West Germanic language.
About half a million people in the Netherlands speak this language.
Most of those that speak the language is from the Friesland province.
In fact, to date, Frisian is the official language of the province of Friesland.
The English Language
This is not just in the Netherlands.
But as you know, English is a language you can speak in most countries.
In the Netherlands, English is the official language of the BES Islands.
Most of the schools in this area use English as a primary language to communicate. This is also used in their instructional materials in their educational institutions.
Also, the English language is a language Amsterdam considers official. English is an official language. But it is actually treated much lower than the Dutch language.
In Amsterdam, the English language is often used when communicating. But when it comes to publications, Dutch is the language most preferred.
Papiamento
This is a language not as popular as the others.
Papiamento is not as popular as the others. But it is recognized as an official regional language.
The language has strong foundations in Portuguese and African languages. This is actually the official language in the Municipality of Bonaire.
Aside from Bonaire, this is also something used in other Caribbean Islands.
These are just the recognized regional languages.
There are still more.
And while not recognized, these are still widely spoken in other areas of the country.
These are:
Dutch Low Saxon
This type of language is not recognized as official.
But this is a dialect that is so popular in the northern part of the country.
The language, however, is almost nearing its end. In fact, UNESCO considers the language as almost extinct. The number of speakers of this language is slowly diminishing.
As of this time, there are only about 1.7 million people that speak the language.
Limburgish
The language is actually derived from where the language is from – Limburg province.
To date, there are about 820,000 people that speak the language.
The Other Immigrant Languages
The Netherlands is a melting pot of different cultures.
There are immigrants from other nations that go to and stay in many parts of the country. Immigration then plays a role in the persistence of these languages.
Some of the most common immigrant languages are Turkish and Arabic. There are also Berber languages that immigrants use when communicating.
The Other Foreign Languages
As we all know, there are a few more languages that people in the Netherlands speak.
English is a very popular language that people use to communicate. In fact, people are getting better and better at speaking English in the Netherlands.
To date, almost the whole country is already speaking it. There are about 90% to 93% of the population that speaks a certain level of English.
Aside from English, people also speak German.
A lot of Dutch people also try to learn German as a secondary language. As of this time, about 71% of the country’s population speak the language.
Finally, there are two more.
Because of the country’s geographical location, it has also retained other languages. This rings true especially in the languages of its neighboring countries.
We know Belgium speaks a lot of French.
And we also know Belgium is a neighbor.
This is why the French language has also trickled into the Netherlands. As a result, about 29% of the Dutch population speaks a certain French language level.
And last of all is Spanish. Again, there may be a few of them, but you can easily find Spanish speakers in different parts of the country.
As of this time, about 5% of the population speaks the language.
The Netherlands is more than just its tourist spots.
In fact, there is more to the Netherlands than tulips. And this is perhaps the reason why a lot of people migrate to the Netherlands.
They come in droves to find work. And they stay.
Once they do, they establish their cultures and languages.
Dutch may be the official language of the Netherlands.
But you would always be confident to speak your local language. Because who knows? Just around the corner is an immigrant from your country.
If nobody understands you, you can always speak English or German.
We’re sure you would be able to send the message across.