Here is an interesting article upon the forthrightness of the Dutch. They don't beat around the bush and say what they mean and mean what they say!
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The real reason the Dutch are so unbelievably rude
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The real reason the Dutch are so unbelievably rude
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Re: The real reason the Dutch are so unbelievably rude
I never experienced the Dutch to be rude, just straight forward.
And even something the author mentioned about it takes longer to agree at a time for lunch than lunch itself, well... Actually it never was a problem, it took a minute or two and that's it.
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Re: The real reason the Dutch are so unbelievably rude
Indeed, I worked a lot in The Netherlands, and you have to get used to the straightforward style, yet it's all in the way it is set.
It's the idiomlatum that counts, the tone/spirit of the overall conversation. I never found it "rude". .. but maybe "crude" (unrefined, unpurified, coarse, ..)
In Dutch "iemand ongezouten jouw mening zeggen", "er geen doekjes om winden", "recht voor de raap", ...)
Dutch people make fast decisions, and are not afraid to come back from it when it turns out to be a wrong decision.
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Re: The real reason the Dutch are so unbelievably rude
Basler Biker wrote: ↑Tue Apr 05, 2022 8:12 am...
Dutch people make fast decisions, and are not afraid to come back from it when it turns out to be a wrong decision.
Absolutely, it was always a pleasure in meetings that they were making their point, and actively working on a compromise, so everybody was happy.
Even friends from the US who spent quite some time in the Netherlands never thought of the Dutch being rude.
Seems the author has a problem with people being straight forward....
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Re: The real reason the Dutch are so unbelievably rude
The author of that article strikes me as being incredibly naive - I also find it strange that he seems to have difficulties distinguishing between rudeness and straightforwardness or honesty, to be quite frank. Especially in a business context, "polite" drivel is not going to get you anywhere; the business-like, no nonsense approach is not unique to the Netherlands, it is much the same in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Scandinavian countries. This headline makes me think that the author is an attention seeker who needs to get out more....
Re: The real reason the Dutch are so unbelievably rude
I feel sorry for that Texan guy, he probably just was put on hold by his Dutch colleagues (just to make a point), and never even realised it ...
Re: The real reason the Dutch are so unbelievably rude
This was a very interesting article, thank you [mention]Corinnebelle[/mention]!
Re: The real reason the Dutch are so unbelievably rude
The straightforward nature of Dutch culture is perhaps what drew me into learning the Dutch language.
I’ve tried studying a couple other languages, Japanese and French, but they felt too overwhelming.
Japanese can be very vague, with many different interpretations of certain words. Also, when listening to Japanese people speak, it only sounds like they speak in sentence fragments compared to what my study guides were teaching me.
French feels too coy. It has plenty of double entendres, which made me kind of worried I’d say a lewd phrase by accident. Pronunciation is another challenge: just like with English, words are often pronounced nothing like how they’re spelled.
However, when looking at Dutch, words are spelled pretty much how they’re pronounced. Grammar often feels thorough. You can’t omit certain words like “er” or reflexive words. Reflexives occur when the subject and the object of the sentence are the same thing, and Dutch sentences sometimes look unnecessarily redundant compared to English.
That’s not to say I’m complaining: the more I think about it, I actually like it. I like how Dutch takes these measures to avoid confusion. There’s less ambiguity in sentences. They don’t like to cut corners, and neither do I, to be honest.
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Re: The real reason the Dutch are so unbelievably rude
I think (English) anglophones (and also French francophones) can be a bit indirect sometimes. We say "sorry" too much. We say "That's interesting. I'll have a think about it" when we mean "No, I'm not going to commit to that". I find that Dutch people are much more direct. You could call it honest. It's interesting that in Duolingo, the word "sorry" comes up early in the Dutch course, whereas I think it's very rare for Dutch people to say "sorry" (same word but borrowed). To say "het spijt me" is stronger than "sorry", and you would only use it if you really meant it.
With my Scottish and Australian background, I can understand where they are coming from.
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Re: The real reason the Dutch are so unbelievably rude
[mention]Jim606185[/mention] Do you think Australians and Scots are more direct than English?
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Re: The real reason the Dutch are so unbelievably rude
Corinnebelle wrote: ↑Fri Nov 04, 2022 3:19 am@Jim606185 Do you think Australians and Scotts are more direct than English?
It's never good to generalise, but "generally", yes. It's Scots by the way.
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Re: The real reason the Dutch are so unbelievably rude
Just came across this sentence in my course. It seems like it is taylored to this thread...
Re: The real reason the Dutch are so unbelievably rude
PtolemysXX wrote: ↑Fri Dec 02, 2022 4:52 pmJust came across this sentence in my course. It seems like it is taylored to this thread...
The word 'verfrissend' fits that Dutch 'style' better than the word 'bot', indeed. So that is nicely done by DL.
But the word 'precies' is just a tit overdone. Probably it has been used just to make the sentence run smoothly.
No harm done. Just remember, that being accurate is not included with Dutch directness ;- )
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Re: The real reason the Dutch are so unbelievably rude
Thank you weerwater for explaining the fine nuances. By reading the - now frozen - sentence discussions I realize that Duolingo's selection of words and phrases sounds at times weird to native speakers. It is always great to hear how other people "feel" their language.
Re: The real reason the Dutch are so unbelievably rude
I am Canadian born from dutch immigrants and in my early childhood lost my understanding of dutch. I did however learn to be direct in my use of language and perhaps tolerate abruptive speech. So, I can distinguish evasive communication patterns and sincere responses (not mutually exclusive) immediately and learned to be patient with others that run around the block before they give themselves permission to be honest with themselves. I see the difficulty people have when they don’t recognize how they cannot make decisions and succumb to habits without thinking. Too bad I say and watch their frustrations. There is an edge to people that live a full life that keeps them vital. It is political to find one’s voice and it isn’t a harsh voice but a compassionate voice to speak truthfully. Inconvenient truths kept secretly causes painful losses. Dutch people suffer fools poorly but are humble in the face of struggle. Bring it on and fight for justice is how the Dutch stay free in the face of integration. They may seem nosey and overbearing but they will protect your right for collaboration no matter your social status.