Is it double Dutch?

Is it double Dutch?

‘Double Dutch’ is a phrase used in English to mean nonsense, or something that is difficult to understand, as in “It’s all double Dutch to me.” The phrase is thought to have originated in the early 19th Century and is probably due to the difficult relationship with the British and the Dutch in the 17th and 18th Centuries and the fact that the British held the Dutch in very low regard.

The Dutch language can actually sound pretty incomprehensible to English speakers, with lots of guttural consonants such as ‘g’ and ‘k’, although the two languages share a common root and were very similar at one point.

So is it worth learning a language that very few people speak, that few non-speakers can understand, that sounds like gobbledegook and is spoken in a country where almost everyone speaks English? For practical purposes, possibly not – unless you have close ties with the country and are considering moving there. Even then you could get by without learning the language. Not everyone learns languages for reasons of necessity though and many people just love the process of language learning. Yes, honestly. They do!

Dutch, along with Spanish, is one of the easiest languages for English speakers to learn. Many of the words are similar, and the grammar is less complicated than other Germanic type languages, such as German. Dutch is also very similar to Flemish (spoken in Belgium) and Afrikaans (spoken in South Africa) so a knowledge of Dutch would make these languages much easier to learn.

So what other reasons are there to learn Dutch (other than the fact it’s considered to be pretty easy)? I’m sure some of you have heard stories about people experiencing misunderstandings on a trip to Amsterdam. Imagine how knowledge of Dutch might have helped… You would be able to talk to Dutch people in remote areas about canals and tulips without seeming like a xenophobic or ignorant English person. You could visit places like the Rembrandt Museum and Ann Frank’s house and read the guides in two languages! You could understand the nuances of the menus in some obscure coffee shops, and think of all the extra pancake toppings you could describe and ask for!

So where can you learn to get some of this ‘Dutch Courage’? Well, despite the fact The Netherlands are near neighbours to the UK, and the language is a fairly easy one, courses are not that common. It is easier to find a private tutor or an online course than it is to find an evening class. Of course, you also have the option of going to Dutch cities such as Amsterdam or The Hague to learn. If that isn’t possible, then there are a wide range of books, CDs and podcasts available to help give you a grounding in the language. You never know, you may end up with some Dutch Comfort and what was Double Dutch could end up leading to a new language, new interests and even a new life.

Paula is a qualified EFL teacher who has taught in the UK and abroad. She has also taught adult literacy and numeracy in prisons and is now combining a small amount of private teaching with writing.