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comment by ochotona

Eh, there could be something to say for that! We Dutch do have the reputation of being so direct it often turns blunt or even insulting. My experience of the Brits is that they are painfully keen on avoiding confrontation. And I think the Americans are also less likely to utter a provocative opinion than the Dutch. Dear! And on top of that: the Dutch are very proud of their language skills. So maybe we are sometimes too keen on pointing out imperfections in somebody else's speech. Although my experience is that we are way more keen in showing off our English than to bother listening to some non-native speaker speak Dutch... What do you think, Sparsile?





winston  ·  4457 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I didn't mean to paint the Dutch in a negative light. I've only ever had good interactions with your countrymen.

    the Dutch are very proud of their language skills
there is nothing wrong with this, more people should take pride in such things.
Sparsile  ·  4460 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Oh, I didn't see your reply until I finished mine above!

Hah yes the Dutch do have such a reputation! I however, am not really Dutch, I'm Belgian :p but I do speak Dutch (well, Flemish to be exact). Belgians aren't as direct as the Dutch, we are much more reserved and cautious, so I doubt this has to do with the Dutch's reputation! (see my reply above for some additional thoughts)