TRAGIC MISCONCEPTION (8 october 2004)
In EdMcBain's Death Of A Nurse I read the following sentence: "Would they ever stop to wonder whether Schaefer had actually strangled the nurse?"
After some asking around, I noticed most Dutch people interpret this as "Would there ever be an end to the question whether Schaefer had strangled the nurse?"
But the sentence means more or less the contrary. What is meant is something like: "Would people put an end to their belief and start wondering whether Schaefer had strangled the nurse?"
This pitfall made me wonder about a related phenomenon. I have observed that Dutch people often speak horrible English, whereas they seem to think their English is almost perfect.
For instance, a Dutch politician by the name of Neelie Kroes seems to have made a fool of herself in the European Parliament by translating Dutch expressions in such a way that hardly anybody understood what she meant. You could read about it in the Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad.
Neelie Kroes
Why would Dutch people so often speak poor English when their language is much more related to English than, say Chinese or Hindi?
Well, I think it is quite obvious: it is because their language is so much related to English.
Indians or Chinese who learn English have to start from scratch. Both structure and vocabulary of their language are very much different. They can't just assume what they dream up is English.
But compare a few English sentences and their Dutch counterparts:
| English: | Dutch: |
| We go to that house. | We gaan naar dat huis. |
| Peter drinks water. | Peter drinkt water. |
| The schoolmaster sees you. | De schoolmeester ziet jou. |
This undeniable similarity gives many Dutch people the impression that -- whatever they say in English -- they can't go wrong. After all, English is almost Dutch, isn't it?
This misconception may be alright if an Englishman asks you the way to the red-light-district.
But it's definitely a problem if you think you can address the European Parliament without the help of an interpreter.
