LL-L "Language use" 2004.07.03 (03) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 03.JUL.2004 (03) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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A=Afrikaans Ap=Appalachian B=Brabantish D=Dutch E=English F=Frisian
L=Limburgish LS=Lowlands Saxon (Low German) N=Northumbrian
S=Scots Sh=Shetlandic V=(West)Flemish Z=Zeelandic (Zeêuws)
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From: Fred van Brederode <f.vanbrederode at home.nl>
Subject: LL-L "Language use" 2004.07.03 (02) [D/E]

> From: Pat Reynolds <pat at caerlas.demon.co.uk>
> Subject: LL-L "Language use" 2004.07.02 (04) [E]
>
> I have had just this kind of experience in Brussels.  My spoken and
> listening Dutch is awful, but my reading Dutch is quite good now.  My
> French I learned in school, and have found adequate for making small
> talk with colleagues from Francophone Africa, and central and eastern
> Europe, but not used for research... I have no idea what the vocabulary
> is for 'issue desk', 'restricted borrowing rights' or 'please ask a
> librarian before photocopying this book'.  The librarians were all,
> baffled by having to deal with someone who really did need to have it
> said to them in Dutch!  But they coped, and invariably, with politeness.
> I think they put it down to English eccentricity.
>
> A fair number of Dutch people must visit Brussels - what do they do?  Do
> most Dutch people speak French, or do both French Belgian and
> Netherlander switch to English as an acceptable compromise?  I have
> found it very useful in France to switch to Italian rather than English.

I'm not sure Pat. Dutch people just love to show off. But not very many
Dutch people are able to speak French.

My experience is that using Dutch in Brussels usually works. But then, I am
not there in a dependant situation. I am sure I take advantage of the fact
that I am the consumer in a bar or in a shop.
Maybe reluctantly, but staff always managed to tell me what the price is in
Dutch.

I discussed the language problem with a Flemish friend a while ago. He told
me he was not on to forcing Brusselarians to speak Dutch. He told me the
courtesy was to help each other. My French is not too good, nor is your
Dutch, so how do we meet halfway?
Last summer in France I met a couple from Brussels. While we were doing the
small talk like 'where are you from', they told me they were from Brussels.
So I immediately changed to Dutch 'o maar dan spreekt u ook Nederlands' (I
know it is a teaser).They explained 'wij zijn Franstalig en wij kunnen dat
niet zo goed' Though it was perfectly said, it really seemed like a hard job
for them. So then I remembered the wise words of my Flemish friend to just
help each other. We did.

It was years ago when we were on a business trip to Brussels. After some
hard work we were celebrating the end of the day on the marked place with
some good Belgian beers. When the beers were finished one of our group liked
to show his knowledge of French. He called the waiter: ‘Garçon, le même’.
The waiter came up to us and said in perfect Dutch: 'Uitstekend meneer, maar
in het vervolg moet u wel zeggen 'la même chose''.
What did we learn: stick to Dutch in Brussels, French is harder for us than
Dutch is for them.
Sometimes it is a lot easier to be Dutch than to be Flemish. Flemish people
are expected to speak an excellent French. And yes, when they don’t, I
noticed Belgian (and Dutch) people tend to jump to the modern lingua franca,
English, the harmless solution.

Groeten
Fred van Brederode

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