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Not only that, we are considered the best non-native English speakers of the world, so even if you aren't keen on learning Dutch (boo!) you'll manage pretty eas
by jorvi 9y ago
Not only that, we are considered the best non-native English speakers of the world, so even if you aren't keen on learning Dutch (boo!) you'll manage pretty easily :)
- ant6n 9y agoThe Dutch are also great at German!
- Freak_NL 9y agoOnly in as far as our languages are similar (they are more closely related than either of them is to English). A lot of younger Dutch are quite limited in the languages they speak; often just Dutch and passable English. Don't expect people under 30 to be able to read a German newspaper comprehensively or hold a conversation beyond ordering beer in a Biergarten when in Germany. Older generations with a tertiary education degree often can speak and read at least either French or German at a more useful level though.
- pwagland 9y agoWhile this may be true, you will find quite a reasonable number of people who can speak non-English foreign languages quite well, and that excludes the foreign nationals that come to live and work in the Netherlands as well. If you wanted to serve a largely German speaking clientele, then you could reasonably expect to get a decent number of applicants in the Netherlands in my experience, especially in the border regions. The kids here are still learning German and French in school, and while they might speak it less, there are still plenty that go there regularly.
- sarabande 9y agoI looked this up to make sure [0]; it's true, and the countries with a "very high" proficiency are: 01 Netherlands 02 Denmark 03 Sweden 04 Norway 05 Finland 06 Singapore 07 Luxembourg 0: http://www.ef.com/epi/?mc=we http://www.ef.com/epi/?mc=we
- Geekette 9y agoI question the validity of "global" rankings that don't include regions like East, West or South Africa, where countries like Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa have very high English proficiency rates (especially given that it's also an/the official language in most cases).
- oblio 9y agoI think the point of those ranking is ESL. So if English is an official language, you're out ;)
- darklajid 9y agoThen Singapore doesn't belong on that list.
- Chris2048 9y agoUK and Ireland not there either.
- adventured 9y agoIt's a list of nations in which English is not the first or primary language (which is why Australia and New Zealand are also not listed).
- Iv 9y agoNote also that fields are not all equal. In France I used to complain about the lack of English skills but I never found a programmer who could not at least read English and most business people will be able to communicate, maybe with a strong accent. Now I live in Japan and most programmers I meet do not speak English at all (leading them to be pretty poor programmers). Proficiency is not equally distributed.
- gog 9y agoWell, it is hard being a programmer if you do not even read English :)
- astrange 9y agoThey're also all taller than you, so you'll have to get used to looking up.
- adventured 9y agoIt is quite the growth spurt, given how short the Dutch used to be: "Today, the Dutch are on average the tallest people on the planet. Just 150 years ago, they were relatively short. In 1860, the average Dutch soldier in the Netherlands was 5-foot-5. American men were 2.7 inches taller." https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/why-the-dutch-became-the-tallest-people-on-the-planet/ https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/why-the-dutch-beca...
- rconti 9y agoHelpful, as my wife and I keep considering moving to Europe for a spell. It probably won't be so difficult as I am an Italian citizen and she is British; however with the UK leaving the EU, suddenly we may have to worry about her being an EU resident either as a guest from the UK, or as someone married to me (which means lots of paperwork in a language I don't understand). Also, her job in a hospital means she needs to speak the local language "unless--" .. which probably means unless they have a specific need for a native english speaker who does not have to know the local language, or if it's an American military hospital, or...
- Fnoord 9y agoDutch is a difficult language to learn, and you'll manage fine with English; especially if you're located in large cities like Amsterdam. We went out dinner yesterday in Amsterdam and people start conversations in English even though both parties end up being Dutch (we're Dutch natives). Also, learning Dutch isn't very useful since it isn't spoken a lot throughout the world. If you'd like to have yourself heard/understood in the EU, even though English should generally suffice, German is another contender. In Italy its quite well understood (esp the north) and many Eastern European countries as well. Though perhaps Russian even better, I don't know. As for Germany, the Germans living in cities like Berlin and Munich speak excellent English.