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What about the language barrier? Is English prominent enough in Amsterdam to easily get through everyday interactions or would you need to learn an entirely new
by vesto 15y ago
What about the language barrier? Is English prominent enough in Amsterdam to easily get through everyday interactions or would you need to learn an entirely new language in order to truly enjoy the city?
- tomh- 15y agoYou can survive with English in Amsterdam and the Netherlands as well. Children learn english from the age of 9-10, TV programs are typically not dubbed so the odds are that you can have conversations in English with everyone you encounter.
- sunchild 15y agoYes, to the point that learning Dutch on the fly is hard because nobody will try to speak it with you when they are so good with English.
- rickmb 15y agoTypical anecdote in that respect: we have a German and a Greek developer on our team in Amsterdam. They practice Dutch by speaking it to each other, because everyone else will automatically switch to English.
- skrebbel 15y agoIf you approach someone in Dutch speaking with a (non-middle eastern) accent, people will switch to English without asking. It's horribly annoying really, learning the language (and thus really picking up the oh so important subtleties in professional and private life) is made really difficult this way. People often explain it as kindness, but it's really just plain rude laziness: for many Dutch people, speaking slow and clear Dutch requires a lot more energy than upspeed English. Let alone listening to and trying to understand broken Dutch.
- Bootvis 15y agoWell, I've never looked at it that way. Next time I will be more thoughtfull.
- qF 15y agoI wouldn't call it rudeness, it's more a habit, you might find it rude, but that is your interpretation. Holland is a really small country that survives by trading with other countries. The countries around it are all much bigger and tend to want to speak their own language (German, French, English) so it has become common that the Dutch person adapts instead of forcing the other person to speak Dutch. Though funnily enough I will (during the summer) quite often get addressed in German when I enter a shop, at which point I haven't even said anything yet nor do I speak German.
- wasigh 15y agoHappens to me always at the Dutch Coast. Somehow I look a bit German.
- bxc 15y agoyep, the broken-dutch vs clear-english appears to be my experience too - if I'm in the right mood, I'll tease dutch people by speaking full speed english around them when they don't want to speak dutch ;)
- rickmb 15y agoI'm sorry if you consider it rude, but have you considered the people you're speaking to may have something better to do than to spend their time teaching you Dutch, or alternatively, may just believe you actually want to discuss the subject at hand rather than practice your Dutch? If you want people to take the time and trouble to speak Dutch, consider asking them, preferably in a context without time constraints.
- sunchild 15y agoI don't really think it's rude. It's sort of the opposite of Japan, where lots of people study English, but are too shy to speak it openly. I'm sure it's more complicated than that in both cases.
- inoop 15y agoRude? Excuse me? How is it my job as a Dutch person to teach you my language? edit: oh Skrebbel, I see now it's you and I know you're Dutch. Point still stands though :)
- bxc 15y agoEven if you try to learn dutch, you won't easily find people who want to speak it too you, tbh. (at least that's my experience after a few years)
- DeusExMachina 15y agoAmsterdam is absolutely english friendly. I have been living here for more than one year and I still don't know dutch. I know people who have been living here for years without learning the local language. Everybody everywhere speaks english: shops, public transport, you name it. Even children, since the TV shows are in english with subtitles. Movies at the cinema are not dubbed and have subtitles as well.
- mshron 15y agoI've never lived in Amsterdam, but I have spent time there as a tourist (and not in the Center, where you expect people to interact with tourists all day long). Everyone spoke excellent English, even older and crustier looking Dutch whose English was obviously rusty. The only time I needed to use any of the Dutch I had learned before coming was with some immigrants for whom English would be their third language.
- rtuck 15y agoAs the umpteen other comments say, yes: Amsterdam is extremely English friendly. That said, outside of Amsterdam, some rudimentary Dutch helps a lot, especially if you're using public transport. Also, even just trying will automatically garner you a little respect with the locals, they're a bit sick of people who don't even try. ;)
- rickmb 15y agoThe only barrier you will encounter if you actually want to settle there is dealing with paperwork. Companies and official authorities will gladly help you in English, but the paperwork is in Dutch. People often seem to forget the implications of that tiny detail when they move here.
- DeusExMachina 15y agoI have lived here for one here, I bought a house and opened a one-man company. I don't speak dutch at all. Paperwork is in dutch, but you get plenty of help everywhere.
- fijter 15y agoWhat I've noticed during meetups is that if there is even one non-Dutch speaker in the audience everyone switches to English. Amsterdam is very touristic and I think you won't miss out on anything in Amsterdam without knowing our native language.